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 enlarge | From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $3.96
You Save: $16.03 (80%)
New (12) Used (30) from $3.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  100 reviews
Sales Rank: 7267
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Wood Unleashed Theme Deck
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 14848
Model: 14633148480
UPC: 014633148480
EAN: 0014633148480
ASIN: B0002IQD1U
Release Date: August 12, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Ships Next Business Day!
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| Customer Reviews:
 LOTR for FF X fans! March 25, 2008
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!
 Numerous Issues February 16, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
An attempt to cross the Lord of the Rings with a Final Fantasy-style RPG, the Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is in most ways stuck in the shadow of many other greater things.
The main characters are not the main characters of the Lord of the Rings, but rather similar characters that share many connections with them. Berethor is the captain of the Gondor Citadel Guard, and is looking for Boromir. Idrial is an elf woman serving Galadriel. Elegost is one of Aragorn's fellow rangers. And so on for the other three characters; all are made in the shape of other, similar characters. Their activities and encounters all follow the Fellowship, even at one point finding the campsite used by them when in the mountains (in the first film). The objectives are usually tantalizingly close to the fellowship - "Oh, that's our campsite, yeah, so come find us in the Mines of Moria! Oh, wait, we moved on." Gandalf narrates the scenes "speaking" to Berethor, usually encouraging him to try and catch up with the group. Many of the game's boss fights are against non-canon enemies, enemies the Fellowship dealt with (supposedly), or enemies that it wouldn't make sense to have killed. As a whole, the story appears more like a fanfiction than a professional work.
The gameplay is reminiscent of most RPGs. Characters have HP and MP (or, rather, AP), and various class-specific skills. They can fight, use skills, use magic, or use items. Items tend to be LOTR-specific things like Lembas bread or Kingsfoil. Most of the attacks in the beginning are simply "hit harder" or "hit harder against certain things", but this later evolves into magical abilities as well. For the most part, the system is uninspired and not particularly exciting. The characters run around on the world map and have old-style random encounters that pop out of nowhere. The majority of the battles are fairly boring and have nothing to set them apart.
The graphics are fairly terrible. The textures are blocky, the characters seem mis-proportioned, the animations are odd and unnatural, and everything seems to be blurry for some reason. The voice acting is decent, but not spectacular; the characters seem chosen, again, for their resemblance to established characters.
As a whole, this game has nothing going for it. It seems amateur in many ways, and isn't particularly fun, either. Even for fans of LOTR, this isn't that rewarding because of the many inaccuracies and oddities present.
4/10.
 Not What Is Expected January 20, 2008
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.
 Not Your Average Game January 5, 2008
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.
Awesome Game! July 18, 2007
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! =)
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