New Lord of the Rings RPG revealed?

While the Lord of the Rings films were raking in billions of dollars in theaters, Electronic Arts also cashed in with its various Middle-earth game tie-ins. But although the publisher released solid action and strategy titles based on the movie trilogy, it somewhat neglected the role-playing category. Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, was a Final Fantasy X-esque action RPG that did not satisfy genre purists hoping for a more orthodox, Dungeons and Dragons-style title.

Now, it appears that EA is prepping a second RPG based on Lord of the Rings. In an interview with his former employers at 3D Realms, developer Jim Norwood revealed that he is at work on a new LOTR title at his current gig at EA. "I'm currently on Lord of the Rings: The White Council at EA as a software engineer," he told 3D Realms. "It's a new RPG game. That's all public information, so feel free to look it up on the internet or EA's website."

However, it appears Norwood may have spoken too soon, as EA's Web site has no product listing for Lord of the Rings: The White Council. As of press time, the publisher had not yet announced the game, and did not answer requests to comment on it.

While EA has released no details on Lord of the Rings: The White Council, its title gives a small clue to its content--if the game does indeed exist. In J.R.R. Tolkien's original Rings novels, the White Council was the body convened to stop everyone's favorite dark lord, Sauron, from reacquiring the One Ring. Originally headed by the wizard Saruman before he became evil, The White Council also included the wizard Gandalf.

GameSpot will have more details on Lord of the Rings: The White Council when--or if--they emerge.