The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age

"A Final Fantasy X killer? I think not."

When I first heard EA was making a LOTR RPG I was quite excited. I always wanted to roam middle earth, converse with the people, and aid the fellowship in destroying the one ring. What I got was a game that is crazily MORE linear than Final Fantasy X. Being linear isn't necessarily bad, but it does somewhat eliminate the "adventuring" aspect of the game. On with the details.

Gameplay - 7/10

This game is a lot like Final Fantasy X. The game is very linear, and the battles are all turn based. Like in most RPG's your characters acquire new items, level up, and gain new abilities over time. You gain new abilities by using the current ones over and over again. The battles are not completely random in nature however. If a battle is looming an indicator will appear on screen to alert you. The battles are not as frequent as in FFX, but in LOTR The Third Age there is no need to "power level" for a fight. You gain experience so fast from scripted battles that you will not need to go back to level for a certain fight. There are no shops in the game and that is somewhat disappointing. Evil Mode is a decent mini-game but lacking in length and depth. The in game clips are well placed and narrated by Sir Ian Mckellan (Gandalf). This is one of the worst parts of the game by far.

Graphics - 9/10

The graphics in this game (on X-BOX at least) are amazing. The textures are beautiful, and the armor on your characters looks very detailed. Your characters appearance changes with each new peice of armor equipt. The enemies are very detailed as well. This background images aren't the best I have seen, but aren't bad either. The in game cut-scenes show your characters with their current equiptment, and I love that. Not the best graphics I have seen, but amazing none the less.

Story - 7/10

The story is based around the movies obviously. You are a Gondorian named Berethor who is the Captain of the Citadel Guard. You are sent to Rivendell by the Steward of Gondor to locate Boromir. Thus begins your quest which basically revolves around following the fellowship and helping them in certain battles along the way. Good story, but it could have been much better.

Sound/Music - 8/10

The battle sounds are very realistic (orc grunts, ringwraith screams, etc). The voice acting is decent, but definitely not great. EA used the actors' lines from the movies for their in game voices (aragorn, legolas, gimli, faramir, etc). The music was good as well. It was very fitting for the battles, cut-scenes, and roaming around but not something that blew me away.

Overall - 6/10

The games was WAY too short. I beat the game in 20 hours flat. This was by opening every chest in every level/chapter, completing every Evil Mode as it became available, and getting 100% in each chapter. The game is extremely easy and then a battle springs on you that is somewhat difficult. I only died 2 or 3 times the entire game. The game was lacking in longevity, and they could have made it so you could visit other locales and complete more quests. Overall a decent game, but please rent this first. You will most likely be able to beat the game by the time you are due to return the game. A good LOTR game, but could have been soo much more.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/04