Role playing games on Xbox have been a mixed bag since the consoles launch, whereby the American made machine has seen a number of titles developed by Western teams, producing games that follow their own formula and one that is very different from the Japanese style of Role playing games. Titles such as Balders Gate, Fable, and Morrowind being some that allows the player to control their character during combat, yet combine this with character building elements. Anyone who owned a Playstation will be well aware of the Japanese style of role playing game which does not allow control of characters during combat and follows a menu system whereby the player inputs commands and the cpu performs the moves for you.

Xbox has seen very few, if any games that use a turn based system, (although Kotor used something similar albeit with its Western developed influence). Well that situation has changed because EA has appealed to the turn based RPG fans and given them a game that not only features an in depth story lifted from the Lord Of The Rings but a game that is a departure from the hack and slash games it has published already. For the first time ever, players will be able to battle it out using menu based, stat driven gaming.

Gameplay:

Lord of the Rings the Third Age follows the story of an all new cast of characters as they travel alongside the story seen in the films. Not directly with the loveable characters that are Gandalf, Frodo etc but travelling to locations that these characters have been to. A brave move indeed and one that might have fans heads scratching as to why not have the regular characters and follow their story? Well in my opinion I think the developers were trying for another angle, as everyone is probably familiar with the movie story and opted for something different. However never fear as during the game you will be able to fight alongside the characters you know and Love from the movies/books.

As mentioned earlier The Third Age is a departure from the hack and slash efforts of previous Lord Of The Rings games whereby characters can freely wander the land in third person view it is here that players can open chests and such as well as pan the camera for a better view of surroundings. During these moments players can switch between the characters that join you in your quest as you control that character to navigate the terrain.

Players can also view the stats of their party, equip weapons, armour, upgrades and assign points to increase the various skills that govern the characters play styles. As you defeat more enemies you gain experience which will allow you to add points. Its fairy simple and allows a certain degree of unscripted character development.

Love or hate them random battles do occur as they do in all games of this type, however it seems that the developers have at least offered the option of knowing when these random encounters are about to happen. An eye icon will glow brighter and brighter the nearer you get to an area which will feature a random battle, sometimes allowing you to bypass these if you are careful. There are some encounters that are mandatory and can’t be avoided at all but these are often at key points in the quest.

So the battles themselves begin by warping to a battle screen which will show your party (3 battling at a time but switch able with others during battle at any time) and the enemy facing off to one another. It is here where the player and computer take turns to attack one another whereby each character is in a queue system. To attack you simply select from a dropdown menu the action you are to perform such as attacking or using an item or even skipping your turn and the computer performs the move itself for you. Attacking comes in several forms, which range from a basic attack to special attacks that can unleash devastating moves or weaken, slow down and generally maim your opponents; however these moves use up your Action Points and can’t be used when your points reach zero. More special moves are acquired the more you use them in battle giving each character a wide number of attack and defensive moves.

As you progress through the game your party will encounter a number of enemy types that will be familiar to anyone who has seen the films. These guys can certainly pack a punch and although starting out quite weak, some of the encounters may simply overwhelm you at first and wipe you out completely. The trick to mastering the combat system for any RPG is knowing when to attack and when to defend, also having an understanding of how your enemy will attack you. Alternatively you could spend hours fighting weaker opponents to level up your characters meaning any future battles will be made a little easier.

The Third Age offers a pretty linear experience as you traverse the terrain of Middle Earth following the story, at points in the game players are treated to clips from the movies which offer a deeper insight into the overall story in general. As the game spans across all three films then as you can imagine there are a number of these clips, which is a cool feature to add to the game and one that will no doubt please fans. Players are also able to go back to areas that they have previously visited to either battle some weaker foes to level up or perhaps search the land a little more. Whilst there are a number of side quests they are usually en route or easily completed for those who simply battle all comers and search the lands regardless which is not too hard due to the terrain..

An evil mode has also been included which pits the player in a series of battles against the good guys that you had performed during that area. These battles mean that you get to experience the encounters from the bad guys perspective and are a neat twist. The battles here have no bearing on the actual story but are a great way to earn some decent items for your main characters.

Graphics:

Graphically Third Age looks pretty crisp with some well detailed landscapes on offer. As mentioned before the moveable camera helps in creating a sense of scale. The character models themselves are quite impressive and convey the characters from the movies pretty well. Animation is smooth and convincing during the many battles as close ups of the characters are shown often displaying some mean looking facial expressions. The all new main characters in your party all look and sound like they belong in the Lord Of The Rings Universe even though they are new but look familiar.

Sound:

Sound is key to any RPG as the music is what carries the emotion during crucial scenes. Well The Third Age has a classical score lifted from the movies that will follow the onscreen action as it progresses, such as battle music being suitably dramatic. The voice acting is of a high quality and with the inclusion of the narrated movie clips makes the voices pretty impressive. Other sound effects are present including the groans and moans of Orcs, Goblins, Trolls and the like which all aid in creating the necessary atmosphere needed.

Longevity:

The story itself is pretty lengthy (although please don’t expect some 40 hour epic) and there probably will be times when you will need to reload after getting wiped out by extra tough opponents. Depending on whether you revisit previous areas to explore or level up more means that the game will last quite some time. There is also a difficulty select which means players can play through again on a harder setting or simply adjust the difficulty on the fly to make things tougher on your first play through. A 2 player mode is also included which allows another player to control the other members of your party during battle which is an interesting concept and one that requires a lot of understanding between the two players. For me anyways the game does not warrant multiple plays but lasts a lot longer than many other games out there.

Overall:

The Third Age is a definite step in the right direction for Western developed RPGs. Adopting the Japanese style may pay off for EA here as there is simply no competition in this field on Xbox. Whether Xbox players will welcome the turn based system with open arms is yet to be seen but I hope this game could perhaps enlighten players that there is enough fun here and that swinging swords manually isn’t always the only way to play games. The Third Age is a decent turn based RPG that does what it has to do and does it well. However the linear nature of the terrain, lack of depth for the characters and the story means that it doesn’t quite get top marks .A solid and entertaining title that simply lacks overall ambition. Well worth a look and a must buy for Lord of the Rings fans.