J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers

The Lords of the Rings, vol. 2 is a continuation of the 1990 cRPG game, based on the plot of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings", or more precisely its second part, entitled "Two Towers". The player gets acquainted with the current events after the break-up of the Ring Team and starts the game by taking control of Legolas, Gimil and Aragorne, who chase a band of Saruman's orcs.

As in the original, the action is not only limited to the events from the book, but is also enriched with other, imaginary threads and side tasks. The latter are commissioned by NPCs we meet along the way. For example, a Dunharrow soldier is looking for Saruman's agent who murdered his brother. If a player decides to help him, the warrior will join the team for a moment and will take part in the task, increasing the combat capabilities of the group at the same time. The side tasks are not essential for the main theme, but they add a great colour to the well-known history. In addition to Legolas, Gilmlie and Aragorn, the player will also be able to play the other members of the Ring Team: Sam, Frodo, Pippin, Merry and Gandalf. The game is divided into several parts. If we perform the task for each of them, we automatically move to the next one.

The problem of team control has been solved in an interesting way. We manage only one character and the rest obediently follow us. When we need to use the skills of a specific hero, we activate him and do what we need to do. Controlling in combat takes into account all of the team's characters at once and you don't have to worry about their selection. The battle part is divided into rounds, in which enemies are attacked one by one.

Our heroes are described by six coefficients. In addition to the traditional and necessary for combat, such as stamina, strength, dexterity and happiness, there is also a level of willpower, which determines to what extent the heroes are resistant to the influence of evil, including the ring. In addition, there are about 25 special skills that our characters can get during the game, e.g. by training with a specific NPC. Since this is a cRPG game, there was also a lot of spells, divided into several groups.

In terms of graphics, only minimal corrections were made and the game is practically no different from its precursor. The action is presented in a top view, as in the Alien Breed or Gauntlet series. By right-clicking, you have access to a number of icons that you can use to issue commands. You can talk to the characters you meet and ask them questions by entering keywords. This is the biggest drawback of the game, because sometimes it is difficult to find the right phrase to move the action forward. Generally, the second part of the story of The Lord of the Rings, the Interplay programmers succeeded. It is a pity that it was never decided to release the last installment of the series, which would close the product in a complete trilogy.

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Last updated on August 14, 2015