GameCube

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

Although the Lord of the Rings: The Third Age might leave some RPG fanatics itching for more of a challenge, it's a well-balanced title that's a great pick for any fan of the books or movies.

For the most part, The Third Age rips gamers from their living rooms and dumps them in a detailed rendition of Middle Earth. EA Redwood Shores has faithfully recreated everything from the glowing majesty of Rivendell to the murky depths of Helm’s Deep. Suffice to say, this is one of the best looking games based on Tolkien’s classic trilogy. But, as gamers everywhere know, looks aren’t everything. It’s one thing to have video games look as good as the movies they’re based on, but what good is any of it if the actual gameplay isn’t enough to keep you playing. Thankfully, this combat heavy RPG delivers the goods, although some die hard RPG fans may be put off by its overly streamlined approach. The action is fast, with no lulls in gameplay from beginning to end. Plus, the Co-Op mode and Evil Mode make great additions to a game already packed with a ton of Tolkienesque goodness.

Outside of the fancy franchise milking exterior you may find an entertaining, while lacking, role playing game. It’s fun and will keep you playing for at least 30 hours if you go everywhere, find everything and kill everyone. If you’re a big fan of the franchise or if you’re looking for a quick diversion in between this year’s big name RPGs like Baten Kaitos, Tales of Symphonia or even Mega Man X Command Mission, you should definitely pick this one up. If you’re looking for something along the lines of last year’s Return of the King, you may want to pass this one by and wait for the next Lord of the Rings video game. Will there be a next one? Is dwarf tossing fun?

As far as Lord of the Rings games go, this is by no means the worst and is worth at least a few rentals just to see the movie clips and hear Gandalf's extra commentary. In terms of a proper RPG, though, Third Age falls into the 'average' category, with some nice ideas, but not enough perfection execution to compete sufficiently...

The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age molds Middle-earth into a traditional turn-based frame, and while the results aren't all that great, the game carries some pretty good features and should appeal to fans of the source material.

After two successful action games sporting The Lord of the Rings license, EA brings the Peter Jackson version of Middle-earth to an RPG setting. On paper it's a perfect fit; you have a genre that's perfect for fantasy settings coupled with one of the most popular fantasy settings of all time. Unfortunately, the melding wasn't as successful as the mystical pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. That isn't to say that The Third Age is bad, which certainly isn't the case.

It's no secret that The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age used the Final Fantasy series as its chief gameplay inspiration. Problem is, it takes more than formulaic adventuring and dusty turn-based combat to craft a role-playing title worthy of the LOTR name.

Le pari de concurrencer les RPG nippons avec un jeu de rôle basé sur le Seigneur des Anneaux était ambitieux, mais le contrat est loin d'être rempli pour Electronic Arts. Si on le dépouille de son habillage luxueux dû à la licence de la trilogie cinématographique, Le Tiers Age affiche des faiblesses que ne pardonneront pas les habitués des jeux de rôle au tour par tour sur consoles. Reste un titre divertissant que ne laisseront pas passer la plupart des fans.