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Awesome Game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I finally bought this game the other day and it's a blast! My wife and I are playing co-op together and so far it's well worth the money and the time.

The graphics are done really well and the music is outstanding. There are a lot of cutscenes from the movies that tie the movie to the game. Sometimes IMO there are too many cutscenes but it's still alot of fun to play.

You control a band of heroes...starting out as only one...and you are basically on the trail of the original LOTR heroes covering all three films. You have a ranger, an elf, a dwarf, and so on. I think you can have a max of 6 in your party but only 3 actively battling. If you want to use a standby during battle to replace one of your characters, just hit L1 to switch them out.

My only small beef with this game is that there is no monetary system at all. It needs to have an option to sell what you don't need and to actually buy new equipment instead of just acquiring all of them. Some shops would have been nice. But don't let that deter you from getting this game.

My opinion, if you are a LOTR fan, buy it! =)

Awesome game for LOTR fans!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I think anyone who loved the Lord Of The Rings movie or book sequel should love this game. It has extrordinary graphics and you play with just about anyone. The game is even better because you can also play as a bad guy/orc.... monster. You can also go to cool places. People say this game is not worth paying for... but it totally is!
1. It has great graphics
2. It has great new players
3. Wonderful setup mode
4. Controllable Options
5. Challenging Fun
6. You never know what's going to happen next thats what makes it so special
7.Uncontrollable, addicting, super fun!

You people need to blame yourselves not EA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First of all for the dumb people up above who are blaming EA for their gaming differences from the previous game maybe you should read up on the games before you buy them and you would have a clear idea of what type of game you are getting also return of the king was the last game that EA produced which you have complete control of your single character this says something as return of the king is the last of the series which means probably the last game they can make of this type
Anyways for all you rpg lovers that don't mind the classic turn based fights this is great especially because its lord of the rings but not anything you could have read or seen in the books or movie but you do intersect with real story parts from the lord of the rings keeping the gameplay true to lord of the rings

LOTR for FF X fans!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoyed the linear game play of FF X, then you will love LOTR: The Third Age.

This is about the "other" hero's untold in LOTR world, it is a fun and interesting game.

A must have for all D&D or LOTR fans!

Not Your Average Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game deserves more credit than people are giving it. It is a very addictive game and fun all the way through with very few exceptions. You get to play as six different characters and you basically follow the fellowship around. Your party also has an elf and dwarf in it so you get to play as three different races. In certain parts of the game you get to team up with various characters from the movie whether it is Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, or Eowyn, and fight bosses from the movies. The battles in Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith are especially fun, and evil mode, a mini-game used to get new weapons and armor is a blast.

The music is good, what else would you expect from The Lord Of The Rings?

Graphics are good, but obviously not perfect.

The story, well it's just kind of weird in some places. As you progress to the end there will be certain plot twists that to you may not make any sense. At the very end the plot just goes crazy and you'll have no idea what's going on.

The skill trees are good, you can gain new skills by using old ones that are in the same category. The only flaw in this plan is that you will likely be stuck to either weapon skills or magic/leadership. The learning curve is pretty much non-existent, it's just a turned-based rpg.

For those of you who dislike games where there are no cities or shops this game is NOT for you, you are almost constantly in the wilderness.

My overall ratings:
Sound-10/10
Gameplay-8/10
Graphics-7.5/10
Fun-9.5/10
Learning Curve-At most 30 mins.
Replay value- 7/10

So the average of all these aspects is 8.25, which is my rating for the game. By the way, this game will be even better for you if you are a LOTR fan.

Well that concludes my review. I hoped you liked it and that it has helped you decide if you want this game. If you do buy this game it is a choice you won't regret.

Not What Is Expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece LORD OF THE RINGS years before the movies were even announced and over a decade before the series was considered cool and in vogue. I really enjoyed the movies and the video games based upon the film series have been very enjoyable to play. When I heard about THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE THIRD AGE, I thought this would be the ultimate LORD OF THE RINGS video game. I had thought that the game was going to allow players to play their own character from the Middle Earth universe that had adventures spanning the time frame of the trilogy. I also thought that the characters would have different adventures than the characters from the movies, but would occasionally meet some of them.

The general plot follows Berethor, former Captain of the Citadel Guard of Gondor. Berethor was a close friend of Boromir. Apparently sometime after Boromir left for Rivendell and didn't return, Berethor was ordered to seek him out. As the game progresses, gamers soon learn that this isn't the case. Along Berethor's journey he is joined by several other adventures: a female elf named Idrial, a Dunedain and friend of Aragorn, the dwarf Hadhod whose ancestors ruled Moria, a village-woman of the Plains of Rohan named Morwen, and Eaoden of the Riddermark. Berethor and his companions seem to only be a few steps behind the Fellowship of the Ring. The journey through Moria to the plains of Rohan to Edoras. From there it's off the Helm's Deep, next to Osgiliath, then to Midas Tirith and the Pelennor Fields, and ultimately a final confrontation in Mordor.

The game follows a traditional turned-based role-playing format of rounds where each character attacks. The visuals are very nice and the overall movement of the screen characters is easy to manipulate with very few quirks. The mini-movies that are unlocked as you progress the game that are narrated by Gandalf also do a good job of connecting the adventures of LORD OF THE RINGS: THE THIRD AGE to the film series. Also, it's kind of fun getting to play main characters from the series in certain places, such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Eowen, and Faramir. After beating each level you can reload the game in Evil Mode and play evil characters from the game including giant cave trolls, the Balrog, Grima Wormtongue, the Nazgul, the Witch King, and even Sauron.

There are some minor problems with the game. For instance, even though all characters get experience, characters who are actually engaged in combat receive about twice as much experience as those who aren't. This can be kind of annoying because a character like Morwen, who fights with a couple of axes and doesn't have much fighting stamina, really aren't very fun to fight with.

