The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 89 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 89
  3. Negative: 5 out of 89
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  1. adamsfall
    Jun 14, 2012
    10
    Picked this game up again after 7 years and it still feels fantastic. It aged well and I am having just as much fun with it this time around. Buy it. Just do it.
  2. John
    Jan 2, 2005
    10
    The best RPG to date.
  3. GeoA.
    Jan 5, 2005
    10
    I liked it a lot because it was so realistic it felt as though you were living the trilogy.
  4. AlienSpaceBats
    Sep 7, 2014
    6
    EA took Final Fantasy X's conditional battle system and mashed it into a Lord of the Rings "RPG". The proverbial film license barrel has been well and truly scraped to deliver a non-canonical story and oddly familiar party members (budget Gimli, cut-price Aragorn, etc.) but in spite of this the movie license has been used to great effect and the music and cinematics (from the film) improveEA took Final Fantasy X's conditional battle system and mashed it into a Lord of the Rings "RPG". The proverbial film license barrel has been well and truly scraped to deliver a non-canonical story and oddly familiar party members (budget Gimli, cut-price Aragorn, etc.) but in spite of this the movie license has been used to great effect and the music and cinematics (from the film) improve matters no end. It's still really enjoyable to play. Linear as all hell, but as far as Final Fantasy X in LotR clothing goes, it's pretty fun. Deserves an extra point for the Evil Mode, where you can play as the Balrog and kill Gandalf.… Expand
  5. vonRichington
    Mar 26, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The things Lord of The Rings: the third age managed to get right, namely it's fairly decent (though inconsistent) graphics and RPG mechanics, are severely overshadowed by atrocious storytelling, lazy writing, and generally unlikable characters.

    The Game has you playing with your own little fellowship; Berethor, an edgy jerk from Gondor who has a Morgul curse on him making him even more annoying and edgy, Idrial, who is basically Arwen if she got friendzoned, Elegost, a ranger who's just kinda there, Hadhod, who's basically Gimli if he was a bit more emo, Morwen, who's basically Eowen if she didn't get friendzoned and used a pair of axes instead of a sword, and Eaoden, who is a massive troll.
    Your little band of heroes travels through many iconic Lord of The Rings locations, such as the Mines of Moria, where you fight the Balrog with Gandalf, for, some reason, Helms Deep, where the major plot twist happens, Osgiliath, where the OTHER major plot twist happens, Minas Tirith, where the background looks like somone scrubbed fecal matter on a field and said, "this is an army", the Pelannor Fields, where Mumakils will either roll over and die, or confuse/paralyze you until you roll over and die, and where Aragorn tells Berethor he bows to no one.
    Then go fight the Eye of Sauron atop Barad-Ur, and watch as the game just ends after you kill him.
    As you can tell, the story moreso resembles a bad fanfiction than the Lord of The Rings story.
    And if all that wasn't enough for you, play Evil Mode, where you get to kill the heroes over and over again.

    The gameplay becomes very tedious and boring as there are relatively few enemy types, and they mainly throw upgraded versions of the same thing at you with little variance.
    One other glaring issue is the relative lack of NPCs throughout the game, with only a few areas having any, almost none of whom contribute anything to the plot whatsoever, there is also a total lack of shops, all equipment is looted from the areas you travel through.

