The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Released for the Playstation 2 in November 2002, this game of the film of the book finally makes it to the Xbox, despite the fact that Tolkienmania has somewhat subsided for the time being.

As it's respective story goes, the ring in question is now in your friends' hands and a fair few choices need to be made. What character will you choose? Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn are all playable in this version, along with one secret, unlockable character. What tactics will help you survive the overwhelming forces of the Dark Lord Sauron and Saruman? These decisions are yours to make and yours to live with.

And so on to the game itself, basically a 3D slash-em-up but with a healthy assortment of puzzle-solving tossed in to keep your wits sharpened.

Middle Earth is again fraught with danger, mainly due to the ghoulish armies of the Dark Lord, so it's your job to get in there and risk life and limb in the quest to show em who's boss.

Doing so with the aid of your trusty sword rewards you with experience points, which can subsequently help upgrade your skills and abilities. But the way in which your character evolves depends on your fighting methods. Fight well and your skill meter will fill more quickly, increasing the amount of points gained with each enemy defeated.

Set across nine different environments (each of which features 13 levels) the action in the game has quite an authentic feel, thanks mainly to the game's close visual correlation to that of the films. As a backdrop to the action, the game features movie footage from the first two flicks as well as Howard Shore's Academy Award-winning musical score.

If you're a Tolkien addict in need of a fix, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers should tide you over until the release of the third and final film at the end 2003.