All right, I’ll cut straight to the chase. If you have set aside $50 to buy
this game use the cash to pick up the excellent Platinum Series Extended Edition
DVD for about $25 and use the rest to get tickets for the Two Towers instead.
It’s not that Fellowship is that bad of a game, but there are just better
options for your donation to the Tolkien Estate.
Fellowship is based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien instead of the
blockbuster movie. This actually allows for more freedom in the story as it can
bring out elements, characters and places that are in the book but were left out
of the movie. For example, you visit the Ancient Forest and run across Tom
Bombadil. It is parts like this that true Ring fans will get a big kick out of.
There is something to be said about playing areas of the game that you can
remember from the book.
By
now everyone knows the general story line of Fellowship, so I won’t delve too
much into that. The game is kind of a mix between a stealthy adventure game and
an action game. In a way this is actually a weakness with the game trying to be
a jack-of-all-trades while not fully successful in either.
You play three of the main characters from the book Frodo, Aragorn and
Gandalf. Each of these have there own strengths. For example Frodo can be very
sneaky, Aragorn is excellent with swordplay and Gandalf the Grey is, as you
would fully expect, a wiz at…well, being a wizard. The game itself decides whom
you will be playing at any given time. I personally thought it would be nice to
make that type of decision myself and have the ability to unleash Gandalf
whenever I wanted.
You start off as Frodo in the Shire. This part of the game is the most
adventure-like. There are a couple of tasks you must complete with several
opportunities for very small side quests. This part is the freest section of the
game. But even this is pretty limited and this brings up a very big pet peeve of
mine. Few things are as frustrating to me in a game as seeing a wonderful open
field or hill that is just begging to be explored so I go running over only to
bump into the invisible wall! Come on developers, surely you can be a little
more creative in your level designs and avoid the embarrassment of having your
game character doing the Running Man dance! It just seems sloppy and looks to me
to be a sign of a rush job. Anyway, of all the characters Frodo is the most
agile and maneuverable with the ability to sneak (which I wonder how he is so
good with those big feet), jump, lift, etc. Frodo is also the keeper of The One
Ring to Rule Them All. Using The Ring, Frodo has the ability to become
invisible. This becomes a handy way to avoid being noticed and is also the only
way to discover some hidden areas. Naturally there is a price to pay for using
something this useful and here it is Frodo’s Purity. Used too much and Frodo
becomes completely corrupted thus ending the game. A major problem with this
feature of the game is that there just isn’t enough ways or opportunities in
regenerate Frodo’s Purity. As interesting as The Ring is, you can actually play
the entire game without even using it. That really takes away the mystic of the
all-powerful Ring.
Page 2 »
