The Precious Draws Near & The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King goes GOLD!

EA is pleased to announce that The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King has officially gone gold for all platforms—PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. The game is on track to ship to North American retailers under the EA GAMES brand on Tuesday, November 4th, and will be in stores by Thursday, November 6th.

Based on New Line Cinema’s upcoming film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy 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 the gamer. 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 trilogy’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 environments from the upcoming movie, The Return of the King’s third person gameplay will include immersive action and adventure elements set in rich, interactive levels. An all-new multiplayer co-op mode (including online play for PlayStation 2) will let players form their own Fellowship before embarking on their journey through Middle-earth.

The team behind The Return of the King is EA’s Redwood Shores studio (Amaze Entertainment for Game Boy Advance). The game is rated ESRB "T" (Teen).

Please let either of us know if you'd like more information and/or have any questions prior to the game's release. More product information is available on the press web site at www.info.ea.com.