Decide the Fate of Middle Earth
- NA release: 30th December 2002
- JP release: 14th February 2003
- EU release: 14th March 2003
- Developer: Stormfront Studios
- Publisher: EA (NA/EU), EA Square (JP)
- NGC Magazine: 68%
- Mods Used: Widescreen Hack


I don’t think any other game quite feels like a film-tie-in as The Two Towers does, which is both a strength and determent to this game. It uses the style of the movie, the menus fit the theme and there’s heavy usage of movie flips and bonus features, just like a DVD. While it ties in the game really well with the film, it also gives of a vibe that this is a Bonus Feature on the film’s DVD rather than a complete product.

As there was no game based on the Fellowship of the Ring film (the 2002 Fellowship game was based on the books), The Two Towers covers both films. As it’s a short game, it means you just get a few highlights with so much cut out – such as all emotional story moments. Frodo is essentially a background NPC you protect in two levels (and only in the first half of the game), while Sam, Merry and Pipin don’t have in-game models (you see the backs of their heads in one clip of the film). It further solidifies the feeling that it’s a bonus for the film rather than its own thing.

The gameplay is a decent hack-n-slash affair, and the visuals match the look of the film as well, although this can make it very difficult to see at times, especially with the impressive amount of enemies on screen at times. It is a bit amusing going back to the “film footage transitioning into in-game engine” cutscenes, but it was definitely impressive back in the day. You do have to play repeatedly if you want to level up, and it’s not advisable to swap characters (you choose between Aragon, Legolas and Gimli) in the middle of the game.

What lets the game down a lot are the Helms Deep levels, which are overly long slogs where you have to defend the castle in three levels. The first has you kicking down ladders which re-appear at such speed that it’s best to ignore the enemies. The second has you on your own dealing with wave after wave of orc (mostly explosive) to defend a door, while the last is defending a gate with a really annoying (and far too zoomed in camera.

Because of the narrative of the film, all three of these missions are the annoying type where you win the battle in the game, but then lose in the cutscene. It’s bad enough having it happen three times in a row, but when one of them is also the final level of the game, it’s pretty awful, especially with how difficult these missions are. You don’t get rewarded with a final mission where you actually win the fight – that mission is actually the start of the sequel game.

Still, this is a good way to relive a few moments from the films, and has a suitable spectacle to it, but it’s not really its own thing in any way. I also played this and its sequel when they were new, and The Return of the King improved things in so many ways.

Fine
It’s all about the money, folks. This game has been designed for mass-market consumption, and thus, it’s so simple and basic in execution that anyone could understand it. That doesn’t prevent it from offering some level of challenge. Neither does it mean that the game’s technically lacking. On the contrary; it’s beautiful, and very slick. It’s just devoid of inspiration, and has you constantly hovering at the edge of boredom.
Al Bickham, NGC Magazine #78
Remake or remaster?
It would be better to take Return of the King and create levels covering the first two films for that.
Official Ways to get the game
There’s no official way to buy The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
GameCube Games by Date
2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec