The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring is a fun, if short, romp through the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is not related to either The Hobbit (by Sierra) or the Return of the King or The Two Towers (both by EA Games). It is a pretty straightforward action adventure with simple quests and relatively easy-to-defeat foes.

What to expect:
• On the "action to adventure" scale, this game is heavier on the adventure side with simple puzzles and quests. There is definitely some combat and stealth involved, but you will find nothing like the endless hordes of foes that you'd encounter in the other Rings titles. (I love those games, by the way, this is just a very different experience.)
• This is a 3D action adventure that uses typical navigation: Move the mouse to look around, click the mouse buttons to perform actions and fight, use the keyboard to move.
• You'll get to play as a number of different characters in sequences that more or less parallel the first book in the Rings trilogy.
• If you're familiar with Tolkien's books, you'll find that this game is often more faithful to the source material than the recent films, and you'll meet some characters that the film left out.

What's good:
• The general production of the game (graphics, music, acting, cutscenes) is rather high quality. Some of the environs are very pretty while still being stylistically distinct from the films. It was very cool to casually wander around Bag End and Hobbiton.
• While the diverse gameplay may be distressing to some, I rather enjoyed it. At one moment you might be doing a simple search-and-deliver quest, at another moment you might be attempting to sneak by enemies or neighbors unnoticed. The combat sequences present their own challenges, depending on which character you're playing, or the specific weaknesses of your foes.
• All dialog is voiced, and it's done pretty well.

What's bad:
• It's actually unfortunate that the levels in this game are so attractive and interesting, because there are a lot of "invisible barriers" that will keep you from exploring them very thoroughly. Usually you can only run down a specific path and are prevented from jumping fences or running through fields. I would have really loved to be able to roam more freely throughout the games various areas.
• Companion AI is somewhat spotty. There are different times when you are accompanied by important figures from the story, but your friends have a tendency to fall behind, and they don't always fight back when attacked.
• It's too short. It's funny, because when I think back about the game, there are a LOT of locations and neat things to do. I guess it was just so easy that it didn't take long to accomplish all the goals. So, the game doesn't take very long to play, but you'll do a whole lot of stuff along the way.
• There's a stealth sequence involving the Nazgul (the ringwraiths) that's easily the most difficult portion of the game- unfortunately, it happens very early on and might threaten to dissuade the casual gamer from continuing. My advice: Find a walkthrough perhaps, or just try a lot of different hiding spots- there are a number of ways to get past this part. It'll get easier and less frustrating soon after.

Difficulty (from Very Easy to Very Hard): Easy

My rating (from Very Bad to Very Good): Good

You will probably like this game if you liked these: The Hobbit, Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal

Ok, could you please tell me how to get through to the next stage of the Balrog scene. Gandalf has run out of ideas and his friends on the side-line are getting tired ...