Game: Lord of the Rings: Treason of Isengard
Didn't Come Out: Holiday 2003
What It Wasn't: Surreal Software's stab at an action/adventure game, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books (not the movies), put players in control of Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas and all those guys, battling evil in the depths of Mordor. EA had the LotR film license, and it, too, was creating action/adventure games based on the franchise. How many hack-and-slash games based on Middle Earth do you need? Less than two, apparently - VU canned the project for fear of competing with EA's similar efforts and weakening its own license with what would almost certainly be perceived as a late knock-off.
Will It Live Again? Nope. VU no longer has the Tolkien book license, and the company's instincts were right - EA's games were satisfying enough.
