EA, who already look after the gaming franchise for the Lord of the Rings movies has announced that it has been granted the licence to turn the books into video games as well.

On the back of the news, EA has announced two new games, a Middle-earth sequel for the PC, and a Tactics game for the PSP: 'The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II' and 'The Lord of the Rings Tactics'.

EA claims that with the new games, fans will be able to step into a world that looks like the films, but experience characters, environments and battles that have been inspired by the books.

"Now that we are expanding our Lord of the Rings universe to encompass Tolkien's books, we'll be able to combine the visual impact of the films with those complex stories," said Steve Gray, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Tactics at EA. "The RPG genre, in particular, is a great medium for story telling. We are delving into unexplored depths of Tolkien's works to deliver new, compelling and immersive experiences."

>> EA - Official website of EA