The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Xbox (2002)

Brief synopsis of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on XBOX is based closely on the plot of the first two massively popular '...Rings' feature films. The One Ring is now in your friend's hands and you have many choices to make. What character will you choose? Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn are all playable in this version, along with one secret, unlockable character. What tactics will help you survive the overwhelming forces of the Dark Lord Sauron and Saruman? These decisions are yours to make and yours to live with.

Venturing into Middle Earth is no longer safe for any Man, Elf, Dwarf or Hobbit. The ghoulish armies of the Dark Lord threaten to crush everything in their path. Experience and upgrade points are scored each time you kill one of Sauron's minions. There are four ratings of kills - Fair, Good, Excellent and Perfect - and the higher the skill meter, the better the kill rating, and the more points are gained. You can use advanced combinations to build up the Skill Meter, as long as you avoid being hit by enemies. Once a Perfect attack rating is achieved, the level of damage you can do is boosted for a limited period and experienced gained is doubled.

Set across nine different environments, each of the 13 levels in The Two Towers will be instantly familiar to those who have seen the film. The way the game opens is something of a surprise, no matter how many times you've read or been told about it. The black bars at the top and bottom of the screen disappear pretty quickly and you're plunged into the action. From here on in, it's a procession of battles, cut-scenes and film footage, played out to the majestic Howard Shore score.

One ring to rule them all? Hmm, this may well be one game to rule the roost in 2002's festive season and beyond