The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

LIVE THE MOVIE. BE THE HERO.

LIVE THE EPIC ADVENTURE - Play as 9 characters including Gandalf, Aragon, Legolas, Gimli, Sam, and Frodo - Battle through 15 highly-interactive levels

FORM YOUR FELLOWSHIP- Team up with a friend online - Fight side-by-side in multiplayer co-op mode

DEFEAT THE FORCES OF EVIL- Confront Shelob, The King of the Dead, The Witch King, Sauron's Lieutenant, and more

MOVIE EXCLUSIVES- The only game with scenes and music from the films

Source:

Back of Case - PlayStation 2

Live the movie, and be the hero in the only game based on the third film in blockbuster The Lord of the Rings’ movie trilogy. Join a friend online as one of nine upgradeable characters, and fight Sauron’s forces in the final epic battles that will decide the fate of Middle–earth.

Source:

PlayStation Holiday Catalog 2003 - Print/website

EA SHIPS THE LORD OF THE RINGS; THE RETURN OF THE KING GAME ON MULTIPLE GAME PLATFORMS Highly Anticipated Title Offers Players Chance to “Be the Hero” Before the Opening of the Third – and Final – Installment of New Line Cinema’s Epic Trilogy

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 4, 2003 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that The Lord of the Rings’; The Return of the King’ game has begun to ship nationwide on all platforms and will be in stores everywhere on November 6, 2003. The blockbuster action adventure game will be available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox’ videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube’, PC, and Game Boy® Advance under the EA GAMES’ brand.

Based on New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson’s upcoming film adaptation of the classic novel, The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King video game will once again put the fate of Middle-earth’ in the hands of gamers as they become the hero in a cinematic action adventure of epic scale. In the final installment of the blockbuster movie trilogy, players must destroy the One Ring by casting it into the Crack of Doom, freeing Middle-earth from the clutches of the Dark Lord Sauron.

EA’s second The Lord of the Rings action adventure game, The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King will allow players to journey through multiple gameplay paths, taking control of the motion picture’s heroes. Defend the walls of Minas Tirith as Gandalf, raise the Army of the Dead as Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli, and with Frodo and Sam, deliver the ring to the fiery depths of Mount Doom.

Based on the breathtaking environments from the upcoming film, The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King’s third person gameplay will include immersive action and adventure elements set in rich, interactive levels. Fans eagerly awaiting the third theatrical installment (hitting theaters nationwide on December 17, 2003) will have a “sneak peek” opportunity to see and experience footage from “The Return of the King” movie. In addition to actual footage, over 200,000 production assets from the movie were used in the game’s development, along with portrayals and voiceovers from the film cast members, motion capture data from the movie stunt team, and an immersive musical score composed by Academy Award-winner Howard Shore.

An all-new multiplayer cooperative mode will let players form their own Fellowship before embarking on their journey through Middle-earth. The PlayStation 2 console version features two-player online cooperative play throughout the entire game’s fifteen levels. From game lobbies, players can find their friends through buddy lists and chat via EA Messenger instant messaging, or be paired automatically with a gamer of comparable level. Players will be able to choose any two of the six playable characters, and chat hands-free for maximum teamwork. An Internet connection, network adaptor, and memory card for the PlayStation 2 console are required for online play.

The Lord the Rings; The Return of the King, which was developed by EA Redwood Shores Studio (Amaze Entertainment for Game Boy Advance), is rated “T” (Teen) by the ESRB and retails for $49.95 on console platforms and $39.95 for PC and Game Boy Advance. For more information on online features of the product, see the platform-specific pages of the official franchise website at http://lordoftherings.eagames.com.

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. A real-time strategy game for the PC, The Lord of the Rings’, The Battle for Middle-earth’, is under development for release in 2004.

New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film will be released in theaters nationwide on December 17, 2003. For more information about The Lord of the Rings movies, please go to www.lordoftherings.net.

ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of $2.5 billion for fiscal 2003. The company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS’, EA GAMES’, and EA SPORTS BIG’. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is among the entertainment industry’s leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc., operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisition, production, licensing and merchandising units. More information about New Line Cinema can be obtained at www.newline.com. For further press information about New Line Cinema’s merchandising program, contact Stephanie Baumoel or Sheila Feren at FerenComm, 212.983.9898.

Source:

Press Release

Ein Ring, sie zu knechten, sie alle zu finden, Ins Dunkel zu treiben und ewig zu binden … In dem auf dem bald erscheinenden Film von New Line Cinema nach dem Roman von J.R.R. Tolkien basierenden Computerspiel Der Herr der Ringe ’: Die Rückkehr des Königs ’ liegt das Schicksal von Mittelerde erneut in der Hand des Spielers. Im letzten Teil der erfolgreichen Filmtrilogie muss der Spieler den Einen Ring zerstören, indem er ihn in die Schicksalsklüfte wirft und somit Mittelerde vom Dunklen Herrscher Sauron befreit.

EAs zweites “Herr der Ringe”-Action-Adventure, Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rückkehr des Königs, führt den Spieler auf eine Reise durch zahlreiche Umgebungen, während er erneut in die Rolle eines der Helden aus dem Film schlüpft. So kann er Minas Tirith als Gandalf verteidigen, die Armee der Toten als Aragorn, Legolas oder Gimli anführen oder als Frodo und Sam den Ring in die Tiefen des Schicksalsbergs schleudern.

