There is a God, ladies and gentlemen. He is a benevolent God, but one with a wicked sense of humor. When I was young I often wished for three things, an X-Men RPG, a decent Lord of the Rings RPG, and a date with a liquored up Drew Barrymore. Two of those three things are happening and the last just got ugly. The most exciting of these events is the upcoming LOTR: The Third Age, a turn based RPG set in the world of Middle-Earth.
For years fans of the series prayed for a game about Tolkiens world, one that unlike the SNES version, wouldn’t have you clawing at your eyes in horror. Thanks to the success of the Peter Jackson films, we received that game in the form of The Two Towers, one of the best beat-'em ups to come through the pipes in some time. EA duplicated that with The Return of the King, which again, was excellent but left fans wanting more. The call was heeded, and recently the Third Age has been unveiled.
The only thing that could possibly turn fans away is the way that this game will unfold. Instead of giving you control of the characters that you know and love, EA has decided to exercise some creative liberties in dealing with the story. Instead of playing as the Fellowship, you are given control of a party of somewhat familiar approximations who follow in the wake of the main group.
Only four characters have been officially announced as of yet and they all have their own personalities. Berethor is the main character, and is the representative of the Gondorian peoples. He serves as the hero of the group and has the chiseled features to prove it. Also joining your party is Idrial, a healer from the Elven race, Elogost the Ranger, and Hadhod the Dwarf. Early screenshots and videos show the characters each have their own strengths, and they seem to follow the basics of the RPG genre. You have a tank, a healer, the hero and the jack of all trades. There are still two characters to be announced, and it doesn’t take a genius to know at least one will be a hobbit.
Fans need not worry too much, as they will still get the chance to play as the Fellowship during key moments in the story. During Gandalph’s fight with the Balrog your party will lend a hand, which while not keeping with the mythos of the Tolkien-verse is pretty nifty. Hands down the Balrog in the game is one of the most evil looking creation in the game. Take that Sephiroth! The game will allow for control of other characters as well, though to what extent they will help out your party is not yet known.
Another interesting twist is the ability to play as the side of evil during some moments in the game. How this will work is that after defeating certain enemies you will be given the change to replay the fight, but from the point of view as the monsters. That means that you can indeed play as a Nazgul and beat up on some Elven pansies.
The gameplay of The Third Age will be like most turned based role-playing games, with a load of unique features that Final Fantasy would kill for. You can customize the look and abilities of each character, and explore freely the world of Middle-Earth. Side mission, hidden weapons and secret characters are all part of the game, and will ensure some solid replay ability.
Fans of the Tolkien books and movies seem to be divided about this game so far. If it wasn’t for the fact that the main characters only play a minor role in this game, the hype would through the roof. As for me, I will wait and see, but I have confidence in EA’s ability to make this a great game. If they really want fans on their side, they should give Tom Bombadil a cameo… MD
