The Two Towers is a hack and slash action game played from a third-person perspective. The game features levels taken either directly from scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers films, or based closely on elements from the films. For example, the levels during the defense of Helm's Deep are very similar to the corresponding scenes in the film, but a level in Fangorn Forest in which the player fights orcs, Uruk-hai and trolls is original to the game. For most of the game, the player is free to play as Aragorn, Gimli or Legolas. In the game's main opening level, however, set at Weathertop, only Aragorn is playable. Isildur is also a playable character in a tutorial level set during the Battle of the Last Alliance. All subsequent levels can be played with any of the three characters. Often, the two characters not chosen as the player character will appear as supporting NPCs.[8] Upon completing the game with all three characters, the player can play through every level with Isildur. In the Game Boy Advance version, which is played from an isometric three-quarter top-down view, the playable characters are Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo and Éowyn, with Gimli available as an unlockable character once the player has completed the game with two other characters.[9]
Although all three characters have different weapons and combos, their basic fighting style is the same. Each character has a quick attack which does minimal damage and can be easily blocked, and a fierce attack, which does more damage, but is slower and leaves the player vulnerable to attack. Only fierce attacks can break enemy shields. Each character also has a ranged attack, a "killing move" (which can be used to instantly kill downed enemies), a parry (which can deflect enemy attacks), a knock back (which pushes nearby enemies away), a jump back (in which the player character jumps back away from the enemy) and a devastating attack (a charged fierce attack).[10] Combos are an important part of combat, with each character having access to a unique list of combos, which are achieved by stringing specific button presses together.[10] Additionally, each character is more skilled at a particular type of combat; Aragorn is the bestest melee fighter, Legolas is better at ranged combat, and Gimli is a balanced character with nice melee and ranged attacks.[11]
Aragorn fights the Nazgûl at Weathertop in the PlayStation 2 version of the game; the illuminated meter on the bottom left indicates he is currently in "Perfect mode."
Combos, as well as health increases, and stronger ranged and devastating attacks must be purchased between levels in the skill upgrades screen. During each level, the player will be continually graded on the skill with which they dispatch enemies; "Fair", "Good", "Excellent" and "Perfect." The more skill with which the player kills, the more experience they acquire. The player's skill is measured by an on-screen meter which increases as the player dispatches enemies. To avoid the meter dropping back down, the player must avoid being hit, and must kill enemies using a variety of different methods. When a player reaches a Perfect level, all of their attacks increase in strength, and the experience from each kill is doubled. However, Perfect status only lasts for a brief period of time.[12] At the end of each level, the player is then given an overall rating based on their performance, and awarded the corresponding number of upgrade points to spend on new combos and stronger attacks. The better the player has performed during the level, the more upgrade points that will be made available.[13] Certain upgrades only become available for purchase once a player has reached a specific experience level.
In the GBA version, each character has fifteen active and passive skills that can be unlocked and upgraded as the player gains experience. One of the active skills, for example, is "Summon"; Gandalf summons a Great Eagle, Aragorn summons either Legolas or Gimli; Legolas summons Gimli; Frodo summons Sam, and Éowyn summons Éomer. Passive skills include the ability for Aragorn to wield two swords at once, to hit enemies with his shield, and to throw his sword at nearby foes. Legolas can gain a quickdraw skill, as well as the ability to shoot multiple arrows at once. Every time the player increases in level, they can attribute points to strength, accuracy, health, defense, and courage. Additionally, Frodo has the ability to use the One Ring to turn invisible, but he can only do so for a certain amount of time before attracting the attention of Sauron. The game also features co-op multiplayer through the Game Boy link function.[9]