Die Rückkehr des Königs basiert auf den Umgebungen des bald erscheinenden Films und bietet überwältigende Action-Adventure-Elemente in detailreichen interaktiven Levels. Im neuen Multiplayer-Coop-Modus kann der Spieler seine eigene Gemeinschaft gründen, bevor er sich auf die Reise durch Mittelerde begibt.

Features: - Neun spielbare und freischaltbare Charaktere, einschließlich Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam und Frodo, die von den Original-Synchronsprechern aus dem Film gesprochen werden. - Neuartiger Coop-Modus, bei dem der Spieler sich mit einem Freund zusammentun kann. - Über zwölf interaktive Umgebungen, die den Schauplätzen des Films realistisch nachempfunden wurden. - Der Spieler muss die Pfade der Toten erkunden, Minas Tirith verteidigen und gegen Saurons Armee in den Feldern von Pellenor kämpfen, bevor er sich schließlich der ultimativen Schlacht am Schwarzen Tor und der Schicksalsklüfte stellen muss. - Action-Adventure aus der Perspektive der 3. Person mit zahlreichen Möglichkeiten für die einzelnen Gefährten. - Interaktive Spielumgebungen, die vom Spieler sowohl beim Nahkampf als auch aus weiterer Entfernung in seine Taktik mit einbezogen werden können. Die Charaktere können springen, sich an Seilen entlang schwingen, Gegenstände in Richtung des Gegners schleudern oder Geröll mit dem Fuß zur Seite bewegen. - Verbesserte Steuerung mit dem rechten Analog-Stick ermöglicht dem Spieler, Angriffe in verschiedene Richtungen und Kombinationen auszuführen, während er sich durch eine Reihe von Feinden kämpft. - Kampf gegen gefährliche Gegner wie den Herrn der Ringgeister bis hin zum finalen Kampf gegen den Dunklen Herrscher Sauron. - Mit nie zuvor veröffentlichtem Material aus dem bald erscheinenden Film Die Rückkehr des Königs. Mit Musik von Oscar-Gewinner Howard Shore.

Source:

Electronic Arts Germany website - PC/PS2/Xbox

The third and (sadly) final part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy arrives at the cinema - and as ever, EA's right in there with the accompanying game

This is the GotF of the LotR: RotK - or, if you prefer, the game of the film of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Phew. The game begins near the end of The Two Towers, where Gandalf the White arrives at Helm's Deep to save the day; taking control of the wise wizard, you must hack away at the goblin hordes and use powerful magic to ensure that the battle goes the Fellowship's way.

The game follows the plot of the film, enabling you to control eight different characters from the adventure, including Aragorn, the King himself (no, it doesn't turn out to be Elvis). Whoever you're controlling, you must exploit a variety of combat techniques and combos to beat off Sauron's evil forces, and use the hostile environments to your advantage.

Improving upon last year's The Two Towers, EA has added a two-player co-operative mode that lets you and a friend take on the masses of enemies that stand between you and success.

Additionally, RotK's graphics are even more detailed, with a colour palette that really brings the story to life. Exclusive footage from the forthcoming movie is seamlessly integrated into the action, making this the definitive interactive Lord of the Rings experience. Will Frodo manage to return the Ring to the depths of Mount Doom? It's up to you...

• Play as one of eight characters from the film, including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli
• A new co-operative two-player mode means you can fight alongside a trusted ally/friend
• Features over twelve different environments taken from the film
• Includes exclusive footage taken from the Return of the King movie

Source:

uk.playstation.com

August 2003

Quarium, Inc. announces it is providing online game play functionality for Electronic Arts' upcoming "Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" PlayStation®2 game. The game is based on the movie of the same name and features two-player cooperative exploration of more than twelve levels. Players will be able to meet during a "Quick Match" method, through EA's standard in-game chat-rooms, or through the custom "EA Messenger" buddy list. It is possible to exchange text messages with players that are online with other EA games, e.g. "John Madden Football", "NCAA", "Tiger Woods Golf" and "The Sims". During a game players can speak to each other using standard USB microphone/headset combinations. The online play mode requires a broadband Internet connection and will be available in the U.S. and Japan only.

Source:

Quarium Inc. website

LEBE DEN FILM, SEI DER HELD

LEBE DES MONUMENTALE ABENTEUER

• Spiele als einer von neun Charakteren wie Gandalf, Aragron, Legolas, Gimli, Sam und Frodo
• Kämpfe dich durch 15 intensive Level

BILDE EINE GEMEINSCHAFT

• Zerstöre den Ring der Macht und bringe wieder Frieden nach Mittelerde
• Spiele mit einem Freund im Multiplayer-Koop-Modus

BEKÄMPFE DIE MÄCHTE DES BÖSEN

• Bekämpfe Gegener wie Kankras, den Herrn der Ringgeister, Saurons Armee und viele mehr

EXKLUSIVES FILMMATERIAL

• Das einzige Spiel mit Szenen und Musik aus den Filmen

Source:

Back of Keep Case - Windows (Germany)