The Lord of the Rings: The White Council, EA's New RPG

"Time will tell", was how our previous story on EA's role-playing machinations ended late last month, and indeed time has spoken. As part of their summer showdown, Electronic Arts officially announced their new role-playing game called The Lord of the Rings: The White Council - which predictably turns out to be the exact same game as Project Gray Company, unveiled in April. However, we now learn that the The White Council will also be released on the PC, in addition to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in late 2007.

Details about the actual game are still scarce at the moment, but EA says that it will feature an original storyline derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels, and that players will have the freedom to explore the open world of Middle-earth in The White Council - which would be a first in the series, save for The Lord of the Rings Online's release in late 2006.

"Players can choose their role as a man, an elf, a dwarf, or a hobbit. Each role's destiny is to become a hero allied with the White Council, whose members include the famed characters Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, and Elrond.

A combination of stunning graphics and expansive environments, along with the freedom of movement demonstrates the innovation and quality of the next-generation RPG, where players can create their own adventures."

EA's press release heralds a new LotR: The White Council website, which also links back to the Project Gray Company page, where several video dev-diaries can still be found, alongside other snippets of info and media.

Another EA RPG?... Let's hope they do it right, this time.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)