The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age GBA

With Peter Jackson's vision of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy finished, millions of us have been left feeling a somewhat empty without any fresh tales of Middle-Earth and its inhabitants. But don't stress too much, since EA's brand new Lord of the Rings epic, The Third Age, should fill the void of any Middle-Earth fan. Though related in name to the EA-developed console versions of The Third Age, as a game the GBA offering is remarkably different. Where the console games are more akin to a certain Square Enix RPG series, Third Age GBA focuses on the epic battles Middle-Earth was once famed for. Played from a top-down point of view, players command a team of warriors as they attempt to overcome the evil armies of Sauron. Your enemies comprise of the usual onslaught of Orcs and Goblins, but here, gameplay is much more tactical. More an RTS than a skirmish, each side takes turns to try and diminish the numbers of their opponents in order the win the battle. Like Final Fantasy Tactics et al, players are restricted by a series of rules that must be worked around if they are to progress further into the game. Developed by Griptonite, Third Age GBA is not only a sound strategy game, it's a great looking one too. Great for when you're on the move.