Minor annoyances aside, the biggest issue I had with the game was the plot. Except that there are no hobbits, the characters that you play have a strong resemblance to the main characters from the books and movies. Not only that, but Berethor's party seems to be following in the footsteps of the Fellowship as the traverse Middle Earth. There's also the issue that the general plot of the game doesn't make much sense with the story from the films. This isn't such an issue earlier in the game, but it becomes more and more blatant as you progress. For instance it isn't a stretch that Berethor's party might have come to Moria and had to finish the business of killing off the Watcher of the Deep. However, they would not have been with Gandalf fighting against the Balrog, nor would they have fought Grima Wormtongue, the Witch King, or Sauron. You don't even have to be a purist to be somewhat upset by that--after all since this is an "Official Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy" product you would think it would fit with the rest of the canon. However, even worse is how the actual plot of the game unfolds. It starts off interesting enough and even though it turns into a three-way love story, it's enough to keep one interested. That is until the last two levels of the game. The game quickly skips the plot of the story and at the end offers no resolution whatsoever. It feels like the gamemakers rushed to finish the product to get it on the market. I'm not sure why as THE THIRD AGE didn't appear until a year after RETURN OF THE KING was in movie theatres. Therefore, once a player finishes the game there really is no replay value except trying to complete the game in co-op mode.

Overall, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE THIRD AGE has an interesting premise, but doesn't really live up. It's an okay game to play once, but offers nothing new to the canon and has no replay value. Die hard fans will be disappointed, but younger fans of the movies might enjoy playing the game.

Strictly for Lord of the Rings fans or those who must at least try every RPG out there.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Well I got this game for Christmas, and even though I wasn't exactly excited to play I felt I should give it a try. The visuals are nice for a PS2 game, but the frame rate can be weird at times. The combat is the traditional turn based system, but without much of the graphic flair for spells and such that other RPGs have. The storyline doesn't exactly come as a surprise, seeing as how popular the book series and movies are. The entire time I kept thinking it myself that it feels like they took Final Fantasy X, took out all the heart and quality that Square put in it, and then re-skinned it with a Lord of the Rings theme. Right now all of the Lord of the Rings fans are probably getting ready to give my review a thumbs down, but please remember that it is merely my opinion, and please at least rent it first, because the game isn't for everyone. If you you're into Lord of the Rings, or just plain anything tat fits in the RPG genre, you may enjoy this. I found it to be pretty stale and uninspired.

Hm...FFX anyone?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I played this game a couple of years ago and i must say that its an ffx remake that never really caught my attention.

From what i expeirenced, the characters are crappy in some form, and will perish easily in fights, even if they are at really damn high levels.

The leveling system is very shady at best, since its not really based on how high your character's level is, but what they have learned on their way towards the end. Which means you'll be spend hours just trying to pump them up, even though it may not do any good.

Its too linear and the only direction you got is going forward...into the heat of battle every couple of steps, which tends to slow you down more than the average FF game.

Boss fights tend to get annoying as well, since it will take a couple of party deaths to figure out what the hell you are doing wrong. Sometimes you will not be able to figure it out at all and call a quits, or to use some form of cheating device.

And finally, it doesnt make sense to have it set-up for 2 players when you only can see the lead player walking around while the other waits for a battle to start.

All in all this game is below average and should be passed by those that are looking to get there moneys worth (noted to those that are FF and FPS fans).

NOT the best LOTR game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: January 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I bought this game, this was supposed to be the best RPG game since Final Fantasy. Wrong. This is a hard game to beat, and usually when your fourteen things in video games come easy. and will most likely frustrate kids who are big Lord of the Rings fans.

Here are some bad things about it:

-Hard.
It's hard to navigate around, even with the map. There's just so many roads, and some go above one.

-Enemies
The enemies start out easy. You can kill them with a stroke of a sword easily in Eregion, but as soon as you hit level two (Western Moria) it's just too hard.

-Enemies "spells"
That waste time. When you fight the Goblins, they have a spell that lasts at least 6 seconds. That just frusrates me, because When you just want to play for a quick ten minutes, you end up play half an hour

-Levels
They last too long. Way too long. Eregion took me an hour to beat (Eregion is level 1), where was Western Moria (level two) took me an hour and a half.

However, there a good things they didn't screw up:

+Characters
These are made up characters. They are

-Berethor (probably as Aragon)
-Idrial (probably as Arwen)
-Elegost (probably a cross between Aragon and Legolas
-Hadhod (definetly as Gimli)
-Morwen (as Eowyn, probably)
-Eoden (probably as Eomer)

And if you didn't know, two of them are girls. Thinking that we do live in a sexist world, this is a good thing.

+Graphics
Everything looks real! EVERYTHING! Even the things that don't even exist, like the Balrog, orcs, uruk-hai, goblins, warg, etc. And it's beautiful in some regions.

+Sound
This is probably one of the best video games that has sound in it. You can hear perfectly, and the voices fit the characters.

+Music
The music from this game is from the three movies. If you ask me, the soundtracks are the best movie soundtracks I have heard in a long time.

+Combinations
Two people have axes, two people have swords, one person a bow and one person a spear. That is a great combination of people. And three of them have "spirit powers".

+"Spirit Powers"
In the battle, you can call spirits and have them attack your enemy, or bring someone back to health, steal health or action points, etc.

Overall, this would be a great game to rent, just make sure you have 30 hours to spare before you play this.

incredible!!, but frustrating.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

some of the levels u need certian powers... kind of a pain the fanny to keep going bk and forth. ive played all of the games ( the ones for ps2 anyway) and i say this one should get a damn sequel!! ( for ps2) the graphics are incredible!!

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