The Lord
of the Rings: The Treason of Isengard
is being developed by Surreal Software and is being published
by Vivendi Universal Interactive under their Black Label Games
name. This game promises to take advantage of the now hot
Lord of the Rings license. Unlike the Lord of the Rings
games being developed by Electronic Arts, the ones published
by Vivendi Universal Interactive are based on the novels
instead of the movies. This means that The Lord of the
Rings: The Treason of Isengard will feature scenes and
events that were either absent or altered in the Peter Jackson
films. While the movies were fairly accurate with their
translation of the classic novels, there are inconsistencies
with events in the books and events in the movies. For
example, this game will feature the death of Boromir and
Gollum trailing the Hobbits. Boromir was killed at the end of
The Fellowship of the Ring movie, but in actuality he
dies in the beginning of The Two Towers. The developers
have also commented that there will be scenes depicting Gollum
trailing the Hobbits in his never-ending search for the ring.
The game
will be in a 3rd person view and feature combat,
puzzles, exploration and stealth. If this sounds like some
sort of strange blend of gameplay styles, consider that this
is the follow-up to last year’s dud,
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(which was actually
quite
a bit better on PS2 under Surreal’s direction). One
can only hope that Black Label Games has learned from the
previous outing and will actually give this game all of the
shine and polish the franchise deserves. If the designers can
keep the game following the combination of gameplay styles
through the entire game (unlike last year), we could be in
store for a really good translation of Tolkien’s work.
Gamers
will have the opportunity to play as seven Lord of the
Rings characters as they explore and experience the events
of The Two Towers.
Boromir, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Sam are known
characters. This leaves two open character spaces as well as
any secret characters that could be added. Some of the screens
depict Ents destroying Isengard, which could mean Treebeard is
a playable character. One can only dream.
This game does also feature a co-op mode, where two players
can fight alongside each other and experience the adventures
of Middle Earth. Also included are various upgrades for each
of the playable characters. This should help keep the gameplay
fresh throughout the entire game since the characters should
be gaining new abilities. The designers also tout the advanced
AI which allows non-player characters to assist in combat.
At this
point in development, The Lord of the Rings: The Treason of
Isengard looks like it could actually make up for many of
the terrible games that have used the Lord of the Rings
license. Expect more information and screens, as we get closer
to the early 2004 release.
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