Lord of the Rings Tactics lets you enjoy a strategy romp through the world of Aragorn and Legolas on your PSP. The turn-based system allows you to take your time and explore the layout thoroughly before making your moves and decisions.

You're allowed to play as the "good" or "bad" side in a number of situations from the movie. They even have actual movie footage introducing the scenes, so you really get to feel as if you're immersed in the action. It's a let down when you get into the character select screen though. Instead of having that same high level of graphics they have some pretty cheesy looking portraits for the characters.

With the turn based system you are moving around on a grid. Each turn all of your characters can move a certain distance, and then the enemies can move. After that, everyone can choose who to attack. For people who enjoy wild slice-and-dice games it might seem a little slow and stilted this way. However, it turns the game into a chess like game. You look at the map and figure out how you can outflank your enemies given the terrain and situation.

It's not all close combat attacks. Some of the characters have distance weapons, and others have magic. It helps to think about each character individually, what he or she can do on the board, and keep them as safe as possible while they inflict their damage.

The music is straight out of the movies and adds an epic feel to the game. Since the cut scenes are actual movie footage, you get to hear Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn's voice coming from your PSP just as they did in the movies.

It's important to note that you really aren't "changing the storyline" anywhere in here. You are succeeding or not succeeding at key battles that are IN the story. If you fail, you get a chance to go back and try it again.

Well recommended to any strategy fan who enjoys the Lord of the Rings world. It provides a nice level of challenge without becoming overly bogged down in minute detail.

Buy Lord of the Rings Tactics from Amazon.com