J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers

Last updated
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers
The Two Towers video game cover.jpg
Cover art by Brothers Hildebrandt
Developer(s) Interplay Productions
Publisher(s) Interplay Productions
Composer(s) Charles Deenen
Platform(s) MS-DOS, PC-98, FM Towns
Release
Genre(s) Role-playing
Mode(s) Single player

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers is a video game published by Interplay Productions. It is an adaptation of The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien, which is the second volume in The Lord of the Rings .

Contents

The game was released in 1992 for MS-DOS, PC-98, and FM Towns. It is a sequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I .

An Amiga version, and a second sequel, were canceled. [1]

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of the first game. It is a role-playing game wherein the player controls multiple characters from the book. It uses a top-down perspective. The game takes place slightly before its predecessor ends: at the dark forest of Fangorn. The story splits into several journeys of different characters similar to the book, the game also switches between different controllable parties. The ultimate goal is to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, though this is never accomplished in-game as these final scenes were intended for the canceled Volume III.

Reception

Computer Gaming World approved of the game's use of predetermined switching between characters, stating that it gives Towers "a depth of narrative which would not otherwise have been possible". The magazine concluded that those who enjoyed the first game in the series would enjoy its sequel, while newcomers might be confused but "still find Towers a worthy piece of entertainment". [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lord of the Rings</i> 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.

Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included The Lord of the Rings characters Goldberry, Old Man Willow and the Barrow-wight, from whom he rescues the hobbits. They were not then explicitly part of the older legends that became The Silmarillion, and are not mentioned in The Hobbit.

<i>The Two Towers</i> 1954 part of novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King. The volume's title is ambiguous, as five towers are named in the narrative, and Tolkien himself gave conflicting identifications of the two towers. The narrative is interlaced, allowing Tolkien to build in suspense and surprise. The volume was largely welcomed by critics, who found it exciting and compelling, combining epic narrative with heroic romance.

<i>The History of The Lord of the Rings</i> 1988–1992 work by Christopher Tolkien

The History of The Lord of the Rings is a four-volume work by Christopher Tolkien published between 1988 and 1992 that documents the process of J. R. R. Tolkien's writing of The Lord of the Rings. The History is also numbered as volumes six to nine of The History of Middle-earth ("HoME").

<i>The Adventures of Tom Bombadil</i> 1962 poetry collection by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a 1962 collection of poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien. The book contains 16 poems, two of which feature Tom Bombadil, a character encountered by Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. The rest of the poems are an assortment of bestiary verse and fairy tale rhyme. Three of the poems appear in The Lord of the Rings as well. The book is part of Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harad</span> Fictional land in Tolkiens Middle-earth, south of Gondor and Mordor

In J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy The Lord of the Rings, Harad is the immense land south of Gondor and Mordor. Its main port is Umbar, the base of the Corsairs of Umbar whose ships serve as the Dark Lord Sauron's fleet. Its people are the dark-skinned Haradrim or Southrons; their warriors wear scarlet and gold, and are armed with swords and round shields; some ride gigantic elephants called mûmakil.

The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy.

Do not laugh! But once upon a time I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic to the level of romantic fairy-story... The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</i> (video game) 2002 video game

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2002 action-adventure video game developed by WXP for the Xbox. It was ported to the Game Boy Advance by Pocket Studios and the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows by Surreal Software. The game was published by Vivendi Universal Games under their Black Label Games publishing label. In North America, it was released for Xbox and Game Boy Advance in September, and for PlayStation 2 and Windows in October. In Europe, it was released for Xbox, Windows and Game Boy Advance in November, and for PlayStation 2 in December.

<i>J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is a role-playing video game published by Interplay Productions. It is an adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, being the first volume in The Lord of the Rings. The game was released in 1990 for DOS, in 1991 for the Amiga and PC-98, and in 1992 for the FM Towns. It was followed by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers. It was originally designed for the Commodore 64, but the production team switched to the newer platforms. The game was designed by Troy A. Miles, Scott Bennie, Jennell Jaquays, and Bruce Schlickbernd. For the later versions, the cutscenes are taken from the 1978 Lord of the Rings film directed by Ralph Bakshi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle-earth in video games</span> Video games inspired by J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth

There are many video games that have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's works set in Middle-earth. Titles have been produced by studios such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi Games, Melbourne House, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien.

<i>The History of The Hobbit</i>

The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. It was published by HarperCollins in May and June 2007 in the United Kingdom, with both volumes released in the United States by Houghton Mifflin on 21 September 2007; a boxed set combining The Hobbit with The History of The Hobbit was released on 26 October 2007. A single-volume edition was released on 27 October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saruman</span> Fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien

Saruman, also called Saruman the White, is a fictional character of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the novel, but eventually he desires Sauron's power for himself and tries to take over Middle-earth by force from his base at Isengard. His schemes feature prominently in the second volume, The Two Towers; he appears briefly at the end of the third volume, The Return of the King. His earlier history is summarised in the posthumously published The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Faramir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Faramir enters the narrative in The Two Towers, where, upon meeting Frodo Baggins, he is presented with a temptation to take possession of the One Ring. In The Return of the King, he leads the forces of Gondor in the War of the Ring, coming near to death, succeeds his father as Steward, and wins the love of Éowyn, lady of the royal house of Rohan.

Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of the wildness of Europe's ancient North.

An orc, in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin".

<i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i> 1954 part of novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The action takes place in the fictional universe of Middle-earth. The book was first published on 29 July 1954 in the United Kingdom. The volume consists of a foreword, in which the author discusses his writing of The Lord of the Rings, a prologue titled "Concerning Hobbits, and other matters", and the main narrative in Book I and Book II.

<i>J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I</i> (1994 video game) 1994 video game

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is an action role-playing game produced by Interplay Productions for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is an adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Tolkien's Middle-earth family trees contribute to the impression of depth and realism in the stories set in his fantasy world by showing that each character is rooted in history with a rich network of relationships. J. R. R. Tolkien included multiple family trees in both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion; they are variously for Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, and Men.

References

  1. "The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers". Lysator . Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. Greenburg, Allen L. (October 1992). "Interplay's The Two Towers". Computer Gaming World. No. 99. pp. 42–43. Retrieved 4 July 2014.