The LOTR: The Two Towers game, despite the name, is actually based on the first two Peter Jackson movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. It begins with a condensed version of the opening prelude from the Fellowship Of The Ring movie which explained the history of the rings and showed Sauron's defeat at the hands of Isildur. Actual video footage of the battle at the base of Mt. Doom begins the story and is masterfully transformed into CG FMV which then also smoothly changes straight into the first gameplay segment.

This opening level sees you fighting off waves of Orcs with your fellow troops as Isildur whilst all around you flaming boulders from the volcano crash into the ground, occasionally taking out the odd enemy or two. Immediately you feel like you've been dropped right in the deep end but it's only the introductory level and a bit of furious button-mashing will bring success. After the initial action the game changes back to FMV as Sauron arrives on the scene and then smoothly again to actual film footage as Isildur is knocked to the ground before making his last desperate sword swipe to remove Sauron's fingers and the ring they hold. It's then back to FMV showing Aragorn, Isildur's heir riding off on horseback before the first Mission Results screen appears, but more on that later.

It's this kind of wonderfully stylish presentation that really give this game a believable interactive feel like no other game in the genre has quite managed till now. What we're actually witnessing here then is finally a movie licence game that ISN'T like all others before it. This one is quality all the way from it's inclusion of good movie footage (including some scenes from the yet-to-be released The Two Towers movie) to it's brilliant, smooth transformations between this, CG FMV and gameplay.

On the subject of movie tie-ins the game also contains a wealth of "DVD extras" material that can be unlocked as you play including interviews with Peter Jackson, producer Barrie Osbourne and some of the stars plus concept art, photographs and a small segment on the making of the videogame. While interviews with the stars are worth watching at least once you can't help but wonder why you're basically just viewing advertising for a game you've already purchased! Fans will lap it up though we're sure and there's enough here to probably keep most satiated until the second movie's release.

Back to gameplay and after the initial battle level and the next where you fight off the Ring Wraiths to protect Frodo as Aragorn, you will be given the choice to progress as one of the 3 characters available. These are of course Aragorn the Human ranger, Legolas the Elven archer or Gimli the Dwarf axe fighter. Each has different strengths and weaknesses and also slightly different fighting styles. Aragorn as a ranger is skilled in many weapons but uses mainly the sword plus a bow as a ranged weapon. Legolas the Elven prince is a very skilled archer and can carry more arrows than Aragorn but he also uses twin light swords to good effect. Gimli fears nothing and rushes into battle with a large battle axe using throwing hatchets as his secondary weapon.

We've already likened the gameplay to early arcade hack 'n' slash fave Golden Axe but there's definitely a little more here than first meets the eye. Don't get us wrong, at it's heart The Two Towers is a down and dirty beat-em up and that basically means you'll be constantly engaged in combat against large numbers of opponents and boss characters. This in no way means it's actually basic or dumb though and there's a brain here as well as a heart. The depth comes from the fact that you have to hone your skills all along the way and engage some strategy as well as manage character upgrades to do well in the game.

The combat system consists of several attacks and blocks with basic attacks being X button for a quick attack (unshielded enemies), triangle for fierce attack (shielded enemies), circle for a knockback or kick, square or R1 for a parry or block, R2 for a killing or finishing move and then L1 to equip the ranged weapon and X to use it while equipped. The L2 button can also be used for a jump back to escape punishing blows. Of course as you and your character develop skill and experience throughout battles a whole series of combos then comes into play which in turn can be used to enhance skill even further. You start with 2 basic combos already in your repertoire which are a 3 Hit Sped Combo (tapping X three times) and a Double Hit Fierce Combo (tapping triangle twice).

As you fight each level you'll be awarded skill points based on 4 grades of enemy kills - fair, good, excellent and perfect. If you've played Devil May Cry you may be familiar with this grade system as it's very similar! At the end of each level these points are added up and shown on a Mission Results screen. After that you can go to a Skill Upgrade screen and purchase new attacks and combos plus permanent upgrades that increase strength and health or stamina. The price of each upgrade varies and there's an incentive here to do well in battle in order to obtain the best upgrades.

The points system and the ability to play as and upgrade all 3 characters separately gives what essentially is a straight-forward beat-em up game some "light" RPG qualities. Indeed it rescues it somewhat from suffering the fate of similar games with a lot less depth - The Bouncer being a case in point. Playing as the 3 characters here also doesn't have to follow the "play one all the way through and then play as the next" rule of thumb. If you choose to you can play all 3 a level at a time upgrading all as you go but the game does seem to flow better playing one through to the end first. A bonus achieved by playing the game through with all 3 characters is that you'll unlock a secret character that can then be used to play the game with as well but we'll leave you to discover the secret identity! Beating all 12 basic levels with your 3 initial characters will also unlock a 13th secret level plus there are a few more secret side-missions you can unlock for each character along the way so be prepared for a few surprises and bonuses.

As well as your 3 main characters and your unlockable one there are other non-playable characters that will join you in the game. Sometimes this will simply be another member from your party who will fight alongside you but other times it'll be another character to guide you through difficult sections of a mission. You'll be doing the majority of the fighting though so don't expect to sit back and let your accomplice try and win any levels for you.