The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Peter Jackson?s mesmerizing films have stoked the popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien?s Middle-Earth to feverish heights these days, which means EA faced an imposing task in converting these timeless tales into a video game.

Contrary to its name, the game mixes a highlight-reel flashback to Fellowship of the Rings with Two Towers? most exciting moments. Playing as either Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli, you?ll travel to Weathertop, Moria, Amon Hen, Fangorn, Rohan, and Helm?s Deep, meet lots of menacing orcs and trolls, and kill them all. A pair of awesome secret levels bookends the game, and throughout it all, the frantic, combat-filled gameplay resembles a modern version of Golden Axe, so expect frenzied rounds of swordplay against ceaseless waves of enemies.

Often, games of this sort suffer from repetitive, basic gameplay, but Two Towers mostly escapes that trap with a simple but engaging parrying system and interesting twists in each level that range from startling ambushes to suicide-bomber orcs.

However, dying boots you back to the start of the level?an annoying old-school element?and you?ll probably beat the game faster than you?d expect. The game?s biggest shortcoming, though, is its disappointing lack of multiplayer action?it practically begs to be played in a two-player cooperative mode.

A huge part of Two Towers? appeal is how masterfully it reproduces the movies? look and feel. Clips from the films blend right into gameplay via remarkably smooth transitions, and the striking graphics and sounds expertly re-create the world of the movies down to the smallest detail. A wealth of slick DVD-style extras, ranging from actor interviews to art clips, serve as ample unlockable rewards for your successes.

Two Towers isn?t perfect, and it?s pretty far from groundbreaking, but it?s undeniably awesome to delve into such an authentic representation of this universe and whup some orc backside. If you?re not a Tolkien fan, shave a full point off the Fun Factor score. But if you are, prepare for this adventure with the same wide-eyed glee that you anticipated the movies with.

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