The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age

"the best gba strategy game Ive ever played!"

The console version and the gba version are completely different games, the console one is an rpg, this is a great strategy game.

Graphics:9
I enjoy the graphics a whole lot. they may not be the best on the shelf, but who cares about the graphics anyway? Graphics don't decide for me if I want the game or not but if they do for you then you wont be disappointed. The battle animations are brilliant, when the Witch King attacks there are different graphics they show for him, and I have found that they do different damage. You can get confused in the rivendell mission, because there are 2 types of elves, and they look very similar, but they are different. But it doesn't really matter that much, because I could always tell the difference when I looked at their stats. The death sequences pleased me as well. Nothing makes me feel better than watching my witch king take soldiers out in one blow.

Controls:10
The controls are brilliant. I have noticed no flaws at all in them. B, like in most games is cancel. A commands your units.

Start gets you to your mission objectives screen. Your mission objectives screen tells you the requirements for good and evil, its also tells you how much points each alignment and the turn number. Start also gives you 4 options. There is a unit option that lets you see every unit on the map, and their stats. There is a Glossary option that will tell you the events, the skill set for good and evil, the items you can get, information on terrain, and unit talents, you switch between the information in the glossary with the R button. There is options, which offers a few things that will help you, such as snap mode, auto-end turn and a movement grid. Last there is a quit option which takes you back to the war room.

Well you get most of the information on controls from the tutorial. The tutorial teaches you a number of things that are important. Such as moving, attacking, and how very important your heroes are.

Sound:10
The sound was perfect in my opinion. I enjoyed the sound in the two towers, the return of the king was a step up from that, and the third age makes it go even farther. Different music plays depending on your map. The death sounds of peasants dying is great, especially with the graphics that go with it. You hear the units weapons, you hear the arrows whiz by and the lightning as Saruman and gandalf attack. The music is also different depending on how the battle is going. If you enjoyed the music from the movies you would enjoy the music in this game.

Game play:9
The game play for this game is great. You will not get confused as long as you dont jump straight to multi player. There is a tutorial before you start the game, which will teach you the basics of the game, and in the rivendell mission it teaches you about flanks. If the information in the tutorials is not enough there is always the instruction manual, but I think that the tutorial does a better job in teaching you the basics.

Your units are more powerful than normal units, but don't even think about sending you one witch king against the rohirram army. Your generals you can choose from(at the start anyway hehe) are the Witch King, Sauruman, and The Mouth of Sauron for evil, and for good you can choose Aragorn, Gandalf, and Elrond. Disappointed about the lack of characters? Have no fear, in some missions you can choose a companion, most of your favorites from the movie are here, like Boromir and Lurtz. Companions are powerful as well, and can usually take 1 or 2 units easily. For 3 you might need back up, but if you use your skills wisely you should be able to take care of them.

When you are not in a mission you are in the war room. The War Room gives you the option of quiting, saving, going in to a mission, and upgrading the companions you used in your last mission(the ones that didn't die anyway) and you general. With this you can make your general and companions very powerful. You can also purchase items here.

In order to use skills you double click A on a unit. You will be given a option to use the skills for your companion or general, as well as look at the stats of your units. When you double click A you can also use items for your companions and general. The Game play is great.

Story:1
I loved the story of the lord of the rings, but they put nearly no story at all in here. One of the only flaws.

Multiplayer:9
BRILLIANT. Unlike most games you can play multi player in hotseat, which means both of you on the same gba and cartridge. The multi player is just like playing single player except for a few things

Well the main difference is you are against 2 people, or yourself for practice(I have used it for just that). Another difference is there are 3 different options when you choose your general, they are Novice, Experienced, and Veteran. You can also load a character from your game.

There is also link cable battle and Wireless battle, both of which i have never played, and probably never will, but i think it will be just as good as hotseat.

FINAL SCORE:9.5/10
This game is a great addition to anybodies gba collection, and I highly recommend it, this game is right up with return of the king. Buy it while you can.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/03/04