The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Good
Not much really... the music was nicely worked out and very suitable for the world you actually play in. You do feel like you are in Middle Earth. The graphics are dark, mysterious, even creepy with moments. The fighting styles are acceptable but could have been worked out a lot deeper for a game which purely focuses on battle.

The Bad
Firstly, I finished it in about 5 to 6 hours, even the first time I played it. Secondly you can only play in 3rd person because in 1st person the game appears to be buggy (very slow speed and trembling view when running on non-horizontal surfaces). Third: the AI simply sucks. Enemies are totally predictable and can always be killed by the same repetitive attack pattern. 4th: For a combat game, the possible moves of the characters are too limited.

The Bottom Line
It's a game you play once and then leave it on the shelve to collect dust. I would not recommend it. Other Lord of the Rings games (the Hobbit, Return of the King, War of the Ring) are far better than this one.

The Good
The versatility of being able to play multiple characters from the novels and films in several favorite settings is the game's biggest appeal... and once you've actually played the game, you realize that that is the game's one and only appealing aspect.

The Bad
There is no single aspect of this game that is good. Unless you are a complete Tolkien completist, avoid it like the plague. Even Sierra's atrocious The Hobbit is better.

The Bottom Line
Play the later two games in the trilogy instead, especially Return of the King. Or put your hand through a meat grinder. Either option is better than playing LOTR:FOTR.

The Good
The atmosphere was pretty good, and the handling of the characters was pretty fun, especially the "finishing moves" executed by Gandalf or Aragorn whereby a fallen enemy is stabbed through vital organs and killed.

The Bad
I completed it in one day, no jokes. In the end I brought it back to from whence it came. Also, the plot was atrocious. GAME SPOILERS IMMINENT At the end of this game (which is supposed to be the first book), the Fellowship is attacked by the Witch-king who, for some reason, kidnaps Sam. Am I the only one who missed that bit in Tolkien's Novel?

The Bottom Line
I'm a LOTR fanatic, and still couldn't glean much joy from this hack 'n slash. Don't waste your money.