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Could have been great, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm a fan of the LotR's movies and really adore EA's Battle for Middle Earth 2. Return of the King has all of the earmarks of a great game, but is crippled by a few unpardonable flaws. I recommend it only to the most fanatical fans of the movies/books and those who have the patience to wrestle with this very frustrating game.

Gameplay: I think this game is best played with a gamepad, although it can be played with keyboard and mouse. It's the usual button-smashing adventure game. You get to fight battle sequences from the movies as one of the major good-guy characters (Aragon, Frodo, Gandalf, etc.). The game has some light role-playing elements such as leveling up and gaining new abilities. However, it is primarily an adventure game involving killing a lot of orcs. It's good, mindless fun for a while until you realize how many times you are replaying levels due to the difficulty. I'm not great at these kinds of games, but I'm pretty decent and persistent. But the difficulty of this game (even on "easy") is just outrageous. It wouldn't be so bad if you could save the game whenever you wanted or if the checkpoint saves were more frequent. But no. You could play though 20 minutes of gameplay and kill 199 orcs. However, because you didn't get orc #200, you have to restart the level again. I must have replayed the level with Aragon and the undead king over 30 times, and still couldn't beat it. It just makes no sense. I'm not one to give up on a game easily, but this one just became a chore by mission 4 or 5. A pity since it was quite fun in the beginning.

Graphics: Looks really good and captures the spirit and mood of the movies. The cutscenes are straight from the movies and blend in well with the gameplay. Character models are dated by today's standards, but still look decent. The camera is very erratic and can easily make the game much harder by swinging around to some funky angle. And you have no control over it at all.

Sounds: Everything is in order here. Great background music from the movies, voice acting is spot on, and special effects are believable.

Technical issues/documentation: Thin, but functional manual. The game was perfectly stable on my computer, although I never finished it. Overall, a well polished game.

Value: If you can get it for $10 or less, it might be worth a try. I would suggest playing the demo first, although it is easier than the game itself. Again, be forewarned: this is a very frustrating game due to the absence of a real save system. If you don't mind replaying a mission 5-50 times, go for it. Otherwise, save your money and time.

Pros:
+good production values
+nice graphics, music, and voice acting
+action can be intense and very reminiscent of the movies

Cons:
-absolutely ridiculous difficulty, even on "easy"
-no real save system to speak of

This game rocks worth the money

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is easy to learn the controls and master after a fashion. It is not just hacking and slashing through orcs and other bad guys, you actually have to strategise a bit and look for some help from your surroundings but all in all a pretty interesting game. I have not gone very far in the game but it is one of the best games I have ever played. IF you lose a few times just pick it up and try again

Waste of time

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: July 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Game has average graphics (I've seen better though), but that's about it. Gameplay is repetitive and becomes annoying quickly. You spend more time watching the storyline movies than playing the game. Very little flexibility in the game's plot and settings. An overall disappointment to say the least...

THIS IS A GREAT GAME!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games I've ever played. I know some people say it's too difficult, but it's actually not too bad once you get used to it. You'll have to have some strategy too, because hacking and slashing all the time isn't going to work. For example, in Escape From Osgiliath, your goal is to run away, not stand and kill orcs. In that level, if you're out in the open, there's a timer and if you take too long to find shelter, you die. Using combos is a good idea too, especially with the King of the Dead. I was stuck for a while on that level, as it's one of the harder levels. So I found out that I could use combos! So I kept using Orc Hewer and soon beat him! Orc Hewer is one of the best combos available. You can use it to get to perfect mode quickly. Yes, the keyboard controls are a bit cumbersome, so a gamepad is recommended, but it's not neccesary, because I beat the game without one. Overall, this is a great game, and anyone who's a LOTR fan should buy this game!

CHEATS DONT WORK ON LAPTOP

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: December 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

IF you are playing this game on a LAPTOP and you beat the game you now have access to the cheat codes. You are supposed to hold in the Left SHIFT CTRL and ALT and then punch corresponding numbers to use the cheats but on a LAPTOP when holding down SHIFT it makes the numbers become the symbols and you can't make it work. Its frustrating. i even had the NUM LOCK on and it still doesnt work. i think for inputting cheats they could have came up with something better in case of people installing the game on their LAPTOP.

Exceptional gaming experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Granted, "The Return of the King" by EA Games is no Myst. It is not complicated to play. It does not puzzle your brain. It is fairly straightforward and easy to beat. What makes this game so special is not the thought or skill required to beat it. What makes this game special is the plane quality of it. The graphics are beautiful and the action is rendered exceptionally well. The controls are easy to use and the combo moves simple to learn. The levels are true to the movie and the book -- everything from the Fields of Pelennor to Mount Doom. The voice acting is excellent. The only downside is that the movie cut scenes that divide up each level get a tad on the annoying side and are the main culprit in the massive installation size, but they do add an "official" air to the whole game.

For the price, this game is definitely worth checking out. It's certainly not the thinking man's game, but it's still enjoyable to play. Again, very well put together and, while system requirements are on the high side, most newer systems should be able to run it well.

Great Game - Easy to Play

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm not a gamer (AT ALL) but bought this game on a whim and LOVED IT. I was worried that it wouldn't work on my computer (a 2-year-old Dell with no sort of gaming gear except a large hard drive) but it worked fine!
It's easy to play and entertaining over the long term. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of LOTR - whether you're into gaming or not!

friggin awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: July 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

i know this isnt helpful to anyone, but i want to brings this games rating up. it deserves 5 stars.

The second best game in the world

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: February 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is one fun game! I could play it for 9 hours. The graphics are good. I think that the levels are cool.One problem is that some of the stuff didn't happen.I wish the orc bodies didn't dissapear.It would make it look more like real life.

The second best game in the world

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: February 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is one fun game. The graphics are good,and the combos cool.I could play 9 hours of this.The only probelem is that some stuff actuelly didn't happen. I like Aregorn the best. But I wish the orc bodies wouldn't dissapear.

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