Better than the official review makes it seem...again....
OK, enough of this snivelling, on with my review. LOTR:Tactics is a throwback to the turn-based games of old, with a new twist (with simultaneous moving, in case you haven't heard).
Yes, there are minor camera problems at times, but all that means is you miss seeing the odd swipe being taken now and then. Most of the time, you can see everything just fine.
Yes, it is a slower pace than all of the first-person action-style LOTR titles out there, but so what? It's a turn based strategy game! What exactly did you expect in the way of pace?
The fact that you can play earlier missions for more cash is not a flaw; I saw it as a fun chance to see if, after letting Aragorn and gandalf run through it, Frodo and Sam could make it through. As well, you are rated for your speed and survival level (how many of your team didn't get killed), so that if you finish the map with merely 'good', 'average', or 'poor' ratings, it is motivation to go back and shoot for the 'excellent'.
Yes, the storyline is introduced via edited bits from the film...again, what else did you think would happen...? Read the title....sheesh. I thought the editing was fine, keeping the player in touch with what the next map would represent, from Weathertop to the Plains of Rohan, to Helm's Deep.
The graphics are serviceable, although the portrait of Aragorn looks less like Viggo than his visage in-game. It is refreshing to play a tactical RPG without having to endure those squat little bobble-head characters that seem to have all but taken over the genre. Sound is equally OK, with the still-wonderful score from the film, lots of nice grunting and groaning, clanking swords, etc.
Gameplay is a LOT better than the official review makes it seem. Some of the maps are truly challenging, requiring you to re-think your strategy, moving your men around in novel formations, making sure they stick together to boost each other's armor, or taking a risk and splitting them up to try for a new speed record. The AI is quite adept at dismantling your men if you don't keep an eye to formation, picking out the weak spots and capitalizing on it by ganging up on any unsupported soldiers you may have left hang out to dry. There appears to be more attention paid to giving the AI a sense of the board, your positions, and your goals, resulting in some pretty good strategy coming out of the CPU. Many other turn-based games I've played seem to have an AI consisting entirely of "try to hit the nearest enemy", rather than displaying any sort of strategy. There is more to the AI here than that, offering up some humiliating defeats at times, if you happen to leave one of your heroes a bit too unprotected.
I confess that I am a truly rabid fan of the entire LOTR franchise. I own all three films on DVD, in both the theatrical and extended versions. I am in possession of replica Aragonauth bookends, as well as a scaled down model of Minas Tirith. I've played every LOTR video game available for the PC, x-box, and GBA. Yes, maybe I'm a bit biased....but you could also say that I'm more difficult to please, since I've played it all, and now have higher expectations.
As of this writing, this is the only turn-based RPG available for the PSP (aside from Metal Gear Acid, which is more of a card-style game), and it's a pretty good one at that. Yes, several other turn-based PSP titles are on the horizon, but they are back to the bobble-head formula, and untested AI. For a decent RPG that is, admittedly, a slow-paced turn-based game, this one was not the end-all-be-all turn based strategy RPG of all time, but it is still a pretty fun little game, moreso if you are a fan of the LOTR realm.