=============================================================================== The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) Read Me File Version 1.

0 November 5, 2003 =============================================================================== Introduction The Fellowship of the Ring formed to save Middle-earth from the treacherous power of The One Ring. From the Council of Elrond in Rivendell they set forth on their journey towards Mordor to destroy The One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Many challenges assailed the Fellowship, from Ringwraiths to legions of Orcs to the fearsome Balrog that took the great wizard Gandalf the Grey from their ranks. However, hope ultimately prevailed and the Fellowship kept true to its path. That is, until the Fellowship split apart as they neared the dangers of Mordor. In the forests of Fangorn, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli met up once again with a reborn Gandalf the White and traveled to the lands of Rohan. There, a great battle occurred at Helm s Deep between men and the wizard Saruman s forces of evil. To the East, the hobbits Frodo and Sam searched for a way into Mordor with the destruction of The One Ring in the forefront of their minds. As the hobbits draw closer to Mount Doom, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf travel by various roads to Gondor to aid the men of Middle-earth in preparing a desperate last stand against the unspeakable forces of evil. Against the gates of Minas Tirith, they expect Sauron to unleash thousands of troops to quickly snuff out the hopes of all free people. To withstand the unrelenting forces of Sauron, the members of the Fellowship know the destruction of The One Ring is the only thing that can save them. Will Gondor prevail? Will Frodo and Sam make it to the fires of Mount Doom? In this final chapter of The Lord of the Rings, the fate of Middle-earth is in your hands. =============================================================================== Installation Instructions =============================================================================== When you first insert The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) disc 1, the installation program should automatically start. If it does not, you can start it yourself by following these steps: 1) Browse the contents of The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) install disc 1. 2) Locate the "AutoRun.exe" file. 3) Double mouse-click "AutoRun.exe" file. 4) Follow the instructions that appear. Note: When installing on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you must be logged into an account which belongs to the Administrators group. =============================================================================== Uninstalling Instructions =============================================================================== To uninstall The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the

King(tm): 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Bring up your Start Menu. Choose "Programs". Choose "EA GAMES". Choose "LOTR The Return of the King (tm)". Click on "Uninstall LOTR The Return of the King (tm)".

You can also uninstall in the following ways: Windows 98 and ME 1) Bring up your Start Menu. 2) Choose "Settings". 3) Choose "Control Panel". 4) Choose "Add/Remove Programs". 5) Highlight "LOTR The Return of The King (tm)" and click the "Add/Remove..." button in the lower right. 6) Follow the instructions that appear. Windows 2000 and Windows XP Home Edition and Professional 1) Bring up your Start Menu. 2) Choose "Settings". 3) Choose "Control Panel". 4) Choose "Add/Remove Programs" 5) Highlight "LOTR The Return of the King (tm)" and click the "Remove" button. 6) Follow the instructions that appear. =============================================================================== Gameplay Instructions: =============================================================================== All controls are available and customizable from the "Controls" Menu accessible from the Main Menu or from the Pause menu during game play. Here is a breakdown of the default controls: Default Keyboard/Mouse Controls: W - Move Character Left Mouse - Speed Attack Right Mouse - Fierce Attack LCTRL - Physical Attack Q - Parry Spacebar - Killing Move Left Shift - Equip Ranged Weapon Tab - Jump Back E - Action F5 - Special Ability F3 - Toggle 1p/2p Player Indicators F1 - Help Esc - In game pause menu Default Keyboard only controls: W - Move Forward S - Move Backward A - Move left D - Move right NUM 2 - Speed Attack NUM 8 - Fierce Attack NUM 6 - Physical Attack

