There’s no doubt that Lord of the Rings has carved a niche for itself not only in the fiction department but also in the hearts of many a J.R.R. Tolkien fan. From intense books to action trilogy, the franchise has evolved through the years and it seems like this rolling stone is not ready to hang its boots just yet especially in the gaming arena. After Electronic Arts finished enticing gamers with the video game versions of the acclaimed trilogy, Warner Bros. Interactive is ready to unveil its first Lord of the Rings entrant dubbed Aragorn’s Quest. Clearly aimed at appealing to families and younger gamers, we go forth to review the title that offers simple gameplay capabilities as well as back-to-the-basics swordplay and fighting antics.
But when games based on the trilogy comprising of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King have already been dealt with, what else can a JRR Tolkien fan expect? Well, not a lot actually as the previous inclusions such as Lord of the Rings: The Third Age and Conquest are already witness to that. In spite of this, what seemed to set this particular piece apart is its compatibility with the latest PlayStation Move which was the supposed reason cited for the game’s delay to Q4 2010. The fact that players could swing their PS peripheral around as Aragorn’s sword Anduril made this worth a try. Besides utilizing this accessory, the good old reliable PS3 controller could also be used. What further got a thumbs up from us is the fact that in co-op gameplay, both the players need not use the same accessory. One could employ the Move while the other could jump in wielding the controller as the weapon of choice.
The title in question here portrays various differences as compared to the earlier iterations in terms of gameplay, graphics and difficulty while not forgetting to mention limited playable characters. We would first like to tackle one main aspect of the game that caught us by surprise, the visuals. From the poor display of environments to the various fascinating characters, it seemed as if we were playing a prestigious LOTR title on the Nintendo Wii instead of the PS3. No doubt it was made to accommodate the introduction of the much-anticipated PlayStation Move, but we wonder why the company had to compromise on the graphic greats that the console was famously known for.
For a cartoony feel, yes the environments were pretty detailed but still very limited and restricted. We couldn’t venture too far into a river, or even enter random houses and had to stick to the path that was pre-determinately set out for us. Some tress, bushes, rocks and other knick-knacks strewn across the Middle Earth plains also seemed to simply just disappear as we neared or strode over them amounting to poor outlay of visuals. Not all of them could be destroyed even with the powerful sword. But on the whole, you can just spy the familiar PS3 aesthetics as the details involved in this epic have to some extent, been kept intact. Even through the primitive-like portrayal of characters, the faces of each were pretty true to the movie. And to compliment this further, the company has roped in the voice talents of actors Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies who lend their vocal brilliance to the characters they depicted in the LOTR movies namely Samwise Gamgee and Gimli respectively.
Being totally family-oriented, the game allows children and their parent or siblings to get together on one screen and vanquish the dark forces of Sauron while helping Frodo reach Mount Mordor safely. The tale of Aragorn’s escapades through the three episodes featured in the acclaimed fiction books is being relived and revisited by one of the Fellowship that accompanied the ring-bearer Frodo. Samwise, who is now mayor, narrates the king’s story to his little children who are named after his hobbit friends. One of them called Frodo Gamgee is the character that players take on as they explore the vast reaches of the Shire such as Bag End, Hobbition and Mushroom Woods. The atmosphere around the now-peaceful country was filled with gladness as the king and queen were scheduled to visit the humble realm.
The different stalls speckled around the Shire have tasks that must be mastered in order to successfully engage in battle during the actual game. You can try your hand at swordplay, shield wielding and bashing, horse riding combat and archery among others. Besides these, there is a lot to do around the Shire as well like helping the folk and playing with your little hobbit pals. Once small-play is complete or you feel like you’ve had enough of the cheerful inhabitants, you can run right up to the house to continue the story of Aragorn. There are eight stages in all to conquer with some of them being Flight to the Ford, Fangorn Forest, and Pelernor Fields.
Aragorn can perform a series of attacks with his trusty sword such as heavy and chain strikes. Through the D-Pad on the PS3 controller, we could gain access to Rohirrim spear, Elven bow, shield and Phial of Galadriel which aided us during the course of the game. We were further endowed with the ability to ‘Rally’ the forces and strengthen the allies as well as strike fear into enemies with the Horn of Gondor and Battle Cry respectively which brought back memories of Brutal Legend where similar game tactics were employed. Further helping him through tight spots are options in the pause menu such Equipment, Artifacts, Quests Map and Lore items. The Quests Map comes in very handy especially as it jots out perfectly just which lore items are strewn across the plains and their exact locations. Once the desired item is opted for, we were aptly directed towards the point by simply pressing down on the X button in order to find the correct path.
Coming to another aspect that made this game a treat was the inclusion of co-op gameplay where a friend or family member can join in as Gandalf. The only downside here was that the game seemed more like Gandalf’s Quest rather than Aragorn’s as he seemed to have cooler powers than the main protagonist himself while also having the ability to heal the king when death draws near. This aspect was however seen to be a bit inconvenient and would have been better if we could toggle between the two characters at least at certain points. Divulging now upon something that really struck a chord with us is the awesome soundtrack and audio inputs. Throughout the game, distinct sounds like the cock crowing, wolf howling and Middle Earth music could be heard resounding in the air which further added that extra oomph to the game.
The Final Word: Aragorn’s quest takes players through a journey from his days as Strider to him taking his rightful place as King of Gondor. The graphics however seem to be the major downside of this Lord of the Rings title that should have lived up to some of its past video game titles, the movie and book. Besides this, the music tunes were commendable and would certainly take a while to get out of our heads. Also aimed at younger audiences, the difficulty options could be easily amended. Apart from these, the true Lord of the Rings fan can catch an earful of lines and dialogues plucked right out from the movies especially where the King politely exclaims, ‘My Friend, you bow to no one’. In addition to the PS3 version, Aragorn’s Quest can also be enjoyed on the Wii, PSP, PS2 and DS.
Graphics: 6/10.
Game Sounds: 9.7/10.
Environments: 7.5/10.
Gameplay: 8/10.
Story: 8.5/10.
Replay Value: 9/10.
Overall (not an average): 7.8/10.