I'm still getting a bit of a 'Lord of the Rings' buzz after watching 'The Hobbit' movie (at least the first of the planned trilogy) and I feel like doing something related to the series. Since plenty of the games were connected to the movie's story, I figured one of them would be a good choice. With that said, its time to look into 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age'!
(What, did you really think you would play heroes from the original trilogy?)
Developed by EA Games, 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age' is a role-playing, turn-based strategy game similar to those of 'Final Fantasy'. You play as a group of characters (who bear slight resemblances to characters in the original story) as they trail behind the Fellowship of the Ring and try to save the world from Sauron. Its very much like a 'Final Fantasty' game with 'Lord of the Rings' as a new skin, so take that as you will when it comes to gameplay. The story, on the other hand, is an interesting bit that needs to be looked into.
Anyway, you begin with the Gondor soldier, Berethor (Boromir expy) who is out Boromir (weird, eh) when he gets attacked by Ringwraiths (weirder, eh). He gets saved by Idrial (Arwen expy) who joins him in getting Boromir back. Guided by visions from Gandalf (I think, its a bit fuzzy at the moment), the pair head to the Mines of Moria. They pick up two other people, a ranger named Elgost (Aragon expy) and a dwarf named Hadhod (Gimli expy). Apparently, the heroes have been trailing behind the Fellowship just barely, since they encounter the Watcher in the Water (twice!) and come across Balin's Tomb. They just barely miss them, until they come across Gandalf fighting the Balrog. Going against movie continuity, they fight alongside Gandalf against the Balrog, which they win, but Gandalf still needs to go through his revival and such, so he gets dragged by the Balrog in the end.
After leaving the Mines of Moria, the heroes discover that Boromir has died and that their goal has changed into helping the Fellowship of the Ring. They reach Rohan, where they battle Grima Wormtongue with the help of Morwen (Eowyn expy) and later recruit a Rohirrim named Eaoden (Eomer expy) as they venture to Helm's Deep. Fighting alongside Gimli, Legolas, and Aragon, the heroes manage to hold Helm's Deep to route the armies of Saruman and save the day. Eventually, they make their way to Ogsiliath, apparently in search of Frodo now.
When Idrial gets captured and the heroes mount a rescue to get her while in Ogsiliath, its revealed that Berethor was being manipulated by Sauron for sometime now. So, with Faramir's help, the heroes rescue Idrial, defeating several Ringwraiths and the orc commander Gothmag. They make their way to the big Gondor city, Minas Tirith. They participate in the battle alongside Gandalf the White and eventually take the fight from the city and into the open land outside of it. They join the Rohirrim, especially the Shield Maiden Eowyn, in fighting off the orc horde and defeating the Witch King. With all the Nazgul slain, the heroes go fight the Eye of Sauron (no really, this actually happens) and win the day.
...and that's it. You beat the game. Disappointing, ain't it?
Its basically an abridged story of the trilogy with just different characters. While it does have some exciting moments, it drags during the fight scenes and even uses clips from the movies themselves in place of 3d modeling and designing they could've done. Still, the combat is pretty familiar to those who've played Final Fantasy and could be enjoyable. The characters stand out a bit, though a still a bit bland compared to their counterparts. Thing is, if you wanted Final Fantasy to be more, well, fantasy, then you can shell out a bit of money to pick up a used copy. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with it.
Until next time...
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is owned by EA Games.
After leaving the Mines of Moria, the heroes discover that Boromir has died and that their goal has changed into helping the Fellowship of the Ring. They reach Rohan, where they battle Grima Wormtongue with the help of Morwen (Eowyn expy) and later recruit a Rohirrim named Eaoden (Eomer expy) as they venture to Helm's Deep. Fighting alongside Gimli, Legolas, and Aragon, the heroes manage to hold Helm's Deep to route the armies of Saruman and save the day. Eventually, they make their way to Ogsiliath, apparently in search of Frodo now.
When Idrial gets captured and the heroes mount a rescue to get her while in Ogsiliath, its revealed that Berethor was being manipulated by Sauron for sometime now. So, with Faramir's help, the heroes rescue Idrial, defeating several Ringwraiths and the orc commander Gothmag. They make their way to the big Gondor city, Minas Tirith. They participate in the battle alongside Gandalf the White and eventually take the fight from the city and into the open land outside of it. They join the Rohirrim, especially the Shield Maiden Eowyn, in fighting off the orc horde and defeating the Witch King. With all the Nazgul slain, the heroes go fight the Eye of Sauron (no really, this actually happens) and win the day.
...and that's it. You beat the game. Disappointing, ain't it?
Its basically an abridged story of the trilogy with just different characters. While it does have some exciting moments, it drags during the fight scenes and even uses clips from the movies themselves in place of 3d modeling and designing they could've done. Still, the combat is pretty familiar to those who've played Final Fantasy and could be enjoyable. The characters stand out a bit, though a still a bit bland compared to their counterparts. Thing is, if you wanted Final Fantasy to be more, well, fantasy, then you can shell out a bit of money to pick up a used copy. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with it.
Until next time...
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is owned by EA Games.
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