Following the storyline of J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Fellowship of the Ring, this third-person action/adventure lets you play as part of the fellowship on a journey from the Shire to the River Anduin. Faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien's epic masterpiece, the game allows you to explore the massive environments of Middle-earth while solving puzzles and fighting enemies like Orcs, Black Riders, and an evil Balrog in the quest to destroy the fabled One Ring of Power.

Playable characters: Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf are all playable, each with their own unique characteristics.

Huge environments: Many regions to explore including, The Shire, Old forest, Bree, Moria, and Weathertop.

Epic storyline: Beautiful 3-D cinematic cut scenes deliver key story elements.

Favorite characters: Favorites from the story appear in the game including Tom Bombadil, Farmer Maggot, Old Man Willow, and the Balrog.

Movie-quality production: The professional voice acting and facial animation system brings each character to life.

Average Customer Review: ( 100 customer reviews )
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For starters, the game is based on the book and not on the New Line movie. As a consequence, you will find a number of story elements in the game that were not in the movie, such as the Old Forest, Tom Bombadil, and the Barrow Downs. The novel has been expertly translated into a 3rd-person action adventure, and there is a lot more action in the game than actually occurs in the book.

In this game, Middle Earth has been faithfully rendered (under the watchful eye of Tolkien's estate) by the talented 3D modelers, graphic designers, animators, game designers, and developers at The Whole Experience. The first thing that really struck me was the sheer beauty of the game -- the score, the environmental details (run through a pile of leaves just for fun), the textures, the fluid character animation. Some of the more interesting elements of the book also shine in the game. For example, the sense of foreboding, fear, and deadly seriousness constrasted with the light-hearted nature of the hobbits. The Black Riders are quite intimidating, especially at first. And there are climactic moments in the Barrow Downs that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The One Ring, of course, plays a large role in the game. When used, the world changes, becoming shadowy and revealing secret areas of the game. The tension between the advantages and cost of using the ring creates interesting tradeoffs.

The gameplay is 3rd-person, similar to the Tomb Raider series. When you are targeting something with a ranged weapon (like a rock or a bow and arrow), it switches temporarily to first person. In each section of the game, you play as either Frodo, Aragorn, or Gandolf. The three characters are substantially different in their capabilities. Frodo is presented as an agile hobbit with plenty of jumping, leaping, climbing, etc. He's not great in melee combat, but excels at thrown projectiles. Aragorn is an impressive warrior, as well he should be. Playing Aragorn is empowering, with a thrilling and deadly sequence of sword strokes that makes him the best at melee combat. Gandolf can also fight well with a sword, but his primary weapon is magic, and he's got a cool set of spells he can cast to vanquish his enemies.

Of course, the game is not only (or even primarily) combat. In addition to general exploration and adversaries, there are a number of well-designed puzzles to be solved. Some of them are potential stumpers, I suspect.

In short, there is nothing earth-shatteringly new from a gameplay perspective. Nevertheless, the game excels as a wonderful and emotive adaptation of a much beloved book.

31 of 35 found the following review helpful:

Great story/animation, poor game BIG disappointment for xboxSep 29, 2002
By forrie
JRR Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings - Book 1 'The Fellowship of the Ring' storyline is closely followed in this Xbox adaptation (allows some Xbox magic with great sound track, music & above average graphics). The animation sequences between scenario runs are delightful with audio dialogue. The whimsical artwork used was nice, aimed at the younger audiences to reduce the blood/gore, slash/gash & the frightening darken minions of the Dark Lord.

That ends this great attempt to make a great game from the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time. Peter Jackson's movie trio lives up to JRR Tolkiens work with a few film adaptations to make each film a stand alone art form.

Summary; This game is best reviewed in the PROS vs CONS format to best describe the game players expectations of this XBOX game.

PROS - The background music is awesome. The animation sequences of the characters is quite good (great transition between scenarios). The characters voices & dialoque are very effective to the story being told. The games storyline is true to the author. You can SAVE OFTEN (and you must!!!!).

CONS - LONG & FREQUENT Game BOOT (loading) between scenarios. NO Middle Earth Maps to be used. NO mapping or auto mapping features (as in MORROWIND) (you must memorize quickly or die). This means NO REFERENCING for location. NO GOING BACK or EXPLORING. Limited Inventory features. THIS IS ONLY A CONTINUOUS SLASH/GASH GAME. You only play FRODO, STRIDER & GANDALF at specific check points (NO OPTIONS). (for example; Frodo from start to BREE. STRIDER from BREE to RIVENDELL etc. no other choices) LIMITED path advance (NO ROAMING as in MORROWIND). ONLY FRODO USES STEALTH. STRIDER & GANDALF MUST FIGHT or RUN or be KILL by EVERYONE (this is NON-STOP). Almost everything is resolved by killing, destroying or dying. (again only FRODO can use stealth). You must move quickly or die!! You must CONSTANTLY search for food, health & magic potions (this distracts the game player from reaching specific scenario goals). VERY FEW rest points to enjoy the game. CANNOT STOP or GO BACK AND EXPLORE MIDDLE EARTH!!

