First Encounter

From the time I first read The Hobbit as a book-craving youngster who loved all things fantasy, I've pined for two things: great movies (not cartoons) based on Tolkien's splendid works and great Tolkien-inspired video games. Peter Jackson has given me nearly all I could ever hope for with his films, and the Electronic Arts' (EA) games have been winning me over with their take on The Lord of the Rings movie license. With the The Lord of the Rings™: The Two Towers™ and The Lord of the Rings™: The Return of the King™ games, EA proved it could craft all-out action bonanzas with more depth than I would have thought possible, given the genre. The environments made these games all the more enjoyable, as they teemed with nods to all things Lord of the Rings.

Recently, the masters of the licensed game (that's EA folks) announced yet another Middle Earth-themed game: The Lord of the Rings™: The Third Age™. Ah, but what was this The Third Agegame? An extension of their action games perhaps? Nope. The Third Age is a straight-up, true-to-its-roots roleplaying game (RPG)!

Meet your first enemy.

You begin play with a familiar prologue of scenes, and when I say familiar, I mean directly pulled from The Fellowship of the Ring movie. As you watch the forging of the ring, the rise and fall of Sauron, Isildur's betrayal, and the losing of the One Ring, the voice of Gandalf (Ian McKellan) sets up the story and your character's situation. (In this adventure, your main character is Berethor from Gondor, by the way.)

It's this melding of original scenes from the films and the new voice work by Ian McKellan that sets the stage for The Third Age's storytelling. Throughout your lengthy quest, you will find nearly 120 story orbs. Each orb contains footage from the film and wisdom from Gandalf. He'll speak to you about your quest, the history of Middle Earth, and the dark dangers that face you. It's a great and interesting use of the license.

Strike a pose.

As Berethor, a Gondorian warrior, you're on a mission to find Boromir, Frodo's ill-fated companion. What motives you has for seeking Boromir are unclear, and that mystery is part of what drives the story. (I'm 14 hours into the game, and I still don't know!) You are not alone, however. By the end of the first fight—an unfortunate tangle with a Ring Wraith that lays you out with the first blow—you are joined by Idrial, an elfen warrior who serves Galadriel. With her warrior grace and your Gondorian training, you begin the game. Within the first hour or so, you'll also joined by Elegost, a Dunedain (the name of the Rangers that Aragorn hails from) when you find him hunting Wargs in a mountain pass. There are more party members to come, but these three comprise your party for the first few hours of play.

The gameplay itself may come as a bit of a surprise to some. Recent RPGs have embraced the might of real-time combat … or at least the appearance of it. (Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ has more of a melding between real-time and turn-based). The Third Age is firmly entrenched in the genre's origins; it is wholly a turn-based RPG—and bless EA for making it so.

Welcome back turn-based combat.

It works like this: The good guys and bad buys line up opposite each other (although, sometimes the heroes are surrounded). Then, depending on each characters initiative, they act. This makes for a much more tactical, chess-like combat system. Of course, if their actions were mundane and unvaried, this would get old quick, but it's the variety of options you have that makes combat in this game shine. Each character has different special abilities and even different sets of different special abilities. For example, Berethor can perform a standard attack. Then, he can use a Swordcraft ability (like Orc Bane, which does more damage to orcs), a Leadership ability (like Hands of Fury, which increases the group's Dexterity), and various items (like Kingsfoil, which heals). If you so choose, he can also develop Shadowcraft and Lightcraft spells (you'll need special artifacts to do that) and even learn to create items. Berethor is no special case, either. Each of your party members has a similar variety of abilities. And, beyond abilities themselves, you'll be able to choose what you want to learn next, as you unlock new goodies, giving you even more customizable control.

The Third Age takes the Lord of the Rings movie license—including the wealth of history that Middle Earth possesses—and combines it with an evolved version of classic RPG play. Between the story, the characters, the items, the weapons, and the customization options, The Third Age is shaping up to be the Lord of the Rings RPG we've always wanted.

By Alex McLain