J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (1990 video game): Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
Line 15: Line 15:
== Gameplay ==
== Gameplay ==


The player starts as [[Frodo Baggins]] and can obtain the rest of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] (except [[Boromir]]) as they progress through the main story. The player can switch between characters to decide who leads the Fellowship, equip other party members with a range of weapons and armour, distribute skills among the group, cast spells, and perform various skill-based actions.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/>  Whilst progressing through the main story, the player is able to complete several side-adventures and revisit previous locations, during which new characters, quests and objects can be discovered.<ref name="Polygon"/><ref name="Tolkien Games"/> The game also included a day/night system. In night, some enemies are stronger and there is a greater chance of encountering the [[Nazgûl]] then during day-time.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/>
The player starts as [[Frodo Baggins]] and can obtain the rest of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] (except [[Boromir]]) as they progress through the main story. The player can switch between characters to decide who leads the Fellowship, equip other party members with a range of weapons and armour, distribute skills among the group, cast spells, and perform various skill-based actions.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/>  Whilst progressing through the main story, the player is able to complete several side-adventures and revisit previous locations, during which new characters, quests and objects can be discovered.<ref name="Polygon"/><ref name="Tolkien Games"/> The game also included a day/night system. At night, some enemies are stronger and there is a greater chance of encountering the [[Nazgûl]] than during day-time.<ref name="Tolkien Games"/>


== Featured Characters ==
== Featured Characters ==

Revision as of 15:59, 4 August 2017

739101-23889 boxshot 1-1-.jpg
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I
Video game
DeveloperInterplay Productions (MS-DOS), Chaos Studios (Amiga)
PublisherElectronic Arts (UK), Interplay Productions (rest of the world)
PlatformAmiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS
Release date11 April 1990[1]
GenreAdventure, RPG

The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is a video game developed by Interplay Productions, written by Scott Bennie and Mark Whittlesey, whilst the game music was composed by Charles Deenen.[1][2][3][4] The game designers were influenced by Iron Crown Enterprises's MERP[5] and used material from Ralph Bakshi's 1978 movie for cut-scenes.[2] The game features include a large open-world, eight playable characters and a storyline based on The Fellowship of the Ring. A sequel, The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers, was released in 1993. Interplay also released a version for the SNES, which greatly differed from the PC game.

Development

Interplay started developing a fantasy RPG, which was not set in Middle-earth, in the late 1980s. After Interplay obtained the license for creating a video game based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the game was scrapped and redeveloped as an adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring.[5]

Gameplay

The player starts as Frodo Baggins and can obtain the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring (except Boromir) as they progress through the main story. The player can switch between characters to decide who leads the Fellowship, equip other party members with a range of weapons and armour, distribute skills among the group, cast spells, and perform various skill-based actions.[2] Whilst progressing through the main story, the player is able to complete several side-adventures and revisit previous locations, during which new characters, quests and objects can be discovered.[5][2] The game also included a day/night system. At night, some enemies are stronger and there is a greater chance of encountering the Nazgûl than during day-time.[2]

Featured Characters

Playable Characters

Lotr1 2-1-.gif

Other Characters

Synopsis

The game opens with some cut scenes from Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings. The player starts as Frodo Baggins in Hobbiton and must first travel to Buckland before crossing the Old Forest and the Barrow-downs. In the Barrow-downs the player must escape the Barrow-wights with the help of Tom Bombadil whilst at Rivendell you must collect the pieces of Andúril, which can be found in the surrounding lands.[2]

After the player escapes the darkness of Moria they must search the gifts from Galadriel. When Frodo Baggins is captured in Dol Guldur the remaining members of the Fellowship must then free Frodo with help from Radagast the Brown and the Elves of Lothlórien before the Witch-king arrives and brings the Ring-bearer to Mordor and the fate of Middle-earth is lost.[2]

See Also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I", Giantbomb (accessed 1 January 2011)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Fredrik Ekman, "The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I", Tolkien computer games (accessed 1 January 2011)
  3. José M. Fernández, "El Anillo interactivo" dated 17 January 2012, Meristation (accessed 28 December 2014)
  4. "The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I", Moby Games (accessed 1 January 2011)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Alexa Ray Corriea, "THERE AND BACK AGAIN: A HISTORY OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS IN VIDEO GAMES" dated 23 September 2014, [www.polygon.com Polygon] (accessed 28 December 2014)
Licensed video games set in Middle-earth
 Melbourne House: The Hobbit (1982) · Lord of the Rings: Game One (1985) · Shadows of Mordor (1988) · War in Middle Earth (1988) · Crack of Doom Software Adventure (1989) · Riders of Rohan (1990)
 Interplay Productions: The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (PC) (1990) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers (1993) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (SNES) (1994)
 Vivendi Universal: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) · The Hobbit (2003) · War of the Ring (2003)
 Electronic Arts: The Two Towers (2002) · The Return of the King (2003) · The Third Age (2004) · The Battle for Middle-earth (2004) · Tactics (2005) · The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006) (The Rise of the Witch-king (2006)) · Conquest (2009) · Heroes of Middle-earth (2023)
 Turbine/Standing Stone Games: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007-) (Mines of Moria (2008) · Siege of Mirkwood (2009) · Rise of Isengard (2011) · Riders of Rohan (2012) · Helm's Deep (2013) · Mordor (2017) · Minas Morgul (2019)) · War of Three Peaks (2020) · Fate of Gundabad (2021) · Before the Shadow (2022)
 Warner Bros: Aragorn's Quest (2010) · War in the North (2011) · Guardians of Middle-earth (2012) · Kingdoms of Middle-earth (2012Armies of The Third Age (2013) · Shadow of Mordor (2014) · Shadow of War (2017) · Rise to War (2021)
 Glu Games: Middle-Earth Defense (2010)
 Traveller's Tales: Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game (2012) · Lego The Hobbit (2014)
 Daedalic Entertainment: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023)
 North Beach Games: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria (2023)