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Peter Jackson is finishing up King Kong as we speak and The Lord of the Rings fans are wondering when or if they will ever see Middle Earth on the big screen again. Unfortunately, only time will tell, so fans will have to deal with games based on the movie trilogy and universe. If you have a PSP, you are in for a treat with the latest game in the franchise, The Lord of the Rings Tactics. The game is exactly what it sounds like… a tactical RPG set in the Middle Earth realm, nothing more and nothing less. Visually LOTR Tactics shines bright on Sony’s little handheld. Backdrops are gorgeous and familiar to fans of the series, thus allowing you to relive scenes from the trilogy, if only for a short time. All of your favorite characters are here, including Gandalf and Sauron, or choose from 10 other heroes and villains from the LOTR universe. Lighting and special effects are impressive and take full advantage of the PSP hardware’s power. Overall, The Lord of the Rings Tactics is a good-looking turn-based strategy RPG and one of the must have RPG titles on the PSP.
Audio is good, but not brilliant. The orchestrated score is taken straight from the films and will give most fansboys goose bumps when their favorite songs are played in the thick of battle. During the game’s cut scenes, you are treated to some well-delivered voice acting, but alas, the voices aren’t prominent during actual gameplay. Sound effects are par for the course here as nothing really stands out, not even during spell effects. Gameplay boils down to a very basic turn based strategy game. While the game does play rather well, it does nothing new for the genre that will allow the game to stand out. You choose your character, give orders, move about the map, engage in combat, and use your skills and items to heal and cast spells on foes. The set up does work quite well and is easy enough to pick up and play. Veterans of RPG and tactical strategy titles will probably be insulted and become bored of the game’s simplicity. The story mode will last gamers a good 15-20 hours, and with multiplayer over LAN, the fun can be had with up to four players. What’s more you can either start with a new character, or use one of your own custom characters you have already made in single player mode. With RPGs scarce on the PSP, fans will find enough here that will appease their appetite for a limited time. The only glaring issue is that the game does feel far too familiar. Veteran gamers may find the game too mediocre and boring to even last through the entire adventure. The necessity in whether or not you should own this game weighs in on how much you are a fan of not only RPGs, but also the LOTR series. If neither fits your taste, you may want to pass on this. Fans on the other had may want to hold onto ‘the precious’.
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