While it has been a long while since we’ve last gotten a The Lord of the Rings movie and still some time away from Amazon’s planned series or their MMO, fans of the franchise now have a new game to keep them busy. The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game was originally announced for and released on PC in August, but has made its way to consoles today in a fashion that can best be described by Gandalf’s famous “keep it secret, keep it safe” line from the movies.
While Frodo may not have snuck the game onto your console personally, it is a nice surprise. The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game features an all-new story set in the world of Middle-earth. You’ll get a chance to assemble a team of heroes—a fellowship, if you will—and do battle with the dark lord Sauron himself. Each hero you add to your party has special skills they contribute and can help pull specific cards from your deck when you need them. Just be careful, if you attract too much attention with your heroic deeds then Sauron will focus on stopping you specifically by putting roadblocks in your way.
The PlayStation 4 version of the game costs $25. The console version comes bundled with The Shadow’s Fall, the first expansion pack to the main game. The expansion’s story picks up directly where the main campaign leaves off and introduces new heroes, such as a thieving Hobbit named Fredegar and the noble elf Glorfindel.
If a card game doesn’t quite suit your fancy, there are some other Lord of the Rings projects on their way. As mentioned before, Amazon is working on a free-to-play MMO set in the world of Middle-earth. If a single-player game is more your style, then Daedalic Entertainment, the studio behind games like State of Mind and the Deponia series, is working on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which will be an adventure game focused on the troubled ring obsessed monster. Middle-earth: Shadow of War was also just added to PlayStation Now, so subscribers can play that adventure on PS4 and PC.
