LOTR: Tactics review (unbiased and well informed)
THE GOOD: Unlike other tactics games where you move one character at a time, you move all of your characters during a single movement phase by setting waypoints. When you finish the phase and your characters move, the enemy units move at the same time so plan your movements carefully. There is also a “zone of control” which means that if you occupy and adjacent square to an enemy unit, it is nearly impossible to break away from them unless they let you go. These two mechanics make for some very interesting game play if you like a little spice added to your traditional tactics game. The graphics don’t soar but are slightly above average for the PSP hardware. The audio was gutted from the movies so when Frodo gets an arrow to the dome, it sounds like Elijah Wood is there getting face slapped (and is really funny).
THE BAD: You are not allowed to choose which characters you can use in the levels (except for a small handful of ‘optional’ levels). This would be forgivable if not for the fact that you are never allowed to choose the placement of your units inside the level. This may not sound bad but try to imagine entering a game of chess 7 moves in that somebody already made for you. Instead of playing your own game, you’re playing the game that they want you to play and that is what it feels like throughout most of the game. The character models were obviously ripped straight from LOTR: The Third Age and Return of the King and the clipping between the characters and the landscape varies from barely noticeable to your unit practically disappearing into a mountainside. The cut scenes in the game are shamefully cut/paste straight from the movies rather than even making an attempt to make some interesting CG movies. To buy items and upgrades you will find yourself playing the same levels multiple times. Oh, and don’t think you won’t want to smash your PSP against the wall at the number of times your attacks will miss or that your opponent will block, grrr…
WORTH BUYING? The multiplayer is hands down the best part of the game. If you have a couple of other friends willing to get the game and put in 20+ hours of game play to max out the levels on all of their characters, the 4 player melee is actually very good and you can have some great battles! Unfortunately, this makes the single player only worth playing to buy items and weapons to play against your friends. Draw your own conclusions but don’t dive head first into this game expecting Final Fantasy Tactics caliber because you’ll find yourself hitting the bottom of the pool much sooner than expected.