"Fantastic, A really great game."

And EA has done it again! Two Towers was a success, and EA was awesome enough to find out what we thought the game lacked and they gave it all to us in Return of the King.

Gameplay: The gameplay is spectacular. The combat system is very simple, and thats all it needs to be. The combat motions are animated flawlessly, from swinging Aragorns sword to shooting Legolas's bow. The game pulls you in with interactions between the fellowship during battle, it really makes you feel like you are in the movie. EA has made the environment more realistic by allowing you to grab hold of items and make use of them, from fire engulfed spears to flaming torches, EA definitely made up for what Two Towers lacked in being able to interact with your environment. The worst part, and the reason i gave the game a 9 instead of a 10, is the lack of an online mode for the PC version, which in my opinion is ridiculous. You need to buy remotes for your PC in order to play CO-OP on the PC version.

Story : The game follows the movie/book storyline closely. While the game doesnt reveal MUCH of the movie/book, you'll still see a few things you may not want to see until the movie. Most of the movie scenes however and from the Two Towers.

Graphics/Sound: Ah this is where the game really shines. The graphics are absolutely spectacular, from crumbling buildings to firey explosions to the orcs that are trying to kill you. The environments are finely detailed and really immerse you in the Lord of the Rings world. The sound hasnt changed much from Two Towers. You still get magnificent sound effects, from the clanging of swords to characters yelling comments while fighting. You do, however, seem to hear a bit more than you did in the previous game, which makes it feel even more like you are in the world.

Play Time/Replayability : Like Two Towers, this game is fairly short compared to other games. Of course, depending on your skill you make be at it quite a few days. It took me around 3 days about 2 hours a day, so about 6 hours of gameplay give or take a few hours. HOWEVER, there is one major plus. After you beat the game, you have 9 different characters to play with, 15 levels to use them on. 9x15 (two of them are secret)= 135 levels, which is a whole lot of levels to play. Not to mention there are 3 different difficulties. You also have to beat CO-OP mode, and you can play that as much as you want with friends. This game could take quite awhile to get bored of.

All in all, This game is very enjoyable, the lack of a PC Multiplayer mode is saddening, but if you have a PS2 online you can play with people on that. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a wonderful game that really makes you feel like you are fighting Sauron's forces of evil and protecting Middle Earth from certain destruction. You really cant go wrong paying the $39.00 *walmart* for the PC version, or pay the extra 10 dollars for a console version.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/18/03