- There have been plenty of video game adaptations ofThe Lord of the Rings over the years.
- Many of these video game adaptations have been pretty high quality, but they usually manage to trample over certain elements of JRR Tolkien’s canon.
There probably should not be any more video game adaptations of Tolkien for a while.
The Lord of the Ringsis a definitive piece of fiction. Since it was released in (************************************, it has swept the world . We’ve had several adaptations, from movies to games to movie-based games. In general, people seem to love a goodLord of the Ringsadaptation.
While patient fanswait for Amazon’s TV series to hit our screens
, we’ve got tons of otherLord of the Ringsmedia to pass the time. In fact, Daedalus Entertainment has got a new game coming out for the next-gen console in a few years. As much as I am excited by that specific title, it should probably be our last LOTR game for a while.(There is Only OneLord of the Rings
One of the things that makes LOTR so interesting is how well constructed it is. J.R.R. Tolkien spent most of his life tweaking and working on Middle-Earth. In fact, he spent so long working on it, that he died before it could be completed. Obviously, that work isn’t in the books ofThe Lord of the Rings, but it certainly relates.
This is why it’s often very difficult to make a game based on Middle-Earth that satisfies everyone. Sure, games can be good in their own right. Even as someone who considers themselves a Tolkien-purist, I managed to squeeze a fair amount of enjoyment out of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. And that game is filled with ideas and concepts that completely go against Tolkien’s style and prose.
It’s sort of the height of arrogance to assume that anything you can come up with will be as good as the work of a man considered the father of modern fantasy. It’s really, really important to many of his fans that Tolkien’s work is treated with respect. So far even thegoodLord of the Rings games have had elements that made me want to retch.
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