Universal Interactive to adapt Tolkien books for Xbox, GBA

Universal Interactive has announced plans to publish games based on the Lord of the Rings series of books. This is a separate license from the one that covers the recently released movie, which EA holds the game rights for.

The first games in the series are The Fellowship of the Ring for the Xbox and The Lord of the Rings, Part I for the Game Boy Advance. The Fellowship of the Ring is a third-person action game developed by WXP. In it, players will take on the roles of Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf in a quest to destroy the One Ring of Power.

The Lord of the Rings, Part I for the Game Boy Advance covers the first two books in the series, taking players through the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and some of the events in The Two Towers. The game is described by Universal as an RPG-style game that is viewed from an isometric perspective.

Both games are scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2002.