Product Description The Fellowship of the Ring is a single-player action-adventure game in which, in a storyline faithful to the first part of JRR Tolkien's epic novel, players relive the experiences of Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf as they journey from the peaceful lands of the Shire through the darkness of Moria to the River Anduin. On their quest to protect the One Ring from the Dark Lord Sauron, players will explore the massive environments of Middle-earth while solving puzzles and fighting enemies such as Orcs, Black Riders and an evil Balrog. .co.uk Review For even the mildest fans, anything related to this beloved book deserves top-notch treatment; Vivendi's officially-authorised The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings falls disappointingly short of that goal. The game is intriguing enough (credit the source material) to play through entirely--once. For the cost of the game, you are guaranteed a reasonably pleasurable 10 hours of gameplay. After that, it will likely sit on your shelf. There are good things in this game: the RPG mechanics are fine (at various points in the story, you play as Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf), the visuals are beautiful in parts, and certain aspects of game design are fantastic (Gandalf's magic-casting stands out). Little touches make it appealing to true fans, for instance when Aragorn receives the repaired Sword of Elendil and it glows during fighting. It would be a great game for even non-LOTR fans to play, since a good deal of backstory is provided in lengthy cinematics throughout the game. Fellowship's greatest asset, of course, is the story itself, as well as the bevy of villainous creatures that provide great boss-fight material. Many other games probably wished they had a Balrog to offer. But the story deviates strangely from the book in order to satisfy the format of an RPG game. The final boss-fight (which we won't spoil here) is completely unrelated to anything devised by JRR Tolkien, and it seems hollow, strange and unsatisfying. The puzzles sprinkled throughout the game are random and often frustrating, as is your first encounter with the Ringwraiths (inevitably, you die many times--too steep a difficulty curve right out of the gate). This game is still strongly recommended, but with many caveats. Proceed with caution, and you're likely to enjoy yourself. Expect a masterpiece, and you'll be wishing you'd saved your money for a different title. --Jennifer Buckendorff
E**N
Fun adaptation of the book
This game takes a different path to the others (which concentrate on the films and mostly on fighting); The Fellowship of the Ring is mostly based around puzzles, strategic battling and story telling.However its not all fun and games; it can be glitchy, clunky, frustraiting and the end (as many other reviews have pointed out) is far from the book or the film.The controls could have been smoothed over more; the camera for instance is difficult to control at points. The difficulty varies randomly in different parts of the game; having an extremley hard part at the begining with the ring wraiths and sections near the end being a breeze.Nevertheless, it is extremely fun. I found myself getting stuck in the story and ignoring any glitches as it is so close to the book it really felt like the story was coming alive. Obviously parts have been adapted to make them more 'fighty' for gameplay and this is just fine as it adds more excitement and tension (which the game is truely good at).The fellowship of the ring has such high moments, such as the balrog fight, the beautiful landscapes and wonderful story telling that the low moments of bad controls can be forgotton.Disapointingly however the end can ruin it for some people and almost did for myself. The story really pulls you in and keeps you going for a long time, bringing lots of fun, and brinigng alive wonderful moments from the book (such as tom bombadil for example) that the end just doesn't make sense and can leave you feeling unfulfilled. Why end it with something that is in no story of LOTR's in either book nor film? Without bringing any spoilers, the end seems a tad silly.I do think it is a good buy though and worth buying for the series. You wont be too disapointed (unless youre all about fighting); it gives some really fun memories, even if you end up playing it over just once.Worth three stars for most I would think, but four stars if you can breeze over the clunky controls and look into the landscapes, the story and chracters (Gandalfs especially is very fun to control).
T**E
great
I got this as the copy I had was pretty scratched and eventually stopped working. I love this game and am extremely pleased with this purchase. I'd recommend this game to anyone who is a LOTR fan or just a bit of a fantasy fan!
G**U
4 stars.
A GOOD game.
J**N
Only for the hard-core Lord of The Ring fans.
What a real disappointment for a licensed game of a blockbusting story. Rather than following the steps of the movie, it follows the book instead. Game designers have tried adding an RPG element to the game, though it is slightly linear, it is done well fortunately not leaving you wondering around in circles.Throughout the course of the game you are in control of Frodo, Aragorn or Gandalf. All three are required to be used in strategic ways in order to defeat your foes. Gandalf in possession of rather spectacular magic attacks, Aragon with great strength and agility, and Frodo with manoeuvrability and speed.You begin the game with Frodo in the Shire where you can at your will go straight to your objective or help around with the townsfolk that will fortunately present you with equipment suitable for your journey.Levels are expansive and varied. Some levels throughout the game cool down from the heat of battle, such as visiting an Inn, preparing you for the battles ahead.Weapons are rather simplistic such as a small sword for Frodo and a long sword for Aragon. The magical attacks from Gandalf make up for the limited number of weapons though. One problem arises however. In order to cycle through your weapons the d-pad or the right and left triggers are used. Trying to find the right gadget or weapon can usually be time consuming especially if you are in possession of a lot of equipment, and can be life threatening if you are in the heat of battle.You can save any point throughout the game making things a little to easy.Music is suitable for game play and is well done, though the voice acting is only average. It feels rather scripted than feeling life like.Bosses in the game are created to an average standard, from ogres to dragon like creatures, though there are not many in total.Unfortunately AI is badly executed. Creatures will run into you despite your barrow of arrows or rock throwing killing their allies, or the creatures will jam themselves into the environment. Battles do not feel like the epic battles from the movie, as most battles are taken care of by yourself, though on a few occasions your allies accompany you but are stuck in one position when attacking. Many a time will you be carrying out puzzles in order to progress and then all of a sudden you find your team at the other end! This reduces the sense of realism to the game unfortunately.Graphics are between average and good. Character models are created rather well but are somewhat hazy. The sky and water affects are done very well, mixed with the quite beautifully created surroundings placing you somewhat into the world of Lord of The Rings. But downfall arises. The game is VERY jumpy, especially throughout battles. There is too much slowdown throughout the game, which is very frustrating knowing the capabilities of Xbox.FMV is amazing. After watching the FMV sequence from the start you are left with hopes of an amazing game to follow, but then left in disappointment when you realize how much slowdown the game suffers.If you are a true Lord of The Rings fanatic, then I would probably recommend this game. If not, then this game is perhaps not for you.GRAPHICS: 6/10Excellent FMV sequences. Character models are creative but fuzzy in texture. Excellent sky and water effects.SOUNDS: 8/10Music is atmospheric and places you into the action, though voice acting feels rather scripted than life like.GAMEPLAY: 6/10Nice puzzles and side quests, but due to slowdown and bad AI, it would only interest the hard core Lord of The Rings fans.The good points:· Excellent FMV sequences.· Nice puzzles and side quests.· Great magic attacks from Gandalf.The bad points:· Bad slowdown throughout the game.· Poor AI.· Battles do not feel like those from the book or film.· Voice acting feels rather scripted.· A game that will only amuse the Lord of The Ring fans. OVERALL RESULT: 6/10
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