What are lacking in a lot of video games rushed to market are good stories underscoring the action.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King certainly does not lack that. It is the finale in the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, and weaves the tale of the ascension of the true king of Gondor in the midst of a battle for the very world.

When last we left the tale, in the wake of The Two Towers, the battle to save the race of the men of Rohan had turned from certain defeat to the hope of victory. The Return of the King continues where that thread left off, and the battle in Helm’s Deep in concluded with the defeat of Saruman’s forces. But even this victory is not without cost and Gandalf the White presupposes that Saruman’s wrath will be great.

It is then that the extent of Gandalf’s plan is truly revealed.

EA Games’ PC release of LotR: The Return of the King is co-joined with the pending release of New Line Cinemas third and final chapter in the trilogy. It features the story and a wonderful range of cutscenes taken straight from the movie. Of course, the characters are all in place and you can play as one of the key players, including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam and Frodo. Most are locked at the beginning of the game, and you will have to work through the levels to unlock them.

But what falters on this path is a game that is extremely linear and is oriented to puzzles and combat. The latter is the primary focus. To that end, the game is not very immersive, and suffers from camera angles that make movement and targeting a challenge.

There is little doubt that this title is a wonderful adjunct to fans of the film. The cutscenes alone are almost worth the price of admission.

Gandalf’s plan involves a wee bit of deceit. He has sent an army to vie for Middle-earth, and in the midst of it is Aragorn, the true heir to the throne of Gondor. It was Aragorn’s heirs that first took possession of the ring of power, the one artifact that will seal Sauron’s return to power and thrust all of Middle-earth under his accursed control.

By sending Aragorn on the path to reclaim his family’s throne, Gandalf feels that Sauron will think that Aragorn has the ring, and that this will turn the attention from the actual ring bearer – Frodo Baggins – who is working his way toward Mount Doom with his ever-faithful friend Samwise Gamgee.

The game plays out over 13 levels, each portraying a key element of the book and each with a huge challenge to overcome. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas enter the tombs of the dead, to secure the bond of the King of the Dead to help in the defense of Minas Tirith, the main city of Gondor. The way is fraught with recalled skeletal warriors, and the battle is fierce, up until the boss is reached.

Meanwhile Frodo and Sam has troubles of their own; Smeagol/Gollum has led them to the lair of Shelob in an effort to have them killed so it may reclaim the ring.

The set-up for each level is wonderful. The game begins with scenes from the movie, and transforms the live action to the realm of the cyber world. Even in that, the game is graphically wonderful. The characters in the game look like the characters from the film, and the voices from the motion picture, as well as the music, help make the connection even stronger.

As you play, you are rated on the kills you make. The rating is broken down into four scores – fair, good, excellent and perfect. Each rating is worth so many points and those points can level your characters as well as buy powers and attacks. Each special attack is specific to the character. Aragorn will have a range of sword skills to purchase, while Legolas will have archery skills that he can get.

The game has a very good AI. In the single-player mode, the character you control will lead the way through the maze of a mapboard, but the other characters will fight without prompting, and fight reasonably well.

Health bars appear over the enemy’s head, and kills may sometimes result in dropping vials that will replenish health. As you make kills, you will power up for your special attack, one that can be unleashed with devastating consequences.

But the camera angle can make it hard to target, especially in the upper difficulty ranges. The enemy is numerous and in the tumultuous action, you can loose sight of your character and end up not facing anything while swinging blindly.

And the camera angle also toys with character movement. When is forward not forward? When the camera is locked and your path lays forward and to the right. What looks like it should be a straight line is not because of the camera positioning.

The player interface is very well done, though the controls are a little awkward. You can reset the controls though to make them a little more player friendly.

Graphically, this game is superb. The special effects are excellent. With the sound and music from the films, this game sports a soundtrack that is every bit as solid as the graphics.

LotR: The Return of the King is an action-heavy game that will sate the appetites of gamers who are also fans of the film series. This is a game that sparkles with scenes from the films and does an excellent job of melding the adventure from the film with the action of this game.

However, from an action-adventure standpoint, this is a game that falters along the path. The camera makes gameplay clumsy, and the linear nature of the levels and mazes hampers replayability. Yes, you can redo the level as a different play, or work to better your score in kills in order to buy better power-ups.

LotR: The Return of the King is rated Teen for violence.

Gameplay: 6.8

The camera makes this game clumsy to play. The controls are a little awkward as well, but that can be fixed to any configuration you wish. The maps are not overly huge and linear in design.

Graphics: 9

The way the game moves from a scene from the motion picture to the game play is wonderful. The environments are superb, and the animation is terrific.

Sound: 9.2

The voices, sounds and music score from the film make this a truly delightful audio experience.

Difficulty: Hard

Three settings present a solid challenge, but the camera adds to that. Some of the bosses are not just hack and slash, you will have to figure out how to get them to yield, rather than simply wade in and try to cut them down.

Concept: 7

This game is awkward in design, but it is excellent as a precursor to the film itself.

Multiplayer: 7.5

The title will allow two players to play in a cooperative mode through the levels.

Overall: 7.7

The graphical and audio quality of this title raises the score, but aside from that, this is a title that needs to be worked on. Putting in a rotatable camera would definitely improve this title.