Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy set a new standard for movie adaptations of novels. Fittingly, EA Games' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King has set a new standard for video-game adaptations of movies. This outstanding title transports you to a beautifully rendered version of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth where you can engage in heart-stopping action as many of the movie's characters. It's one of the finest crossover titles I've ever played; mainstream gamers will enjoy it for its excellent use of the movie license, sharp visuals, and easy-to-pickup gameplay, but it also has enough challenge and variety for hardcore players to soak up.

Since it has ample mainstream appeal, The Return of the King is rooted in simple beat-'em-up action. Playing as a variety of characters from the movie, it's entirely possible to make your way through the entire game using nothing but the button-mashing portion of your brain. People that play one or two games a year can get away with pounding on two buttons while they enjoy the in-game graphics, cutscenes, and movie clips.

All that said, there's plenty here for veteran gamers too. Each character has a number of combos that can be upgraded. Using the combos pays great dividends, since it leads to higher scores, more experience points, and improves combos. Dispatching your foes through combos leads to better kill ratings of which there are four: fair, good, excellent, and perfect. Anal retentive gamers will want to clear each level with a perfect rating.

Players of all skill levels will get to enjoy unlockable goodies, including additional levels, hidden characters, and oodles of movie bonuses. Whether it's an interview with Gandalf or special segments giving fans more insight of the movie and game, The Return of the King is chock full of extras. The three difficulty levels also broaden the game's appeal. Easy level is a breeze to complete in less than ten hours, while normal provides a moderate challenge, and difficult is a nice quest for players with mad skill.

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The gameplay starts off in a fairly banal fashion since your move set is limited, but once you start getting combos it really takes off. The beat-'em-up action is supremely cool when you have an arsenal of slick moves at your disposal. Though the vast majority of the game is comprised of mindless violence, there's some variety to mix things up a bit. The King's Path (where you play as Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli) is the most straightforward, but also has the best missions. The Wizards's Path (played as Gandalf, naturally) is less chaotic and takes advantage of the demigod's wicked spells. The Hobbit's Path has more stealth elements and makes interesting use of the interactive objects scattered throughout the level.

Once you're finished with the game you can play any level as any character. This is an awesome treat for Tolkien fanboys. I had lots of fun going up against Shelob as Gandalf. Watching Aragorn attempt Gandalf's missions was fun as well. Sadly, my little hobbits didn't fare too well on The King's Path; they were a bit too fragile for the rough-and-tumble action intended for the bruisers.