Lord of the Rings The Two Towers

Customer reviews:

Overpriced in a $3.99 bin, 2008-11-16
How to describe this game-- let's start with what we were looking for. My wife and I enjoy playing co-op RPGs like Baldur's Gate and the Champions of Norrath series. On the advice of our local Gamestop Guy we decided to give this thing a whirl.

And it was bad. REALLY bad. I've noted that several of the reviewers have commented on how cool the cutscenes interface with the game. "Seamless!" "Perfectly!"

I'd like to give a different take on things. There is nothing cool about a six minute movie clip that seamlessly interferes with your ability to play the game. You cannot advance past or skip the cutscenes. You just sit there and watch them, hitting button after button to try to get past the dang things and back to the game you're trying to play.

Probably the dumbest feature of this game was the requirement that you play for some thirteen minutes (not including two seven minute cutscenes that I didn't want to watch in the first place but had to sit through anyway) in order to get to the main menu so I could select two player mode. Really. That was smart thinking Mister Game Designer. Because everyone wants to sit and watch someone ELSE play a game for more than half an hour before they can join in. By the time my wife was able to join the game she was more interested in finishing the book she was reading than playing.

The special moves are also way too complex for a hack and slash. Playability, folks. Why are 'Castle of the Winds' (run a web search) and 'Ultima III: Exodus' so much more fun than these modern games? Because the authors didn't have great graphics and had to concentrate on a decent storyline and the ability to upgrade your characters with weapons and armor. You already had a story with a decent, although not overwhelming, plot. Your lousy interface and confusing controls ruined what could have been a good game.

This was just not a fun experience. After that thirty minutes of being swarmed by orcs for no readily apparent reason and trying to fight my way through Helm's Deep I finally decided this one is going back to the store. Single players might like it, but if you're trying to play with a friend you can expect at least one of you to be bored while the other one fights to the main menu, and you can BOTH expect to be bored as the game forces you to sit through cutscene after cutscene for a movie you probably already have on DVD.

Lord of the Rings The Two Towers, 2008-09-20
I won't make any bones about it; this game is old. Compared to what we're used to, the graphics are a tad shoddy. That being said, it's a lot of fun. I bought it just a couple weeks ago because I wanted to relive some of my college days. My roommates and I spent many happy hours with this game.