A good hack and slash
Lord of the Rings does not bring something particularly good or useful to the hack and slash table but its an average and fun to play wiht your friends if your in some LOTR vibe.
The average playing mode allows you to traverse the story in the third movie whilst seeing some crappy in-game cinematics followed by some movie clips, which were of rather dull things (especially consiering that the game was released before the movie! ergo the ciips you see were mostly trailer stuff). After you finish the story you get some new characters and if you get really into it you can unlock some extra modes in which you jsut fight against waves of enemies, all in all a time waster.
Ultimately the game is average, a bit fun if your a fan, but ultimately heavy rushed and a cash cow. If its a gift don't throw it in the trash, only buy if you want to have absolutely everything made for Lord of the Rings and once you do that please invite me to your house so I can see your stuff.