I try so hard to find the good in every game but this one was hard. There were points about this game that made me like it such as going to the Old Forest, Bree, the house of Tom Bombadil, fending off wolves while traveling up the slopes of the Misty Mountains which were points few other Tolkien games took you but those points have to be overlooked when compared to the overall scale of the game.
I'll be the first to say it. It's hard to give a bad review to a franchise that is so rich in it's source material but it wouldn't be fair to talk up a game that plays so poorly. The graphics and sound seemed more akin to the work of a mid to late 90's PC game and when you're talking about XBOX capability graphics, that's kind of sad. The mechanics were clunky, the objectives obscurely laid out, some points in the game (the Old Forest) were virtually impossible to complete without looking it up on a walkthrough. These things are what take the joy out of a game and frustrate players to the point of quitting. I stuck it out and finished the game (with much online help) which is actually kind of ridiculous to have to do. What frustrated me the most was granted this part of the story is a cliffhanger and that is acceptable but the way it's handled in the game doesn't even make it seem like it is. The ending is just so... "who cares" and it's upsetting. All things considered I got the game for $5 at a resale store so I can't even complain about the price but when it comes to a story that is so near and dear to your heart, the mistakes that hindered this game are just unacceptable.