Many expected that in producing a sequel to The Two Towers EA would simply churn out an identical game, simply with a new story line and wait for the money (again) to pour in. To EA's credit this has not been the case. There were faults with The Two Towers, many faults, and these have been acknowledged and improved upon.

We asked for more characters, we've got them, we asked for an improved combo system, we got it and we asked for more variety in game play. We got that too. We also still have top-notch graphics, film clips and the best story line ever written. What more could we ask for? Well, how about GBA compatibility and a co-op mode?

Yes, EA have gone to town on this sequel, and really tried to produce something good for the final part of their Lord of the Rings duo. The game play system remains the same. You pick a character, and hack and slash your way through the films exotic locations. In the first game this became repetitive, and eventually dull and tedious. Hopefully this will have been changed, aided by the fact the backgrounds now do more than just look pretty in the, um, background. You can now use items of scenery to aid your progress, in any way from weaponry to path finding. The incessant A-stabbing looks to have come to an end too. A new combo system means even the lowliest gamer can pull of devastating moves with ease and add some variety to the carnage.

What else is there to add variety, I hear you ask. Well, there are now six characters to choose from: Aragorn, Gimli, Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas and Sam, as well as two more that can be unlocked, possibly including Gollum. Aside from giving you different moves to play around with each set of characters have a different route through the game. Gandalf takes a solo route, while Sam and Frodo take theirs. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli go the main route. The addition of Gandalf also means the opportunity for some magic! With enough experience he can pull of fireballs and other means of supernatural death.

The other main game play improvement comes in the form of a 2 player cooperative mode. This will only be two player as the main focus of EA's development is the PS2. However, the prospect of trekking to Death Mountain as Frodo and a friend as Sam sounds more than a little intriguing. There are no details about playing co-op with Gandalf, as his route is primarily, a solitary one.

The graphics are, again, very good. Both cut scenes and game play run smoothly and cleanly, with no slow down however many items are on screen. The cuts scenes are full of detail, and integrate well with both game play and film segments. The character animation is excellent. Close combat sequences are done well, with dust and blood (in moderate quantities) flying and characters reacting to where they have been hit.

The main reason many people will buy this game is because of the film. They will not be disappointed. The game is packed with scenes from the film that will only have been seen before by those with the special edition DVD of The Two Towers. The game follows the film very carefully, with multiple routes leaving no part of the story untouched.

The sound is looking very good. Not only have EA gone to town in signing up Orlando Bloom et al for the voice acting (as well as digitising them all for character models) they have also signed up musical maestro and Academy Award-winner Howard Shore to produce the sound track. This should all add together to produce a very immersing game play experience. Let's just hope that all the game play improvements make it all worthwhile. Little has been said about the GBA compatibility, although there is speculation that it is used as a way of gaining experience points for your characters. Seeing how it has been used in past games it is quite likely that using it will unlock an added feature.

There is certainly quite a bit to get excited about here. My only worry is that we were saying that around this time before launch of The Two Towers. There have certainly been lots of improvements and additions that should ad a bit of variety to the game. But, like The Two Towers, the premise of the game of inherently repetitive. Had EA chosen an RPG direction we might have not had this problem, but the game wouldn't have sold as well. However, recent years have shown that an EA sequel is no longer just a re hash of the last version, just take a look at SSX or FIFA to see what I mean. This game has a chance of actually having something a bit special and some quality, and I certainly hope so. One to keep a look out for!