Quick Facts:

Publisher: Universal Interactive

Developer:WXP

Format -XBox - Buy Now

Price - $49.99

Release Date - 24/09/02

Review of The Fellowship of the Ring on the Xbox by Cory Teague

Based on the literary works by J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three titles for the XBox and other consoles to make it's way to the homes of Tolkienites everywhere.

At first look the game is heavily scene based with multiple cinema animations to help you through your quest. Although the levels are pretty much set, the area in which you play makes for free gaming. The detail in this game put this title right up there with the big guns such as HALO and The Elder Scrolls.

You start off as Frodo and meet up with the rest of the Fellowship througout the game. Frodo has the stealth ability which is great for fighting orcs and uruk-hai. Aragorn is the second character you are able to control. Although the controls stick a little and if you are like me and you repeatedly hit the "hit" button, you will feel at times that the game won't let you swing your sword. Aragorn also has the ability to use a bow (which in my opinion is only helpful when you find computer glitches and the orcs or whatever can't see you).

Which brings me to my next topic. There are several computer glitches in this game. And it isn't hard to use them for your own good. The evil creatures will only attack you when you are close to them. Many times in the game you can run from them and slip behind a pole or tree and then step out from it and it will think you are still behind the pole. **There is one major computer glich that is the best way to help your cause, but you will have to find that one out yourself**

Next you get Gandalf, who is my favorite character to use. he has Glamdring which glows when enemies are around. (which is very helpful in new levels). He also has a vast array of magic to use that are incredibly well lit and detailed.

Since the game is based on the books there are many scenes that movie fans will not recognize but the book lovers will just eat up. The game focuses alot of Tom Bombadil in the early portion which again book fans will enjoy.

The main gameplay screen isn't too cluttered and the 360 degree viewing makes for quite an awesome experience.
When playing this game, the hours just float by and you are at peace (until the end) and don't get frustrated like most games. Don't get me wrong the game gets quite hard in some places (i.e. the reflecting light puzzle to get out of the mines of moria and the two main battles of the game), but unlike most games, the gameplay and details are so "magical" that you will love to lose to get another try at it.

The game also has another great feature in that you can save multiple times on different slots so that if you don't like your health somewhere but your mother is making you take out the trash or something you can save to a different slot just in case you can't get back to where you were when you stopped playing. This was a great feature for me.

So to sum up. If you are a fan of the book, you'll definitely want to keep an eye on this game. What I saw was like seeing the words ripped out of the pages and brought to interactive life on the Xbox.

I give this game an A+

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