365//365: Day 243 – Return of the King (GC) [Comparison Series]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been the inspiration for many video games and other related media. When Peter Jackson did a film adaptation of the cherished book series, movie goers went in droves, both new to the series, as well as long time fans. The franchise made such a huge splash in theaters and garnered so much positive press, that it was nominated for thirty Academy Awards, and won seventeen of those nominations, with Return of the King landing Best Picture. With the across the board success of Jackson’s film adaptation, the typical movie cash in video games were released. While The Two Towers and Return of the King followed closely to the movie and were published and developed by Stormfront Studios and EA, Fellowship of the Ring was based off the source material, as well as developed by a totally different company (Surreal Software) and published by Black Label Games. Will the first title, sticking closer to the source material, be the best of the bunch? Will the EA developed and published title Return of the King be the one to bring glory to your controller? Perhaps Two Towers, developed by Stormfront Studios, tower over its peers? One Game to rule them all, One Game to….ohh you know! Lets find out as the Comparison Series takes a look at the Lord of the Rings trilogy, from Fellowship of the Rings (PS2), The Two Towers (Xbox) and Return of the King (GC). As always, on the final day of the Comparison Series, a winner will be selected for Visuals, Audio, Gameplay and Replay Value, as well as the scores for each title, with an overall winner selected.

Today’s focus will be on The Return of the King on the Gamecube.

After a disappointing novel based adaptation, as well as a movie tie in to the first two Lord of the Ring films, it seems as if these once touted Lord of the Rings video games were a bit over-hyped. It seems as if this mighty trilogy was nothing but a bust in video game land. That is, until The Return of the King — the one Lord of the Rings title that manages to not only right many of the wrongs that the first two titles made, but add in something that was pretty much missing — enjoyment.

Lighting! Use of bright, drab-free colors! Return of the King manages to right the visual wrongs scribbled by The Two Towers.

Visually, Return of the King is above and beyond the first two titles combined, with some impressive texture work, stronger character models, cleaner animation and a world around you that literally feels alive. The same blend from cinema to in-game graphics occurs every so often, with a more impressive look to it. Backgrounds are no longer bogged down b a thick layer of darkness and muddy colors; even the darker toned stages have proper lighting and color treatment to them. There are some moments of slowdown when you’re really neck deep in enemies and you’re trying to finish them off, but it’s not substantial enough to ruin the flow.

The spine tingling musical score featured in the box office smash of the same name, makes an appearance here as well, as well as a better vocal performance across the board. Even the swordplay, arrow shots and magic blasts have a more quality laced tone to them. This audio performance augments the visual presentation so well, that you really do feel like you’re in the middle of each battle you’re partaking in, from the looks and sounds of it.

The gameplay contains quite a few improvements, however it’s still hampered by one massive fault that’s barely addressed — the camera. While The Two Towers’ lack of a controllable camera nearly plunged a sword into the heart of the experience, Return of the King manages to create better transitions between new segments of the map than the previous title. The problem is that it’s still a massive challenge in its self to catch an enemy on the screen when you desperately need to. They do not hide in the very corners, out of camera view anymore, but still manage to evade your field of view.

The playable cast of characters expands as you complete the game, although they really don't feel much different from each other.

Combat has received a boost in the form of a lenient AI and a more coherent parrying system. While most enemies are hard to parry due to their attack speeds, it’s infinitely more responsive and possible to perform them here. Combos, melee and ranged attacks feel a lot more natural and don’t meet with constant enemy parrying, making for more of a hack and slash experience. Having a host of playable and unlockable characters helps change up the look and mood, however the combat diversity between them is negligible.

It’s probably not a big shock to know that the video game version of Return of the King is the most enjoyable of the three, as the third movie was arguably the favorite of fans of the series. EA managed to craft together a title worthy of the license, for better or for worse. While the omission of any sort of camera control was a blow, the action packed into this disc, the rich detail and quality audio work does help lessen the blow. If you’re looking for a hack and slash with quality, definitely pick up a copy of Return of the King.

Who Won The Battle Of….

Visuals - Return of the King
The atmosphere around you is rich with detail in both scenery and character alike. While the light-hearted tone of Fellowship of the Ring held some commendable scenery, textures and character models needed work. The Two Towers had some major darkness issues that dimmed any hopes of winning this battle.

Audio - Return of the King
Fellowship of the Ring had some commendable musical pieces, though the vocals felt disjointed and rushed at times. The Two Towers had the iconic music, but the vocal performances in game suffered periodically. Return of the King felt direct and proper for the most part, from in-game voices to cut-scenes.

Gameplay - Return of the King
Clear cut winner. The AI wasn’t abusive nor lax. Combat felt fluid and engaging, without a hint of boredom.

Replay Value - Return of the King
From unlockable characters to a more enjoyable experience across the board, Return of the King has more incentive to rejoin the battle soon after you win. The boredom of Fellowship of the Ring and hare-brained AI antics of The Two Towers are off-putting enough to do a “one and done” with them.

Fellowship of the Ring Rating: 4.7
The Two Towers Rating: 5.5

….And The Winner Of This Comparison Series Is….

Return of the King Rating: 7.8
Final Notes

Who knew that the battle for Middle Earth would suffer in translation to the real of video gaming? Years ago, The Two Towers was touted as a success by many, however even for its time, it failed on many accounts. The Fellowship of the Ring had promise, thoguh the delivery seemed to have gotten lost in the mail. While Return of the King has some inherited issues from The Two Towers, it had a far and away better production value than the previous two games combined. It’s good to know that at least one game managed to capture enough of the Lord of the Rings universe into an enjoyable video game package.