The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Platform(s): Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Xbox, PC
Developer: EA Redwood Shores
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Ahh, movie-based video games. What a way for fat cat movie companies to make even more money. Has there ever been a good video game based on a movie?
I can think of one, Goldeneye 007. It used the first person feel of the Doom games and expanded the story to make a game more memorable than the movie. There still hasn't been as good a Bond game since then.
Given this criteria, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King couldn't possibly live up to the high standards set for a great videogame. The Lord of the Rings movie series is quickly becoming one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, surpassing the Star Wars series along the way.
Now, before you Star Wars fans get your Underoos in a bunch, think about this. The movies are only so classic because they were part of our youth. If those movies came out today, could you even watch C3PO for ten seconds before throwing popcorn at the screen? That annoying robot was Jar Jar Binks circa 1977.
Let me turn my attention to the game. I played this game for two days, and something strange happened, I couldn't get past the second level. So I changed the difficulty level on the option screen, and guess what? I couldn't get past the stupid second level.
I saw the commercials on television, so I know the other levels are attainable somehow. I just need an invincibility code or something to get to the third level.
The only reason this game sells is because it has clips from the upcoming movie. Since I played the game for two days, I will now save you money on a movie ticket and tell you what happens in the movie. Gandolf helps the humans win the battle at Helm's Deep (Level 1), then some other stuff happens (Levels 2-?). I don't know exactly what happens, maybe Robocop shows up and starts shooting people.
Bottom line, if you're really anxious to see what happens with the Lord of the Rings story, go to the library. EA - stick to what you do best, sports games. This game, it gets a D.
