I have never read Tolkien - growing up they were books that everyone around me said that they had read but I didn't believe them. I had much more fun reading Fighting Fantasy - ok, whilst they where not so critically acclaimed you at least got to participate in the story, even got to roll dice and actually fight the nasty monsters you came across. I never felt the Tolkien books would be able to compete, after all it was just a story and from what I heard you never got to roll any dice and actually "be" Frodo and the like. Then the movies came out and I decided to watch them instead - what's the point of the books now? According to people who say they have read the books, the movies are rather faithful to the source. However, after playing this game I can't help but feel the books must have a lot more fighting.

Reviewing it, I get a very strong sense of déjà vu - prior to this one I have written reviews for Buffy and Crouching Tiger. All three games play in a pretty similar way. All of them are third person fighting games and whilst Crouching Tiger was a chore to play, and Buffy's structure really didn't seem to work, ROTK seems to do things so much better, (anyone who reads the above two reviews will have every right to call me a hypocrite!)

The thing with ROTK though is everything it tries to do it succeeds in doing. From the minute the game loads up you can see the money on the screen; you even get the THX logo. For a second it actually seems if you are watching the end of the second film on DVD. That is until the beautiful video footage blends almost seamlessly into the actual in-game tutorial. From watching Gandalf ride down a hill in top quality video to actually running round and beating Orcs over the head with the staff - it's very impressive stuff.

   

As stated, at its bare bones the game is just a third person beat-em-up. You take the role of various characters from the film and run around beating the hell out of an almost endless stream of Orcs, Uruk-Hai, Trolls and other Tolkien created lovelies. However this being a "fantasy" game you also get the added bonus of some minor role-playing elements. The fights are easy to take part in - one button for hard attacks, one for quick attacks - slap them randomly and quickly (although I imagine there is some logic there) to pull off some nice looking and pretty handy combos - the more you pull off the higher your rating, the higher your rating the more experience points you gain. These points can then be used to purchase extra combo moves and the like.

The game is very arcadey in style. It's fast and furious. As you attack, the rating is flashed up on screen. The graphics look lovely, they are lifted directly from the films and there is no mistaking which of the characters you are playing as - again another sign of the big licence and bigger money behind it. In total there are around eight playable characters and - unlike Buffy - they all have obvious strengths and weaknesses. As with the films all the characters are in different places at different times - the game plays out along different paths depending on your character, so there are different missions for Gandalf (who is on the Wizard's path) than for Legolas, Aragorn or Gimli, who are fighting in different places on a different path. It adds a lot to the game and hints at some of the lovely places will we see come December 17th when the movie comes out. All the missions are the same: kill, kill and kill some more, but due to the differing characters and fighting styles they do all feel different and are a joy to play.

To go with the top-notch graphics you also get top-notch sound. It actually does sound like you are in the middle of these battles, with fighting going on all around you. As with the LOTR: The Two Towers game, the voices of all the characters are provided by the real actors, another little bonus of that licence. Also the voice-overs that are provided by Ian McKellen really do add to the whole experience and are very atmospheric.

   

Another plus point of the licence is the numerous rewards that you get for your progression. As with many EA games completing levels and doing better and better gives you plenty of goodies. Here these rewards take the form of very nicely presented video clips, the type of clips that would not be out of place as DVD extras - all very nice to get but you would have to be a real die hard fan to watch any of them more than once.

As lovely as the game is to look at, it really is little more than a third person beat 'em up. It's very linear in style and whilst the numerous combos and fights you get involved in look and sound lovely it does get a little repetitive. That said though, unlike many other games of this style, you actually want to go on and see the levels later in the game and the two player co-operative mode gives it some variety.

With the movie coming out in only a few days' time, and Santa only a few days behind that, this is certainly a game that many may want in their stocking. It's far from unique or original but it's a fine game and one which the producers of Buffy and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon should pick up to see how it should be done. That said, those on a budget may want to seek out last year's The Two Towers which gives you almost the same enjoyment for half the cash.