LOTR: The Third Age shipped yesterday.
As expected, and perhaps feared, EA has produced another streamlined game for the masses. Tolkien aficionados will
likely admire the well-rendered locales, but may be disappointed in the value (i.e. lack of character development) in
the storyline. All to often, players will find themselves on the outskirts of the grand adventure, wondering why they
can't simply join the Fellowship. As such, EA started with a novel idea, but failed to execute. As for RPG diehards,
The Third Age is about as basic as you can get: turn-based combat that lacks difficulty and balance, a simplified and
quick level-up system, and no in-game currency/bartering. It seems that EA was hoping to attract fans of the recent
batch of LOTR hack-n-slash titles, and if this is the case, they will likely succeed. The Third Age is an accessible
RPG with little substance to go with its visual flair. I suppose we should mention a commendable addition, Evil Mode,
allowing players to battle as one of Saruman's minions; you can even grab a friend for co-op play, but only during
battles. But despite all this Tolkien goodness, we were hoping for a more engaging gameplay experience. How about a
Middle Earth MMORPG, anyone?
If you're interested in what other critics have to say, look no further:
PlayStation
2
Xbox
Gamecube
