The graphics reminded me a lot of World of Warcraft because the textures and the overall look and feel of both of the games environments are quite similar.
This is a screenshot from the game where Frodo and his gang are just about to leave from Tom Bombadil's place.
This is a World of Warcraft screenshot.
This is another screenshot where the four hobbits are travelling in the Withywindale Path on their way to Rivendell.
The game play is awfully simple. The lack of complex attacks and spells make it so easy to play, which is bad for people like me.
What I hate about the game play is its concept of the sidestep. Whenever the control for the sidestep is triggered, it makes the character crouch and sidestep and thus slow down, which is very annoying especially at times when I was trying to sidestep away from the mighty smash of a forest troll. That is, unlike in other games where the sidestep just makes the character sidestep without slowing down.
Some of the pre-rendered cinematics are replays of scenes from the movie. What I dislike regarding the cinematics, whether pre-rendered or not, is the lack of facial expression from the characters. I know they are video game characters and that the game itself was made around the year 2002 when that technology is just developing, but still. I don't know, it just looked unsatisfactory.
The sounds are enchanting particularly the ambient sounds and the background music. I loved it whenever the supporting sounds just fit the part of the game perfectly. For example, in the forest parts, there are sounds of insects, birds and the river flowing. Another instance of this is hearing epic music playing while exploring the mines of Moria and there are enemies lurking somewhere. That's something new for me. It's unique for all of the action/adventure games that I have played.
The voice acting is, well, good but it could have been better.
There was a part of the game where Gandalf fights the Balrog in the mines of Moria.
In that part, Aragorn gives the player a Miruvor (mana potion) whenever the Gandalf's energy goes down to half, which happens after the players casts 4 spells or so.
Aragorn exclaims, "Gandalf! Take this!" It happens so redundantly to the point that it is annoying.
The game is too short. I played the whole game for around six hours in total, which kind of made me feel bad for the countless number of hours spent by the developers who made the game, or not. I don't know, again.
All in all, it's a nice and probably challenging casual gamer game.
I loved the movie adaptation; I can't seem to find any reason to feel the same about this game.
I'm going to play the Return of the King next.