NUM 4 - Parry Spacebar - Killing Move Left Shift - Equip Ranged Weapon Tab - Jump Back E - Action F5 - Special Ability F3 - Toggle 1p/2p Player Indicators F1 - Help Esc - In game pause menu Starting your first game: ------------------------When you launch The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) for the first time, you will be launched directly into the action at Helm's Deep. If you need to configure your controls, pause the game by pressing the Esc key and use the options menu to access the control configuration screen. WINNING HELM'S DEEP Once you've led the charge to victory at Helm's Deep, your experience will be tallied and you'll have the opportunity to improve Gandalf's already formidable skills. Then you'll be presented with the opportunity to choose your path on th e Level Select screen. LEVEL SELECTION Choose your level and enter into the fray. There are three story paths you may choose. The center path (The Path of the King) in the Level Selection screen is for Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. The right-hand path (The Path of the Hobbits) is for Frodo and Sam. The left-hand path (The Path of the Wizard) is for Gandalf. * To select a level, highlight it and press the enter key. * Unlock new levels by winning the previous level. * Once you complete the full game, you are able to replay a level as any of the characters. * Many extras are also available from the Level Selection screen, including interviews and secret levels. The more you achieve in the game, the more you unlock! CHARACTER SELECTION There are three character paths. The path you choose determines which characters you may play in a given level. * Once you have chosen a level, the Character Selection screen appears. * To cycle through available characters, press the left or right arrows. * To select a highlighted character, press the enter key. NOTE: Only characters that are highlighted can be selected. Hidden characters are unlocked as you advance through the game. To start a new single player game: ----------------------------------

Once you have a game saved, The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm ) with take you directly to the Main Menu when it is started to give you the chanc e to Load game and restore your progress. You can start a new game any time you want. * Select SINGLE PLAYER in the Main menu. The Single Player menu appears. * Select NEW GAME in the Single Player menu. The Difficulty Select screen appears. * Select a difficulty level - EASY, NORMAL, or HARD - and press the enter key to begin. The battle for Helm s Deep begins again! =============================================================================== System Requirements =============================================================================== Minimum: Windows XP, ME, 2000, or 98. Windows 95 and NT are not supported. 700 MHz or faster Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor 128 MB RAM (256 MB if using Windows XP) Supported DirectX 8.1 compatible video card* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card 2.0 GB free hard disk space (additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX 8.1 installation) 8X or faster CD-ROM/DVD-ROM MS compatible mouse Keyboard * Video card must be 32 MB or more and contain one of the following chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 4, GeForce 3, GeForce 2, ATI Radeon 9000, ATI Radeon 8000, ATI Radeon 7500 or greater. Recommended: Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP processor 256 Megabytes of RAM Supported DirectX 8.1 compatible video card (64+ MB) DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card 2.0 GB free hard disk space (additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX 8.1 installation) 16X Speed CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Gamepad (USB or Joystick Port) MS compatible mouse Keyboard =============================================================================== Getting the most from the game on your system =============================================================================== In order to provide you with the best possible play experience, The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) game provides many adjustable options to allow you to trade off high visual and aural quality against smooth motion and high frame rates in the game. Here are some suggestions if you find that the game feels too sluggish or jerky on your system:

* Close other running programs and/or icon tray applications. Other programs can steal time and resources from The Lord of the Rings (tm); The Return of the King(tm), even when they are minimized or running in the background on your system tray. Whenever possible close them down bef ore launching the game. * Try lower SFX settings. By turning down the SFX setting you are reducing the demands placed on your video card to draw each image. This is especially important for older or economy model video cards. * Try turning your screen resolution down. This will result in an image that is less sharp, but will also be less demanding of your video card. * Try lower shadow settings High quality shadows are perhaps the most expensive single option you can turn both in terms of CPU and graphics card demands. Keeping this setting at medium will provide a well balanced trade off. For the absolute most frame rate possible, turn shadows off entirely. * Try using 16 bit color mode This is a last ditch option. By using fewer colors in each image, The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) game can place slightly lower demands on the memory system of your video card. Unfortunately, this option can result in noticeable image quality sacrifices including banding or faint color strips in effects like smoke or clouds. * Try using stereo audio mode. When running in 3D or 3D+EAX mode, the sound system of The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) can place substantial load on your CPU, especially when running on sound cards with a limited number of hardware voices. This can lead both to less smooth animatio n as well as stuttering in the sound track itself. =============================================================================== Known Hardware issues =============================================================================== Video: -----The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) requires the latest in graphics hardware to reproduce the stunning visual world of Middle-earth. Only ATI Radeon models 7500 and up are supported. Similarly for nVidia; only cards i n the GeForce family are supported. Older cards simply do not have the "fill rate " required to provide a satisfying game play experience. Note that mobile or "on-board" video solutions often will not provide satisfactory performance. Despite being GeForce "4"s, cards with "MX" in their model names will perform best with lower graphics settings. SiS Xabre video cards do not work with The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm). The game will launch but major image quality issues will prevent the game from being playable. If you are having video trouble with a supported graphics card, the best advice

