EA gave a pretty good rendition of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and their delivery of Return of the King is just as good, if not better. Like in the first game, you play through this beat-em-up style game gaining experience, and you use this experience to unlock abilities and power-ups. The game play in this LOTR game seems a bit more responsive than the last, and many of the moves seem to be a bit more logical and easier to execute. However, they changed the perspective a bit on how you view your character, which makes the environments sometimes get in the way. Also, the camera view changes so much from area to area that it can sometimes get a bit confusing. But once you get over this, the gameplay is very solid. When Greg Kasavin reviewed this game on Gamespot, he mentioned how all the characters seemed very balanced and equal. Well, I do not know what version of the game he was playing, but balanced and equal characters is not at all what you will find here. Samwise and the hobbits rely on a bit more stealth to take out enemies, as I find they are about three times as week as the other characters. Gandalf's melee attacks are not as strong, but his ranged and devastating attacks are excellent. Aragorn seems to be a bit more balanced, but swordplay is where he excels, and at higher levels you'll be taking out multiple enemies with one swing of the sword, which is actually quite cool. So each respective path will have its own strategy, which I feel is a great plus. Sorry Greg, you're wrong once again. The graphics have been greatly improved, and the computer-animated cutscenes do not feel as tacked on, and some of them appear to be quite real. The sound is awesome once again, with the music tensing up at just the right moments. All the music is taken directly from the movie, so it is excellent. Replay value here is pretty good, a few unlockable characters, DVD-like content, and bonus levels. However, playing through the levels with various characters sometimes seems a bit tedious, and does not really offer anything new. Overall, EA has delivered a game that puts you right in the shoes of the heroes from the movie, and overall its just a great action game. Though it may be a little short, fans of the series definitely need to get this one, and fans of action games will love it also.
Other Helpful Reviews for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Based upon the third part of the novel series by J.R.R. Tolkien and the third in the Peter Jackson film trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the conclusion of the series. The story is pretty much ... Read Full Review
Positive: + really, really epic + co-op is awesome + upgrades are really cool + lots of characters to play as Negative: - playing as the hobbits is pathetic - single player mode is way too hard - the camera st... Read Full Review
