When Twilight Princess hit store shelves, its epic story and sweeping vistas garnered comparisons to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptation. How funny, then, that The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest feels awfully reminiscent of Twilight Princess — or more accurately, Twilight Princess if it were aimed at kids who weren’t born in time to see any of the movies based on Tolkien’s trilogy. That isn’t a dig against the game, rather it seems to be the intent of Aragorn’s Quest: You alternate between playing as precocious little Frodo Gamgee running amok in the Shire and then gathering with your hobbit-pals around Samwise as he regales you with stories about Aragorn. Frodo’s imagination fills in the blanks, letting you play as Aragorn in the stories that unfold.
This clever storytelling device not only adds variety to what would otherwise be a straightforward hack-and-slash title, but it also allows you to safely hone skills you use when playing as Aragorn. For instance, wading through a swamp and hoisting your shield against cabbage-throwing machines as a youth paves the way for staving off flaming arrows in Pelennor Fields. It’s also worth mentioning that the graphics take on a much more cartoony vibe when playing as Frodo, whereas Aragorn’s segments are more whimsical. Not all the attempts for family-friendliness pays off, though: You’re frequently encouraged to invite a second player to tag along as Gandalf, which more often than not just incurs massive amounts of slowdown. It’s a real shame, because the wider co-op camera allows for better teamwork not only in combat but also in keeping an eye out for items. But the game lags too much with another player-controlled character on-screen to make it much fun for either participant.