is always to upgrade your drivers to the latest version available from the manufacturer. Audio: -----The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) can be run in one of three modes: Stereo, 3D, or 3D+EAX. If your sound card does not support EAX, this mode will not be available. EAX mode also requires that the "Hardware Accelerat ion" slider (accessed via the Sound Control Panel) be set to Full. If your sound car d does not support hardware 3D voices, Stereo mode will offer the best performance . Faster CPU's and those with hardware 3D voices will experience a higher quality sound experience in 3D mode. If you experience problems with audio, try one or more o f the following: * Install the latest drivers for your sound card. These are generally available at the manufacturer's web site. * Switch to 3D mode (if in Stereo mode), or Stereo mode (if in 3D mode). * Reduce the "Hardware Acceleration" level in the Sound control panel (this is a global system setting). * If streaming audio (e.g. music) sounds choppy, and your system supports hardwa re voices, edit the rotk.ini file (located under the "My Documents" folder), and ch ange the line that reads "Software_Stream_Buffers=0" to "Software_Stream_Buffers=1". Controls: --------The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) can be used with a gamepad or joystick. Your gamepad must have an analog controller stick and at least 8 buttons to support all game features. You may want to verify the operation of yo ur gamepad using the Windows "Game Controllers" Control Panel (From Windows, choose Start Menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Game Controllers. Then select your controller from the list and push the Properties button). Default mappings are available in The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) for several popular gamepads, and you can customize the button assignments using the in-game Options screen. Gamepads with "mode" buttons: Some gamepads have "mode" buttons or switches that alter the way they report input to the game. If The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) fails to respond to analog stick movement, verify that your gamepad is operating in standard analog joystick mode. Check the instructions that came with your gamepad for details. =============================================================================== EA Tech Support =============================================================================== If you have questions about the program or trouble with The Lord of the

Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm), please refer to the user manual. The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) also includes the EA Help file that provides solutions and answers to the most common difficulties and questions about how to properly use this product. It also allows you to send a detailed report of your problem directly to EA Technical Support via e-mail. To access the EA Help file: --------------------------1. Start the Windows operating system. 2. Insert the Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) "Install Disc 1" CD into your CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive. The AutoRun menu appears. 3. If the AutoRun menu does not automatically appear, left-click the "Start" button from the Windows Taskbar and select Run.... Type "D:\autorun.exe" in the Run dialog box, then click OK (substitute the correct letter of your CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive if other than 'D:'). 4. Click the Help button on the AutoRun menu. EA Help opens. If you are still experiencing difficulty after utilizing the information in the EA Help file, you can also use it to contact EA Technical Support. EA Help contains a utility that detects your system's hardware and organizes this information into a detailed report. This report helps EA Technical Support solve your problem in the quickest possible time. Please note that you will need to have registered your copy of The Lord of the Rings(tm); The Return of the King(tm) in order to take advantage of this utility. To run the utility: ------------------1. Launch the EA Help file. 2. Go to page 2 of the Welcome screen by clicking the small arrow in the bottom corner. 3. Click the Contact Technical Support button. The utility opens. 4. Click OK to begin detecting your hardware. When it finishes, you can view the gathered information by looking through the various category tabs. To send this information to EA Technical Support, fill out the blank sections under the User tab including a detailed description of the problem you are experiencing and click Send (if you have an open Internet connection) or Save Info (if you wish to e-mail the file manually). A copy of the report is automatically saved to your Windows desktop. =============================================================================== Legal Information =============================================================================== THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WHICH ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT WILL ELECTRONIC ARTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE, OR MALFUNCTION OF THIS ELECTRONIC ARTS SOFTWARE PRODUCT. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS AS TO HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS AND/OR EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND/OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. ELECTRONIC ARTS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN THIS FILE AND TO

THE SOFTWARE AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT NOTICE. THIS FILE AND THE SOFTWARE HEREWITH IS COPYRIGHTED. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS FILE OR THE SOFTWARE MAY BE COPIED, REPRODUCED, TRANSLATED, OR REDUCED TO ANY ELECTRONIC MEDIUM OR MACHINE-READABLE FORM WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF ELECTRONIC ARTS, P.O. BOX 9025, REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA 94063-9025, ATTN: CUSTOMER SUPPORT. 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.