E3 2003: Return of the King Details

The third in the Lord of the Rings trilogy hits theatres in December - again accompanied by an extremely polished videogame from EA. Screens and details inside.

Electronic Arts today officially announced The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It'll be coming out in "late 2003" to coincide with the film's release, for PS2, GameCube, Xbox and PC, under the EA Games brand. The console and PC versions are currently being developed by EA's Redwood Shores Studio. The Game Boy Advance version is being developed by Griptonite Games, an Amaze Entertainment Studio.

Based on New Line Cinema's upcoming film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King video game will let players journey through multiple gameplay paths, taking control of the motion picture trilogy's heroes including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam and Frodo.

Set in all of the breathtaking locations from the upcoming movie, The Return of the King's third person gameplay will include immersive action and epic adventure elements based in rich, interactive levels. An all-new multiplayer co-op mode will let players form their own Fellowship before embarking on their journey through Middle-earth.

Under an exclusive licensing agreement with New Line Cinema, EA has the rights to create and publish interactive entertainment games based on the movie trilogy. Currently under development, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King game is the second instalment in a series of licensed The Lord of the Rings games from EA.

Will there be more LOTR games after the Return of the King? Only time will tell - but with LOTR mania due to contine well into 2005 with the Special Edition DVD of the third film released for Christmas 2004, that's a whole extra year after the Return of the King for EA to develop and release a third official LOTR videogame.

Adam Doree