War of the Ring: Aragorn Fighting

Aragorn's adventures during the War of the Ring fifteen years previously.

Aragorn's adventures during the War of the Ring fifteen years previously.

Though its motion-control combat leaves something to be desired, War of the Ring: Aragorn Fighting is an epic journey that does a fine job of putting you in the boots of the scruffy ranger who would be king.

The game is divided up into two different gameplay sections. The main game sees the player control Aragorn, as Samwise Gamgee tells his children stories of Aragorn's adventures during the War of the Ring fifteen years previously. The other gameplay section is located in the Shire in the game's present, with the player controlling Sam's son, Frodo, as he helps his fellow Hobbits prepare a party for the arrival of Aragorn

Gameplay in both areas is the same, and the game is structured in such a way that as Frodo learns skills in the Shire, these skills then become available to Aragorn in the main game. If a second player is present, they control Frodo's sister Elanor in the Shire, and Gandalf in the main game. However, the players cannot switch characters - player one must always be Aragorn and Frodo, and player two must also be Gandalf and Elanor

During combat, the player has five basic sword attack moves; an upward swipe, a downward swipe, a left swipe, a right swipe, and a thrust. Later in the game, Aragorn can use charged up versions of each of the five main attacks. The player can also use a secondary weapon to thrust attack; this weapon can be a shield, a torch or a spear.

The player can also access chain attacks (attacks which increase in power with each successful attack) and special abilities such as "Battle Cry" (which makes allies fight harder) and "Rally" (which makes allies temporarily invulnerable). The player can also gain access to a bow, which can be upgraded in various ways.

At most times during the game, the player is accompanied by AI controlled allies. The player can acquire upgrades for these AI companions, such as increasing their attack and defense, finding weapon and armour upgrades or unlocking new combat abilities. In the Wii and PlayStation 3 versions, a second player can drop in and play as Gandalf at any time during the game. Gandalf controls similarly to Aragorn. His main weapon is his staff, which also functions as his long range weapon. He also has the ability to heal Aragorn, to fill his strength bar, to strengthen his attacks and to make him invulnerable for a short period of time