LORD OF THE RINGS: THIRD AGE - The film affiliated video game that's so addictive
Release date - November 5th 2004 (Europe)
Publisher - EA
Platforms - PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Wandering through a discount video game store recently I decide to browse through the classic Playstation 2 and Xbox games. After browsing through some classics my eyes come across a Lord of the Rings game. But not just any Lord of the Rings game. No no, this is Lord of the Rings: Third Age.
I like to think I'm more of a person that leans towards Tolkien's original lore and the constant influx of media Peter Jackson's film series has heavily overshadowed the original books. But I became a sucker for this game and found myself nearly five years on once again playing through this little rendition of Middle-Earth.
In contrast, it's just another film based game. It has the same characters based on the films, uses the same voice actors, and a majority of the cutscenes come from the films themselves. But there's something about this game that has me going back for more and more. The addictive Final Fantasy style combat system, mixed through the process of perfecting your character's abilities and producing the best team to combat any force Sauron throws at you.
Narrative and Plot
The story is rather confusing to understand but you piece it together through what Gandalf (who narrates most of the story) tells you. Though you control up to six characters, the main character is a Gondorian warrior named Berethor who is on a quest to locate Boromir. While upon the road he is attacked by Nazgul until he is saved by a Elf named Idrial. The two embark on a rather unusual quest that see's them joined by a Dwarf and a Dunedain ranger (seem familiar?). The group shadow the Fellowship as they travel through the likes of Moria. The story traverses through the familiar places you see in the films such as Helms Deep, Gondor and Rohan and gives the concept that your group fights alongside the protagonists of the films in key battles.
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| Berethor can lead the charge with his shouts that increase damage and health while Eadoen can unleash might strikes with his Spear or drain the enemy's life to heal himself. |
Gameplay
Perhaps not the best of stories you'll see but the concept is similar to the latest game to come out of the franchise War of the North. The gameplay elements are what really brings this game alive. Turn based combat similar to most final fantasy games, each character has two sets of special skills, such as Berethor having Sword skills which unlock different attacks, and Leadership skills which provide enhancements and buffs for the party. Upon using a skill so many times you unlock more advance skills which greatly help as the game becomes progressively difficult. However some skills require high amounts of skill usage to unlock and it becomes relevant you have to do a bit of grinding. In similar RPG fashion each character can equip various sets of armor, level up and invest points into various stats such as strength or dexterity and even craft items themselves. This allows the player a diverse choice of who they prefer and allows for setting up their perfect team. Whether it's the Bow wielding Elegost or the Hybrid Mage Eaoden, the player can develop these skills over the course of the game. For many fans of the fantasy based RPG-games, you can see yourself backtracking areas to raid up specific abilities to prepare yourself for the battles ahead.
Final Thoughts
Very few games will have me going back as far as the Sixth generation consoles to play again but Third Age is certainly one of them. The story was confusing but it's gameplay certainly made up for it and in the end that was what you were playing for. EA Games can receive some praise for thinking outside the generic hack 'n slash Lord of the Rings games that we have seen.
Final Score - 8/10
Review written by James Paul
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