Middle Earth fans looking for a great strategy-tactics game will love EA Games’ LORD OF THE RINGS: TACTICS for the PSP. Gamers have the option of playing either as the heroic fellowship or commanding Sauron’s evil forces in the cataclysmic battle for Middle Earth. The single player campaign allows players to choose their side and, through a number of movie clips from the trilogy, tells the story of the LORD OF THE RINGS. Both sides have a number of grunt units and hero units, including just about every major character from the movies such as Sam, Aragorn, Sauron, and Gandalf. Instead of using turn-based combat like most strategy RPGs, LORD OF THE RINGS: TACTICS uses a simultaneous combat. Players first move their units while the enemy moves theirs, and then a separate combat round begins. Each character has their own unique abilities and attacks, including melee and ranged attacks. Hero characters will gain experience as levels as they battle, giving them access to better skills. Players can also purchase skills, abilities, and items between battles using the gold they’ve won. Once players have mastered the single-player campaign, they can invite up to three other fans to the battle using the ad hoc multiplayer mode. Gamers who loved the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy will spend hours recreating the War of the Ring with their friends with LORD OF THE RINGS: TACTICS.
