The Lord of the Rings The Third Age

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• In-depth skill system lets players upgrade and customize their hero or villain
• Relive exciting moments from the film trilogy -- from fighting the Balrog in the Mines Of Moria to fighting the Battle Of Helm's Deep
• Play as all-new characters from the Middle-Earth saga, interacting with the classic heroes and villains of the film
• Innovative turn-based combat system as you ride horses or Wargs through massive armies
• Free-roaming adventure as you explore a beautiful and realistic game world

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0002ILSGA
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 15, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,263 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: Xbox

From the Manufacturer

Play as all-new characters from Middle-earth, interacting with the heroes, villains, and supporting cast who populate the world.

Travel in the wake of the Fellowship in a unique structure that allows players to explore their own path while periodically intersecting the major events of New Line Cinema's film trilogy.

Features

• Play on the side of light or shadow. In an adventure that intersects the main plot points of the film trilogy, battle on the side of the Fellowship in their quest to save Middle-earth or unlock the evil missions where you fight on the side of Sauron.
• Deep gameplay that expands all three films. Travel to familiar and unfamiliar places such as the Mines of Moria, Helm's Deep, Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith, and a host of unexpected locations like the White Mountains Plains.
• Customize your hero or villain: Upgrade your character with an in-depth skill tree system where you can acquire unique skills in melee combat, ranged weaponry, defense, and magic.
• Discover a vast array of weapons, armor and clothing, and other Middle-earth items.
• Free-roaming gameplay. Explore, take on side quests, and uncover secret characters to join your party, or special weapons and items to boost your existing characters.
• Fight alongside or against key characters from The Lord of the Rings such as Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Eowyn, and the Balrog.
• New user-controlled cameras keep players aware of everything around them.
• Innovative turn-based battle system allows you to fight on horseback or Warg and define the rules of engagement.
• Voiceover from the original actors and assets from all three The Lord of the Rings films.

Product Description

Lord Of The Rings: Third Age allows fans to explore the world of Middle-Earth from an entirelynew perspective. Players get a chance to fight alongside or against key characters from The Lord of the Rings, like Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Eowyn, even the Balrog. Travel in the wake of the Fellowship, exploring your own path while intersecting with major characters and events from the films. Choose to align yourself with the people of Middle-Earth or undertake missions on behalf of Sauron. See the action from any angle, with the user-controlled cameras. Uncover various side quests as you discover hidden characters, secret weapons, and powerful items Voiceovers from the original actors and footage from all three The Lord of the Rings films

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but very mass market, November 16, 2004

By 

Rocco (USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings The Third Age (Video Game)

Sincerely, it is difficult to rate this game.
It has all it needs to be considered a good game, but also has some issues:

Graphics 9/10: Simply great and beautiful. The landscape looks as if it comes directly out of the movie.

Story 7/10: this is where I think hardcore LOTR fans will be divided from Mass Market customers. The story is a bit of a slap in the face for anybody who read or loves Tolkien. Your party is basically always 5 minutes behind the company of the ring. Especially at the beginning of the game... a bit too much for somebody but very appealing for those who would like to feel as if they were in some way part of the trilogy story line.

Sound 10/10: how could it be better?

Gameplay 5/10: Weird things go on in 3rd age.
*Monsters appear from nowhere while you go around on the 3D world map.
*You can only use three members of your party as you work through fights. Since your characters will become stronger as they use their abilities, the fourth guy you leave out will soon be so behind the other ones he will almost be useless.
*You can't cast healing spells while not in combat. At least I didn't manage to. So either you use items or your wait for a fight.
*Each character has a skill set. For example, the elf has healing powers. Everytime you use one of those powers, her "spirit skill" will go up by a point. Once you achieve enough points you unlock the next skill. Since you use skills in combat it becomes paramount to use the most possible everytime.
*No game economy. No shops. No buying and selling stuff. No random NPC encounters. Low feeling of being part of an "alive" world.

Overall the game is fun but it really is not an RPG. It seems that RPGs have gone down to define every game where your character grows during the game and you can personalize her. Not true. Role playing is about playing a role, and you really don't get this in 3rd Age.

Plus the fact you have no possibility of roaming freely the land, you don't buy and sell stuff, and every treasure you find is in a nice chest. Yes, chests everywhere: in Moria, in the Mountains, in Fangorn...always chests.

