A bit too linear. Unbalanced difficulty. But still a delight to play for all Lord Of The Rings fans.
Most RPG fans/gamers will immediately feel at home with the turn-based combat system. Battles become rather random at times, but many of them are avoidable with careful planning as you are warned in advance of each battle. Difficulty is a mixed bag. Battles with larger creatures can be as easy as two spell casts while a battle against a group of archer orcs can have you throwing your controller through you television. At times, your enemies will have the first strike, sometimes weakening you so much that you'll have no choice but to take the loss and pray that you saved before the battle.
The bosses are challenging. But once you learn their weaknesses, it's only a matter of systematic spell casting and item using to get the job done.
The game is very heavy on Gandolf speaches or "Epic Scenes". These will either annoy you or enrich your gaming experience; depending on how you view recycled footage from the motion picture. Luckily, you aren't required to view these. But they are cool to watch when you are bored or taking a break from actual gameplay (which is needed at times).
The leveling up of skills and attributes is right on target. No complaints there. The weapons/armor are charactor specific and will have a negative and possitive impact on your attributes.
*Graphics*
This game looks great on the GameCube (although I haven't played it on any other console). The charactor models are true to the stories and there is very little clipping going on. My only complaint is the repetitiveness of the action when attacking. You'll grow tired of seeing the same animation everytime you cast a specific spell. Some variation would have been nice.
*Sound*
This is really the great downfall of the game. Much of the dialog is a complete rip-off from the movies. Which can be a bit obvious at times. Almost to the point of ruining the credibility of the game's story. Many of the sound effects feel rushed and re-used. Although I will admit that the voice overs are well done. If you are playing the game with a 5.1 home theatre system enabled, you'll find that you could probably get the same experience from using a 2 channel system since the other channels aren't utilized.
*Value*
I suggest renting this game first. While this game is enjoyable, the story is very linear, which takes away from it's replay value. Since you'll want to have all of the items available (weapons, mostly) to complete the game, and since you are allowed to go back to areas that you have went through previously, you really won't have any reason to play this game again. Unless you just enjoy it that much, which I suppose isn't impossible.
*Overall*
Great game for Lord Of The Rings fans. Rent it first. Don't bother with turning on your 5.1 sound system.