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Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age Review
Jon Wilcox
05/11/2004
TVG bands together to battle through EA’s long-awaited Lord of the Rings RPG…
When it was announced about three years ago that EA would be releasing games based on Peter Jacksonâs films, a lot of people expected the titles to be RPGs that would allow them to explore the various lands and environments of Middle-Earth whilst playing as Gandalf, Aragorn, or any of the members of the Fellowship - and it did upset certain fans when it was confirmed that the videogame releases would in actual fact be action/adventure titles.
To coincide with the cinematic releases of the second and third instalments of the trilogy, EA released The Two Towers in 2002, and The Return of the King in 2003, with both titles proving to be favourites amongst LOTR fans and gamers alike; but with no more Rings films left to be released (unless of course Jackson manages to make The Hobbit), EA were left with the problem of trying to create more games based on the already released trilogy. After much brainstorming, the software giant is finally releasing two titles based on the films â“ Battle for Middle-Earth, and The Third Age.
LOTR: The Third Age is a departure for Electronic Arts, since the title is a Role-Playing Game; something for which EA arenât exactly best known for producing, and it will come as no surprise to discover that The Third Age takes place at the end of the Third Age of Middle-Earth; a time depicted in the films and of course, the novel.
The story of Lord of the Rings is very much loved by millions around the globe, and has been since The Fellowship of the Ring first went to print in the early to mid-1950s, and there are some who have explored every last detail of Middle-Earth lore so fastidiously, that they would defend it to the death if changes were even rumoured to have been made â“ something that Peter Jackson encountered at certain times during the epic production process for the film adaptations, but thatâs a another storyâ¦
What we are trying to get across is that for some, altering the story is the equivalent of someone amending a great religious text (granted that this has happened historically, but that again is another story).
So it must have been something of a shock, to say the least, for certain ardent fans of the story when the news was released confirming that The Third Age would in fact follow the exploits of characters not even created by Tolkien himself. Whilst the game follows a band of individuals from across the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth as they make their way through the various environments featured in the book and films, including the Mines of Moria, these individuals have all been developed by Electronic Arts for the game. This may be, for the most part, attributed to the fact that VU have the rights to develop games based on the novel, whilst EA have the rights to produce games based on the films, and now that there are no more films to be released, EA have taken it upon themselves to look at the material at their disposal and âlook outside the box.â
The fact that EA have taken the time and effort to develop a band of characters in an attempt to tell the events of the Third Age (as depicted in the films) from a different angle is bi-polar, being both admirable and sacrilegious, and ultimately the move may end up alienating the very fans that EA are trying to woo.
One of the main characters in what we like to call the âEA Fellowshipâ is a Gondorian called Berethor, who has been sent to the Elven stronghold of Rivendell to discover the whereabouts of Boromir, the Steward of Gondorâs eldest son who left Minas Tirith for Rivendell to attend the Council of Elrond many months ago. Along the way though, he encounters other travellers and together they fight their way through the waves of Orcs and Nazgul sent by Sauron â“ and so begins the formation of the EA Fellowshipâ¦
As the game progresses, players will find that their journey is intersects with various events from the film, and will have the opportunity to fight alongside LOTR characters including Aragorn and Legolas. At times, players are even able to fight as the main Rings characters, at least temporarily, so for gamers disappointed with the EA Fellowship, at least there is some consolation in that.
One of the innovations that EA have added to the game is the Evil Mode, which allows players to re-visit previous chapters as Orcs and Uruk-Kai with the aim of slaying the characters of the EA Fellowship, and some of the actual main characters form the Rings trilogy. The fun that players can have with this mode is obvious, and the mode has the added bonus that some of the weapons used by Sauronâs forces can be then given to the good characters to fight with. Itâs a neat touch that EA has included in the game that does guarantee that the longevity of the title is increased by a certain degree.
Graphically, The Third Age is very similar in style and quality to the two previous LOTR games that EA have released, more so the Return of the King. They certainly do the job, and some of the locations that have been replicated from the film, such as the Mines, look epic in scale. Some of the more âoriginalâ environments though, do suffer in comparison and really only slight above average looking.
The characters featured in the game all look good, so much so, that physical similarities can be drawn between them and actual member of the Fellowship. For instance, Berethor bares a distinct resemblance to Boromir â“ and that is not the only occurrence.
The game utilises turn-based battles, which in light of recently released âaction RPGsâ such as Sudeki or Fable, may seem slow and clunky, but it does some how work here not least because if the game followed the action RPG style of battle, EA may have been criticised for making another action/adventure LOTR game with an RPG element tacked onto it.
Although the characters only have a limited number of moves at the beginning, they have the ability to âlearnâ more as the game progresses, with some of the attacks being very visually impressive indeed, with the most impressive if these being the Perfect Mode attacks. Players unlock these attacks after filling up their Perfect Mode Gauge, and they are quite literally devastating, with players able to unleash a hail of arrows from an entire army of archers, to call upon one of the Ents (the walking trees from Two Towers for non-Tolkienites) for assistance. When these attacks are launched, enemies essentially have little or no chance of surviving, and are very soon obliterated.
One of the most, if not THE most impressive, elements in The Third Age is the RPG attribute system, which is very detailed and allows players to take control of a large variety of character traits and skills from the clothing that they wear, the weapons and defensive implements that they use, to the choice of skills and techniques that they can learn over time; in fact it may be just a little too detailed for some people, especially if players are new to the RPG genre. The system can be quite over-whelming, but RPG fans are sure to grasp it with both hands and explore the best way in which to create the more effective skill sets for each of the characters. Items such as Lambas Bread help to re-fill the charactersâ life bars, and these can be found, as well as other treasures such as improved armour, in chests that are scattered throughout the game.
One of the ideas that Electronic Arts has used in the game is to use short video clips from the films, which provide the player with the background to the events that have occurred during the Third Age of Middle-Earth. For instance, after players first encounter Idrial, a She-Elf from Lothlorien and follower of Galadriel, a new âStory Orbâ is opened up, which explores the late history of the elves, and how their fight against evil is destined to end in defeat, and how they have started their departure from Middle-Earth. Whilst it can be claimed that the addition of the story orbs is nothing but a ploy by EA to tenuously link the game to the film, it is more of a device to place the events that occur in The Third Age in context with the âmain eventsâ of the Lord of the Rings, and we think that itâs a good idea that is put to very good use.
As youâd expect from The Third Age, segments of Howard Shoreâs score from Peter Jacksonâs films are included throughout, and once again, they serve to create the relevant mood and atmosphere that worked so well in EAâs previous LOTR games. They also help the player become immersed in the world of Middle-Earth, and also help secure the link between the events of the game with the events of the films.
The cast from the films were back in the sound booths once again to portray the characters that dominated their lives for the past few years, and they have been joined by a host of others, who do an admirable job of providing the voices for the EA Fellowship, as well as some of the other characters. But the most notable alumni from the LOTR trilogy is Sir Ian McKellen, who also provides the narration for the story orbs that we have previously mentioned.
