A Handful of LotR: The Third Age Reviews
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Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is nothing short of impressive. It spans all three films and, not only relates the story that we already know, but also spins a new one too. There are no real areas of weakness here. The turn-based gameplay is solid, the graphics look great, and the audio is phenomenal. The extensive amount of weapons and equipment will keep any RPG junky happy, and the special effects are continually dazzling. Perhaps the game could have provided a little more difficult, but honestly that's the smallest of notable criticisms. In fact, it's more of a weak-willed whine, but the damage the lack of expanding difficulty does to the overall game is purely minimal. The pairing of a Final Fantasy style RPG and the Lord of the Rings franchise is a solid gold winning combination. Should you fork out the money to add it to your collection? Absolutely!
The second is at PALGN GameCube with an overall score of 8.0/10:
There's a lot of fun in this game for both the RPG and Lord of the Rings fans. If you come under any of those categories then by all means pick this game up now.
The third is at Gaming Age with an overall score of "B":
EA may not be known for their line of RPG titles, but for a newbie, they did a pretty good job bringing fans of the LOTR trilogy something they can hold near and dear to their paper and dice hearts. You will not find much of a challenge, or even a particularly long adventure as far as RPGs are concerned. What you will find is a game that will make you lose track of time, as you will be too engulfed in the experience. Fans of the movie and books alike will be pleasantly pleased with EA's latest offering, as it is one of the more exciting, if not terribly easy RPGs on the market today.
The fourth is at Warcry with an overall score of 9.2/10:
As you can tell I am a Lord of the Rings fan but even if I wasn't I would have enjoyed playing this game. It's a good RPG and there is much more to the game. I just do not have the space to talk about everything that this game has to offer.
And the fifth is at UGO with an overall score of "B-":
In the case of The Third Age, I think that the Lord of the Rings movie license was both a blessing and a curse. The chill factor that goes with being a part of the movies is definitely there from the first moment of gameplay, and that certainly works in EA's favor. At the same time, the designers had to make a game that would appeal to Lord of the Rings fans who wouldn't know Final Fantasy from a hole in the ground, but also something RPG veterans would love. In trying to go down that middle road, I think they kind of stumbled a bit. The combat engine here is a lot of fun, and really makes you feel like you're making a difference in how things play out on a tactical level - something a lot of RPGs don't quite get right. Graphics and sound are excellently implemented, and there's an original idea behind the story. Sadly, things kind of trail off there, with a storyline and macro-level gameplay that doesn't provide enough motivation to keep going. Reference Knights of the Old Republic for a good example of how to do this right, as Bioware did a great job of balancing storytelling and combat in their classic Star Wars offering. In the end, The Third Age is a good time, but it's not quite the definitive Lord of the Rings experience it could have been.
