Lord of the Rings… with the release of the movie at the end of 2002, I guess there won’t be anyone who hasn’t heard about Frodo and his ring. Even people, who never read the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, must know this movie is based on the most important trilogy ever written. Just as Myst was an important landmark in adventure games, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was a breakpoint in adventure literature long before personal computers even existed. In the year 2002 New Line Cinema managed to use the right techniques and created the “impossible to make” movie. With the success of the cinematic version of the first book we were bound to have a Lord of the Rings game.

The Fellowship of the Ring is not based on the movie. Electronic Arts must have paid a fortune for the exclusive rights to use the characters and soundtrack from the movie for their licensed action game, but The Two Towers can not be compared to The Fellowship of the Ring. While The Two Towers is ultimately a combat game, The Fellowship of the Ring is more an adventure game that walks the path of the ring-bearer. You will have to fight or use stealth at times but that’s just a small part of the overall story.

The Fellowship of the Ring is based on the book and is called the “Official Game” by The Saul Zaentz Company, dba Tolkien Enterprises. And yes… it is obvious the game developers were inspired by the book rather than the movie. For instance the game includes characters, like Tom Bombadil, who were not even cast in the movie. If it was beyond any doubt, the developers could have created the game without the movie at all, it would have been real unique. Though, it would not have been of any interest to the majority of gamers.

The Story

It will probably not surprise you that The Fellowship of the Ring is about a hobbit’s attempt to safely carry a ring through a Middle-earth while avoiding his enemies. It begins with a cut scene providing the necessary background and introduces Frodo, Gandalf and Sam. If the gamer has neither read the book nor watched the movie, the introduction offers just enough information to whet the appetite. The storyline of the game focuses on the path of the ring-bearer. This means that the gamer will not be shunted to other parts of the story like, for instance, the tower Sauromon. Throughout the game, cut-scenes and a map of Middle-Earth are used to impart more information and follow Frodo’s path. The actual game in between the cut-scenes doesn’t add anything significant to the story, but the developers succeeded in finding a balanced alternation of storytelling and gameplay to prevent the game from becoming boring and predictable.

Gameplay

The gameplay is based on fulfilling quests. A sequence of quests must be completed to reach the next phase of the game. The quests are clear; no hard puzzle solving is required to understand what has to be done and fulfilling the quests is easy. If you choose the incorrect strategy, enemies will surprise you and you will die - often. Mostly you have to think forward and plan your next move carefully. Do you use stealth, distract your enemy, blindly attack or simply run as fast as you can? Each situation requires a different and unique approach. Fortunately you will find enough resources along your path to keep you healthy. Not only is it possible to save your game at any point and as often as necessary, but it is recommended to save after each hard part since your game will be restored to your last saving point when you die. However you can’t choose between characters during the game, it is predetermined whether you will play as Frodo, Aragorn or Gandalf; each of who has special skills and weapons. The game is a typical 3rd person and I found the controls of the game to be intuitive. The keyboard can be used to move forward, backward and steps sideward. Moving the mouse from left to right you can move your character into another direction while using the mouse buttons for weapons. No complex key combinations are required to make your moves.

Graphics

The game is an entirely three dimensional environment. Depending on your system resources it is possible to enhance aliasing, screen resolution and character details. The graphical techniques used are wonderful. Everything is textured in detail. Even if you get real close to an object the graphics don’t pixelate. The landscape is layered, so it actually gives the impression some mountains are closer than others. Clouds in the sky are moving and water in rivers is streaming. The sunset scene at Wheathertop is especially impressive. The developers managed to keep their eye on detail of the landscape from the beginning to the end of the game. Fog is only used to set the right ambience for the scene, not to cover the backgrounds. Much detail is given to all characters including enemies and not in the least “the Dark Riders”. The only negative is the that the background shadows of the characters are not strong enough so it seems they are floating over the ground.

Sounds

The sounds in the game are absolutely fabulous. Every scene is accompanied with orchestra music that fits perfectly with the scene. The quality of the sound is consistent throughout the game. Voiceovers are sufficient; Hobbits have a slight Irish accent, Gimli a slightly Scottish one and humans speak a bit of British English. Not exaggerated, but very appropriate for Middle-Earth. Dialogs are not too comprehensive, but enough to keep the storyline moving. Growls and moans during the fights are fitting without being annoying. Sound effects of different types of animals, draughts, streaming water and fireplaces are well done and believable. Footsteps sound different on different undergrounds.

Conclusion

Maybe for typical adventure gamers this game is not really a pure adventure game. But if you like action or role playing games, then The Fellowship of the Ring might not be what you are looking for either. But overall I had much pleasure in playing this game. Due to the immersive graphics and sounds, I was especially surprised by its ambience. If you have read the book or seen the movie you must remember the original sensation you felt. I think the game developers succeeded in recreating that exact feeling while playing. Let’s hope Surreal Software and Black Label Games will continue with the next two episodes of this game.

Final Grade: B-

System Requirements:

Minimum Requirements:
· 600 MHz Processor
· Windows 98/2000/Me/XP
· 128 MB RAM
· DirectX 8 compliant Video Card
(32Meg with single pass, multi-texturing and T&L)
· DirectX 8 compliant Sound Card
· DirectX 8.1b or higher
· 4X CD-ROM Drive
· Keyboard and mouse
· 800 MB Hard Drive Space

Recommended System:
· 750 MHz Processor
· Windows 98/2000/Me/XP
· 128 MB RAM
· GeForce 2 or greater
· DirectX 8 compliant Sound Card
· DirectX 8.1b or higher
· 8x CD-ROM Drive
· Keyboard and Mouse
· 800 MB Hard Drive Space

Copyright © 2003 Jerome for http://www.justadventure.com, all rights reserved.