Bottom line
Buy this game if:
1) you are a LOTR fan, liked the movies and like simple RPGs.
2) you are LOTR fan and will own anything with LOTR written on it.
3) you mildy like the LOTR and you like fantasy.
4) you like "simple RPGs."

Don't buy this game if you were hurt by all the differences the LOTR movies had from the book. This game would kill you.

HINT/SPOILER: to gain "specialization points" have the Gondorian learn "Company Grace." This will give you a boost in AP (action points) every round. You need these to use your skills. Go through a fight and once you have only one foe alive, use the dwarf to cast "stone shield" on the Gondorian. This will grant him physical immunity for a while. Then use the Gondorian and "taunt" the last foe. Your enemy will only attack the fighter from Gondor. At that point just start using skills. Your enemy will wast attacks and you will gain a specialization point every round. Remember to have "company grace" always active and to recast "stone shield" once it expires.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rules Them All (If you like Japanese-style RPGs), November 17, 2004

By 

Joshua Davis (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings The Third Age (Video Game)

I'm surprised to see as many negative reviews as I have for this game. I think the problem is that a lot of people are used to American style RPGs and don't understand that this is supposed to be a Japanese-style RPG.

In a nutshell, American style RPGs tend to let you create your character at the outset and focus on exploration and decision-making that affects the course of the game. You could call it a D&D approach. Japanese-style RPGS, on the other hand, tend to give you a predetermined character which you use to progress through a long, mostly linear storyline. They usually use anime style graphics and feature lengthy cutscenes.

In my opinion, this game is an excellent execution of the Japanese-style RPG. The graphics are beautiful, the audio is perfect, the storyline is excellent, the cutscenes are literally feature-film quality, and the turn-based battles are modeled on the outstanding combat system used in Final Fantasy X. If any of that sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend picking this one up.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun game, but some misleading info on the box/site, November 30, 2004

By 

Megan Kruljac (Yorkshire) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings The Third Age (Video Game)

Like other reviewers have mentioned, this game is turn-based style so those who enjoy Final Fantasy set-ups and the like will enjoy combat. Certain character customization is fun. Note though: you do not create your character, you simply have the ability to select what skills or attributes they attain as they level up or gain experience in a certain field, and these are typically limited to two choices. Of course, you do have lots of choices with armor/weapon/etc combos.

Some misleading info on the box/site:

- Evil mode. You do NOT replay the game as (I thought) the box suggested. (It says an "expansive mini-game"... nothing "expansive" about it.) Rather, as you complete a chapter the evil mode is unlocked and you replay 2-3 combat scenes as evil chars. For example, once your party completes Moria, you replay three battles: one as a group of goblins, one as two trolls, and one as the balrog. Once completed you attain a few items you can then give to your "good party" who will continue on with their adventure. Evil mode "mini-games" last less than ten minutes a piece.

- Side quests/free play. You very rarely have the opportunity to talk to others and have no control over your player response. Most of the side quests are required to get through the chapter, and if you don't complete the unrequired ones you only hurt your party (so far as XP) and they will be weaker once they progress.

Other cons with this game:

- You cannot buy/sell items.
- 2 of the 6 chars feel superfluous - they don't contribute much and feel like a waste of time and XP that could go to the stronger bunch.
- The guide inside tells you almost nothing about how to play, spells involved, etc. This becomes irritating as you face stronger foes who cast spells that you have no idea what they do (until after you finish the chapter and replay as them), and this can really hurt your party during combat since you won't know how to repond.
- There is a very corny love story. (Not a "con" per se, but the video cut-outs about it I find annoying and lame.)

Pros about this game:

- Oddly addicting, despite its repetitiveness.
- Gandalf narrates your own story as you move through the game.
- Awesome graphics.
- Awesome music from the movie.
- Very fun to use certain characters from the movie in the occasional battle scene (i.e. you get to control Gandalf along with three of your party members when facing the Balrog)
- You have some control over choosing what spells, abilities, etc. your char learns next
- Interesting battles in places not focussed on to heavily in the movie, like Osgiliath
- Multiplayer option you can start and end at any time without having to create a separate 2-player game

Overall, I really enjoyed this game once I got over my disappoint from what I felt was misleading info on the box and site.

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