Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Review

Publisher: EA Games

Rating: Teen (T)

About The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is another edition to the several games based J.R.R Tolkien’s amazing novels. In the beginning of the game, you are following in the footsteps of the Fellowship of the Ring and try to help them turn the tides of war against Saruman and the evil forces that seek to possess the Ring of Power. In this turn-based role-playing/adventure game, you will get to play up to three characters with different combat strengths and abilities. Fight Orcs, Goblins, Cave Trolls and much more. Explore Middle Earth and discover its treasures and unusual secrets.

Difficulty Levels/ Modes of Play

There is only one level of difficulty when you first start playing The Third Age. When you complete the game, other levels with become available. The beginning level is still very challenging. The creatures you will face are not that stupid, and have a variety of weapon skills and magic to assist them.

An interesting feature of the game is that you can play in Evil Mode. After completing a level of play, it's unlocked. Instead of playing on the Fellowship’s side, you can play on the evil Sarumon’s side and try to obtain the Ring of Power and prevent its destruction.

Fun Factor

The Third Age is an unusual game. You will spend a lot of time wandering around searching for things. It will appear that you are alone, but other character(s) are really along side of you.

Combat is especially strange. The game takes you out of “adventuring” mode and sticks you in a sort of arena-type environment. All of your companions will now be visible, and the fighting will begin. Combat is turn-based, and you get to select what type of attack or spell you would like to use on an opponent. Then your enemy tries to respond in a destructive way. I have played turn-based RPG games on a PC before, but this caught me off guard since most of the PS2 games are usually in real-time. Another thing about the combat portion of this game is that you cannot pause the game. The characters will sit around until you make a decision, but you cannot look at your inventory or run away.

There will eventually be up to six characters available to you as you complete chapters of the game. Unfortunately, you can only have two of them fight with during combat, but you can switch between them for whoever is appropriate in the situation. After a successful engagement, all your characters will get experience points and sometimes bonus items. Levels seem to be gained quickly, and you can put points into your statistics including Strength, Spirit, Constitution, Speed and Dexterity. New abilities will also be learned as you fight and get experience with existing skills. For instance, Elegost the Ranger will initially have the Arrow Flurry ability, and after using it a few times, will have access to the next level in this skill, Blinding Shot.

Audio/Video

The sound of the dramatic Lord of the Rings soundtrack fills the air as you walk through the lands of Middle Earth. Ian McKellen is the outstanding narrator in this game. For those of you unfamiliar with his name, he plays Gandalf the Wizard in the movie. Combat and spell sounds are really good as well.

The Third Age shows a wealth of clips from all three Lord of the Rings films. You can also find bonus clips hidden in treasure chests while adventuring. The clips give you more details about the story, and insight for things to come in the game.

Summary

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a unique turn-based role-playing/adventure game based on all three blockbuster films and J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. Access up to six characters throughout the game to help you in many involving combat situations. Upgrade your characters statistics and learn new skills. See exciting clips from all three Lord of the Rings movies. Play along side the Fellowship or with the evil Saruman. What will you choose? Will you save Middle Earth or destroy it? You decide.

By Sheila Robinson (CA-gamer)