Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
December 13, 2002
For years the universe created by J.R. Tolkien in his world renowned Lord of the Rings trilogy has existed solely on paper. Recently, thanks to Peter Jackson’s recent blockbuster film based on the first book in the trilogy, Tolkien’s majestic work is getting the mainstream attention it deserves. Both Electronic Arts and Black Label Games now seek to let gamers feel what it is like to be the characters on their adventure, but as EA took the cinematic license on which to base its game, Black Label Games decided to stay more true to the original text. The Lord of the Rings trilogy set the benchmark for all fantasy novels to come. The critically acclaimed movie brought that fantasy to life. But Black Label Games’ The Fellowship of the Ring struggles to hold even a flicker of the brilliant flame passed on by these great works.
The groundwork for the game has already been laid by Tolkien. Now comes the challenge of condensing an entire novel into an entertaining game. While Black Label Games made a valiant effort and included some well-scripted CG scenes, the story comes off as dreary and non-interactive. Long periods of endless walking in a world that appears to be vast but is diminished to one linear path and few truly differing enemies give this title a dull finish. Fans of adventure games similar to the PC series King’s Quest may find The Fellowship of the Ring somewhat interesting, at least the beginning and end. The story begins from the perspective of the least likely of heroes: a hobbit named Frodo Baggins. Along the journey you will meet all the characters mentioned in the chronological order they are found in the book, even the movie-cut Tom Bombadil sequence. You will also be able to play as the defender of the ring-bearer, Aragon; and the guide of the ring-bearer, Gandalf the Grey, when you meet them. The beginning of the story has Frodo trying to get out of the Shire. There are a number of optional side quests and interesting characters to chat with, but, sadly, this is the exception and not the rule of the game. Once this stage is over, the path is a long monotonous one until you reach the puzzle-filled caves of Moria.
From the start, The Fellowship of the Ring looks pleasing to the eye, but as time is spent playing, quirks and oddities begin to stand out. Frequent graphical errors can be found throughout maps, and the camera becomes a serious nuisance, especially in battle. In tight spots, it will get caught on the head or directly behind the back of the character, forcing you to move into wider spaces to fixate it properly. CG cutscenes move the story along, and they are pretty well done. Characters repeat motions, but facial expressions are humors, particularly when they have to sing. Video-looking scenes gift you once in a while when certain parts of the story are reached. Lighting and bump-mapping are are present and utilized quite nicely.
Thankfully each character (Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragon) are controlled the same. While they all have special abilities, the standard attack, block, jump, and cycle buttons remain the same. There are easily accessible inventory and weapon menus which store any and all items and weapons found by each character. Life bars are clearly seen in the corner of the screen for the controlled character, but for Frodo and Gandalf there is a second meter. For Frodo, this is a purity meter. The more he uses the ring, the closer he gets to corruption (aka death). Purity can, supposedly, be regained by acts of kindness and valor, but this is either too far between occurrences or too minor to really notice. The advice is to use the ring sparingly from start to finish. Gandalf’s second bar is a magic/spirit meter. Each spell cast by the wizard drains this bar, but it can easily be refilled by finding Miruvor. Frodo also has the ability to sneak. Right below his life bar is a circle. This circle changes color when enemies are nearby. Green indicates that Frodo has not been noticed and is successfully sneaking; yellow is a caution that someone or something has seen Frodo and is aware of his presence; and red is “get ready to fight”.
AI and enemy variety are greatly lacking in The Fellowship of the Ring. There are basically two types of enemies (minus miscellaneous bats and bees): melee enemies and ranged enemies. Though there are end bosses that take a little longer to kill, there isn’t any difference of intelligence or tactics. Each foe attacks the same and, regardless of type, feels to have the same hit points. The target indicator allows you to attack a specific enemy; however, this doesn’t help you eliminate targets quicker, but, instead, opens you up to take more damage from nearby enemies as you focus on one.
The music draws you into this Middle-earth universe with light flutes and smooth orchestrated numbers. Only when the characters break out in song do you cringe?Ķor laugh out loud. Sound-effects are appropriate and fit the occasion, and the voices are admirably good. The acting is convincing with hints of local accents.
Of course with this type of game there is little to no replay value at all. There aren’t any different difficulty settings (which, logically, there shouldn’t be) with only the few secrets hidden about offering any need to play through the adventure again.
Overall, Black Label Games’ The Fellowship of the Ring doesn’t bring the enthusiasm and exciting depth that Tolkien breathed into his trilogy. Lackluster AI, a restricting linear path through the heart of the vast Middle-earth world, and problematic graphics hamper this great journey. Given that it is tough to condense such a lengthy novel into an enjoyable, The Fellowship of the Ring still only offers merely a mediocre adventure at best should you take away the name and history behind it.
CVG Report CardLord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Rating: C
Platform: PC
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