It is hard to believe that it has been two years since the first Lord of the Rings movie came out. The Fellowship of the Ring was one of the best movies that had come out in a while, due to its musical score and setting. Last year when the Two Towers was released, I was blown away at how much better that movie was in comparison to the first one. This year we will finally see the conclusion of the trilogy and get prepared to have our minds blown away.

Since these movies are highly popular, EA grabbed the rights to make games based off the movie Trilogy. Last year, a month before the Two Towers was released; EA released a game that was based off the events that occur in the movie. While it was a great game, it had a few faults that had to be fixed. This year EA has done the same thing and released The Return of the King a month before it hits theaters. EA definitely listened to all of the feedback the first game received, because they have fixed every aspect of the game, and this game is a better product. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a great game, and you should rush out so you can have it in your collection!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a hack-and-slash game, just like the Two Towers game that was released last year. This game offers three different branches to play through, Path of the Wizard, The Path of the King, and the Path of the Hobbits, and players must go through them all to see the whole story. Each set of levels that are in each of the paths takes advantage of the characters strengths and abilities. For example, in the Path of the Hobbits there are always small hiding places to avoid direct contact, while The Path of the King is always filled with tons of enemies to fight. Even though there are three paths, each with different places to do combat before players can play the final level, they must complete all three paths.

Each of the characters has their own strengths and weakness in the game, which gives this game a lot of replayability. Some are very strong but are slow, and others are very nimble but their attacks aren’t as powerful. It is a give and take situation, but it also gives the players a chance to figure out which character they like playing with the best.

The upgrade system is really done well. Instead of purchasing one upgrade for that one character, players can opt to buy the entire team with that one upgrade, but it is priced a little bit higher. I think that this was a great idea! Players can now spend less time concentrating on trying to get those upgrades and spend more time enjoying the game itself.

One of the best things in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the movie clips to actual game transition. When you play the game the first time, you will see the back-story and the beginning of the end of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. It shows Gandalf riding down the mountain, slashing enemies, then all of the sudden without warning you are playing the game. There was no loading screens just movie clip to game in an instant. At first you think it is an in game cut screen until you notice you are taking damage and you can move Gandalf around. These transitions happen all thoughout the game, and they are done beautifully.

The graphics are amazing! All of the characters are modeled to perfection. The face scanning technology has been bump up three levels since the last game because the game models look identical to the real life counterparts. The armor, clothing, and weapons they are wielding look much more realist and “shiny.” The enemies are also more detailed, which includes the gruesome faces of the Orcs and Goblins.

The new animations for all of the characters are very realistic. None of them look stiff when they are walking or swing a weapon. It looks like EA borrowed technology from the sports section to get all of the motion capture done correctly to make it look this good.

The detailed artwork and time that the developers put into creating each of the environments players go through is outstanding. While going through the forests players will see the aging trees. While protecting cities, players will notice that the fortified walls look like it is going to crumble at any moment due to the amount of stress being put upon it during the heavy battles. There are also lots of things going on in the background. For example in the beginning battle of the game at Helm’s Deep players will see the walls be scaled, catapults shooting balls of fire at the wall, multitudes of enemies coming towards the fortress, and myriads of other things going on. While all of this is happening, there is not a huge dip in frame rate. It is amazing!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is one of the first games I have ever seen (heard) that is THX certified. It was amazing booting up the game with the official THX sounds. The entire Lord of the Rings series has a sensational soundtrack, and this game benefits from it to the fullest. The voice-overs are from the actors of the movie, so players will be drawn even more into the game. There are a few annoying, and repetitive, lines that players will have to endure, but it is nothing that distracts from the overall game. Sound effects used in the game will also blow you away. Everything from the explosions, swords clashing, hundreds of incoming enemies storming your way, all sounds like it came directly from the movie!

The PlayStation 2 version features something that the other versions of the game doesn’t: online play. This allows players to log onto EA’s servers and play with another person, just like in co-op mode. You can play any level that you or your partner has unlocked. It is extremely easy to find a game to play; either browsing the lobbies or go into the Quick Match and find a game within minutes. Also if players have a USB Headset they can talk to their partner.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is rated T for Teen and requires 132 KB for saves.