These are only the most frequent perks & annoyances while playing this game. It is to bad so much effort went in, the basic game is there, but the features are to limited to make this a [current price] must have Xbox library game. If you want detail, free roaming, the ability to be cunning, a great investment would be "MORROWIND".

I am truly disappointed in this Xbox games attempt to tell the "CLASSIC" JRR Tolkien "Fellowship of the Ring" story. See the movie, skip or rent the game. ENJOY.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Intellectual Game which sticks to the original storyJun 23, 2004
By Richie
To begin, this game is not for those who cannot problemsolve, by themselves. This is not a puzzle game, but you do need to explore in order to get to the next level. Unlike the second two movie-like games, this isn't a rambo style 'kill'em all game' but a true hobbit's game.
If you can get to this point in the review, you will probably like this game. It sticks to through the original chapters of the story, such as the Old forest, Tom Bombadil, Barrow Wights, and many othe small intricasies of the original Tolkien novel.
The warning, I say once again, is you need to figure things out on your own. Watch out for the shadow of the black riders!

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

The melding of two great nerd loves: video games and LOTRSep 27, 2002

I just finished playing two hours of the new Lord of the Rings game.

Wow.

Few times have I been so moved by a game. Grand Turismo 3, Ico & Grand Theft Auto 3 on the PS2 moved me deeply. Munch's Oddysee, NFL 2K3 and Max Payne on the Xbox rocked me.

But LotR floored me.

I've played two hours and haven't even left the Shire. I've met so many characters, walked around just in awe. Inside and out! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like once I get into the quest.

Graphically...well, this is the reason I bought an Xbox. I love my PS2 but there is *no way* the game could look this good on it. The textures, character movements and landscapes are simply stunning. Stunning. I stood on a little hill and looked off into the distance - there was no fog, no pop-ups, just mountains. Beautiful mountains. Did I mention the character movements? There is nothing, I repeat nothing, on Earth like looking at Frodo walk around. It is exactly how I pictured him moving. His shoulders moving one way, his little cape going another. It's amazing. I can't say enough about the look of this game. Too bad this isn't an Xbox exclusive (PS2 will get this in October) because if it was, it would definitely be a reason to buy the system.

As far as gameplay goes, it's actually pretty standard. Your basic "get a mission, fulfill it and get some kind of reward" type of play. Nothing groundbreaking there. But that's not what I expected. What I expected was to be immersed in the world of LotR, and in that sense it pays off in spades. Spades, I tell you.

What's amazing is that it captures perfectly the mood of the book. There is that sense of whimsy combined with a sense of impending doom that is unbelievably tension building. And I've not even encountered the Wraiths yet! I can't imagine what it will be like when I get into the "action" part of the game. I get dreamy when I realize that Bombadil, Rivendell, Moria and Lothlorien await me.

Simply put, amazing. I'd say get the Xbox for the graphics, but if that's not possible then definitely get this baby when it comes out for the PS2.

You have hours and hours of neglect (for the outside world) awaiting you. And that's a good thing.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Disappointment in Middle EarthDec 30, 2002

Notice all the 5-star reviews from 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old gamers? Not a coincidence. This 28-year-old gamer found this title SERIOUSLY wanting.

Like others, I was excited about this game. Also like others, I'd seen ads for The Two Towers game, and assumed this was the prequel. MAN was I disappointed.

This game is a poor attempt to shoehorn an adventure game onto Tolkien's narrative. Playing it is like being on rails--no freedom in where you go, what you do. Most of the time, you walk along a path that you can't leave, both narratively and in some cases literally.

The combat is sluggish and repetitive, and the tasks are annoying and boring. It's almost like the developers said, "The player already knows where we're going to end up, so let's give them lots of stupid, trivial things to do in order to get there." In fact, I found myself thinking in terms of game design a LOT. "Ok, it looks like I ought to be able to jump over that, but I can't. They must be telling me this is the end of the road in this direction..." Good games don't make you think this way.

Enemy AI is BONE STUPID. You can lob stones at the spiders from a point far enough away that you don't trigger them. Enemies get stuck on corners or things protruding from the walls, and you can pummel them with impunity. I guess to a 10-, 11-, or 12-year old gamer, this can easily be confused with "fun".

Voice acting is uneven at best. Graphics are ok, but not what you'd call X-Box showcase quality. The game looks like a literal port from one of the "lesser" platforms, with one exception: the X-Box's pixel-shaded water. Which, sad to say, looks strangely out of place next to the graphics quality of the rest of the game.

The only bright spot of this game is the soundtrack. The music is very well done, and blends the dispair, fear, and triumph of Tolkien's world very nicely with the action in the game.

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