LOTR: The Return of The King - two things never seen before

Alex · October 31, 2003, 23:39

It seems that the newest game based on the LOTR movie trilogy is actually good, and its PC port is both a good port (this is incredible) and a reasonable product derived from a movie (this is even more incredible, just look at Enter the Matrix).

I still find it hard to believe that they did both things right.

Here is the Gamespy review.

Has anyone played it?

Verto · November 1, 2003, 20:47

I played the demo and realized after about 5 minutes it wasn't worth the download. Just taking advantage of the LoTR name and fame.

vovan · November 1, 2003, 23:02

Downloaded and played the demo... You know what it awfully reminded me of? This new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. Maybe I missed something, but just like in that demo, I ended up mashing the two attack buttons mostly, and also the space to finish off those enemies that I knocked down. Other than that, I felt it was the same old arcade beat-em-up fun. Pretty good stuff, though I wouldn't buy the full game.

My 0.02

Space05us · November 2, 2003, 01:34

i played a lotor game on ps2 which sucked massive amounts of donkey, and promised myself I would never play another lotor game EVER.
also
after watching the "first" lotor movie and deciding it brought shame to the books name I decided i would never watch them again EVER

centrifuge · November 4, 2003, 13:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Space05us
also
after watching the "first" lotor movie and deciding it brought shame to the books name I decided i would never watch them again EVER

Oh come on

they are great movies. I've read the books, and granted the movies don't follow as well as they should, and aren't quite on par with the books

...but I for one am eagerly awaiting the next movie.

Alex · November 4, 2003, 15:05

Quote:

Originally posted by centrifuge

...but I for one am eagerly awaiting the next movie.

me too. and know what? the movies are better than the books. but don't tell other people I said that

rah · November 4, 2003, 15:08

lord of the mark · November 4, 2003, 15:50

Civ2 scen designers did pretty decent LOTR games before the movies ever came out. Dont know why someone cant come up with a decent commercial game.

And no the books were better. But the movies were quite good, and worthwhile works in their own right.

Asmodean · November 4, 2003, 15:55

I probably wont play this one either. Not because movies almost never make good games, but because it is the wrong genre.

I play almost exclusively TBS nowadays.

Asmodean

vovan · November 4, 2003, 16:39

Actually, I've played the demo a couple more times, and I quite like it. I normally am not a big fan of action games or button-mashing fun - not any more any way, but this one was fun. A big reason was the ability to interact with the environment. I had much fun first luring a bunch of orcs into the corridor on the far right and then hacking away at the columns untill the whole horde of them got buried under the collapsed ceailing. And then, going to the very entrance to the fortress, grabbing the torches, and piercing the cave trolls with them.

Sweet stuff.

Although I have a little question:

What do the indicators on the bottom of the screen mean? The very bottom bar is health. But then, what is the bar just above it, and what is the ring to the right? I figure the ring to the right is some kind of combo-meter? Since when I start slashing away, it starts growing. But then here is the question: what does it mean when it gets full and starts glowing blue? Can I do something really cool when that is the case? And if so, what do I press?

Finally, I still couldn't figure out how to do range attacks.

I know Gandalf can shoot from his staff, but how?

Anybody know?

Tuberski · November 5, 2003, 21:06

Quote:

Originally posted by Space05us
after watching the "first" lotor movie and deciding it brought shame to the books name I decided i would never watch them again EVER

You aren't old enough to remember the "first" LOTR from the '70's, are you?

THAT movie brought shame to the books, these movies are a big step up.

ACK!

Grumbold · November 6, 2003, 07:22

I was quite impressed with it at the time. So far as I recall it was more faithful to the plot, at least, even if the animation was nothing like modern digital standards.

I'm really hoping for a 21st Century remake of the War of the Ring strategy game. Total War style, Panzer General style, anything as long as its a serious wargame !!

FrustratedPoet · November 6, 2003, 10:17

There's an LOTR real-time strategy game coming out that uses the Warcraft III engine. Not the same thing, I know, but it might be worth checking out the demo when it's released.

CapTVK · November 6, 2003, 14:12

You could try Melbourne House's War in Middle Earth.for the Amiga. Old I know, but probably one the first RTS games that captured the war of the ring in its splendor.

GhengisFarb™ · November 6, 2003, 14:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex
and know what? the movies are better than the books.

They are, but the books were kinda lame. Even JRR Tolkien said his books sucked. That a fairly "in the know" critique.

centrifuge · November 6, 2003, 14:23

Quote:

Originally posted by GhengisFarb

They are, but the books were kinda lame. Even JRR Tolkien said his books sucked. That a fairly "in the know" critique.

Authors are almost always their own biggest critics...

I'll reiterate, I love the movies, they are great!! ... but the books are next to impossible to put down, which makes them
even better... as I'm sure that no one can argue that it is easier to "get into" a movie than a book.

I think that the fact that the books are still being read after all of these years (they were first published in the '50's if I remember correctly) stands as testimony as to whether they sucked or not.

reds4ever · November 6, 2003, 14:34

Quote:

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Dont know why someone cant come up with a decent commercial game.

Because most games based on flims have very tight release window and get rushed as a result

hexagonian · November 6, 2003, 14:47

Great books, better movie... (I do not think I'll ever be able to pick up the books again, and I cannot say that about any other movie adaptation of a book that I have seen) The movies eliminated all of my dislikes of the books, and the alterations in the movie (with the exception of Frodo/Faramir/Osgiliath) were improvements.

Though I will be able to read 'The Silmarillion' and 'The Hobbit' again...

Sorry, thought this thread was about my 'War of the Ring CTP2 Mod'

DrSpike · November 6, 2003, 19:49

I very much doubt the game is any good.........it doesn't need to be, since it can just exploit the popularity of the films/books.

Jamski · November 6, 2003, 21:23

Quote:

There's an LOTR real-time strategy game coming out that uses the Warcraft III engine. Not the same thing, I know, but it might be worth checking out the demo when it's released.

This looks so awful and cartoony :vomit:

Quote:

I very much doubt the game is any good...

Of course it won't be - its another hacking stuff game, and you already know how the story ends

-Jam

vovan · November 6, 2003, 22:50

Yeah, I played the WC3 clone LOTR game demo... I thought it was horrible... The biggest turn off was the fact that it showed so much that it was a clone.

Grumbold · November 7, 2003, 12:39

Since I got bored of WC3 somewhere in the 2nd campaign and uninstalled it, I doubt a ME clone would do much more than drive me to drink.

War in ME was the game I was thinking of....I had it for the Spectrum or Atari ST years ago. I'd like something a little more meaty these days. Even the old SPI boardgame was more complex. I used to enjoy playing Saruman in that and hoping for one good opportunity to snatch the Ring for myself.