What fantasy world could be more ripe for great video game fodder than J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy• But instead of exploring paths less traveled, Electronic Arts -- which also has the rights to the books -- seems intent on taking gamers there and back again through Peter Jackson's film version of Middle-earth. "The Lord of the Rings: Tactics" lacks the spark of discovery, which is made worse by recycling disjointed film clips instead of creating new 3-D cinematics in between the chess-style battles. You can choose to lead the Fellowship (Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, etc.) or the forces of Mordor (Sauron, Saruman, orcs, etc.). My mind spun trying to decide between Gandalf and the Balrog, so I played both storylines. Talk about disappointing. The two uber-powerful figures were confined to the same rules of combat as orcs and hobbits. With otherwise decent gameplay, "Tactics" boxes itself in creatively. Additional Information:

'The Lord of the Rings: Tactics'

Developer: Amaze Publisher: EA Games Platform: PSP Genre: Strategy ESRB: Teen How good is it? C

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