    All in all, this is a sub-par game with a few redeeming qualities that just don't make up for the time that it takes to slog through to the end.    … Expand
  6. MatthewB.
    May 17, 2004
    10
    This game looks awesome I've been waiting for a lord lord of the rings RPG for a while now but im not sure about the turnbased combat against massive armys anyway it look GREAT.
  7. Vik
    Jan 3, 2005
    9
    It´s a RPG of good game, not equal to Final Fantasy but very good.
  8. EricJ.
    Jan 7, 2005
    9
    I'm not really a fan or RPG's but god damn is this a great game. Probably due to me liking LOTR the movie soo much, but also probably due to this being such a good game. I recomend this to anyone who likes RPGs and to anyone who doesn't, I think you'd like it.
  9. DanL.
    Nov 10, 2004
    9
    I liked it.
  10. SharbazR.
    Nov 2, 2004
    10
    This game is AWESOME!!! I just got it today and I can't stop playing it. OH MY GOD the Balrog battle IS SICK!!!!!
  11. ChrisL.
    Jul 27, 2007
    9
    Awesome game. It shouldn't have been turn based but it's still very good!
  12. Gamejunky
    Nov 17, 2004
    9
    I liked this game a lot. It was just what I was after - An rpg set in middle earth. There are probably of course better rpgs out there (that of course depends very much on rpg tastes) , but I thought this one did a good job. If you like the movies alot and like the idea of a more streamlined rpg, odds are you're really gonna like this one. It's combat is turn based which is I liked this game a lot. It was just what I was after - An rpg set in middle earth. There are probably of course better rpgs out there (that of course depends very much on rpg tastes) , but I thought this one did a good job. If you like the movies alot and like the idea of a more streamlined rpg, odds are you're really gonna like this one. It's combat is turn based which is something I really like since you can never get the same level of strategy in real time combat as you can with turn based. Somehow the combat feels exciting but doesn't seem to get too repetitive since there's alot of different variety in how they mix up the different monsters which makes it so you want to always change your strategy based upon situation. A good description of the combat is think of recent Final Fantasy games. It's very similar. If you like your RPGs to be very micro management and numbers oriented, there's a chance you may not like this one, but if you like the idea of an RPG that's fast paced (minimal downtime and upkeep etc), easy to pickup, and has many of the monotonous logistical aspects done away with, you'll probably like this one a great deal. They basically made an RPG here that leaves in the fun aspect of what makes an rpg great, but got rid of the micromanagement and maintanence aspects. The emphasis here is exploration, and straight forward combat. There is of course still logisitical aspect there, but they're not overdone to where you spend more time number crunching, scientific testing etc, but instead just pick up the controller and lose yourself in the adventure. … Expand
  13. TiffaniR.
    Nov 23, 2004
    10
    I love it!!!!
  14. MickB.
    Nov 8, 2004
    10
    If you are a Lord of the Rings fan and like RPG games, this is YOUR GAME. It looks great, ties into the stories without messing with them and once you really start playing the system you realize that EVERYTHING you do has consequence in how your characters develop. Third Age rocks!
  15. AdamL.
    Sep 18, 2007
    9
    I hate turn based games with a passion, I played too many hours of final fantasy in my younger days to not be burnt out on it. That said, this game pulls it off nicely, and the gameplay is fun enough. Certainly worth a try.
  16. Kai82
    Nov 26, 2020
    7
    Another rare case of a licensed game that is not garbage. It is a turn based RPG set in Middle-Earth during the events of “The Lord of the Rings”. It tells a new story with new characters but you will meet eventually some familiar looking faces;-). I must remark that some scenes / events can be a huge betrayal for “Lord of the Ring” fans. Your main character is Berethor is a captain ofAnother rare case of a licensed game that is not garbage. It is a turn based RPG set in Middle-Earth during the events of “The Lord of the Rings”. It tells a new story with new characters but you will meet eventually some familiar looking faces;-). I must remark that some scenes / events can be a huge betrayal for “Lord of the Ring” fans. Your main character is Berethor is a captain of the guard of Gondor. He was tasked in finding Boromir and gets drawn into the events of the game that have a connection to Lord of the Rings. One his way many people will join your group. It has many elements that resemble Final Fantasy 10 and the Grandia series. This means it has an active time battle and the sequence is displayed on the left side of the screen (Time stops when it is your turn so you can make the best choices). Some special attacks may slow done the targeted enemy or can interrupt him. You have a party of three active characters with individual backgrounds and skills. As you gain experience and level up you can improve the character stats and learn new abilities. Each character has 2 skill trees and passive skills if I remember correctly. There are many side-quests in the game and some are rewarding. I did a bit of grinding early on because there is a bit of a difficulty spike after a certain point. There is also a feature resembling the Limit Break attacks from Final Fantasy. When your meter is filled you can use a powerful attack. I should also mention that it has random battles (Was normal at the time but is today hated by many or outdated). So far the gameplay works. Then there are the Lord of the Rings elements. You visit familiar place, meet familiar characters and unlock clips from the movies. The graphics and art style was O.K. for its time. Same goes for the soundtrack. There are some drawbacks. Like already mentioned some parts of the story will anger fans (understatement in some cases). Then I think many would prefer an adventure with the characters from Lord of the Rings. At least it is not that original but uses mechanics from proven games. Overall this is a mixture of Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings. It is enjoyable and I likes it. However it is not masterpiece but above average.… Expand
  17. reconplayer9037
    Oct 10, 2014
    7
    So, how much do you like turn-based Rpg's? How much do like LoTR?
    Why did I ask these questions? That's because this game is both. Yep, that's right, A LoTR RPG. Is this a bad thing? No, not really, it actually works pretty well. Graphics are stellar (for Ps2) and music is of course great. (What did you expect it's LoTR.) However, Plot is bad until it's okay and voice acting is usually    So, how much do you like turn-based Rpg's? How much do like LoTR?
    Why did I ask these questions? That's because this game is both. Yep, that's right, A LoTR RPG. Is this a bad thing? No, not really, it actually works pretty well. Graphics are stellar (for Ps2) and music is of course great. (What did you expect it's LoTR.) However, Plot is bad until it's okay and voice acting is usually terrible.
    As an Rpg, this game is reminiscent of Final Fantasy X (same turn-based mechanics) and its gameplay is solid.    … Expand
  18. BenHazelden
    Oct 13, 2014
    6
    As with most old games, this was extremely fun to play, with advanced combat mechanics and tech trees, but a low budget ending once again ruined this childhood treasure of mine.
    Graphics are alright, game-play was fun and addictive with endless hours of fighting through iconic Middle Earth settings, the ending however seemed rushed with the dumbest boss battle ever?!?!?!
    6/10 - Ben Hazelden
  19. BlakDak666
    Jun 7, 2017
    8
    While it has forgettable characters, a terrible plot, bugs and an overload of items that weren't tested or needed in the final product, The Third Age was a wet dream for those engrossed in the Lord of The Rings craze in the early 2000s. A turn based RPG that had the soundtrack of all three films added (and being so fantastic anyways it's a no brainer), having bosses and enemies that feltWhile it has forgettable characters, a terrible plot, bugs and an overload of items that weren't tested or needed in the final product, The Third Age was a wet dream for those engrossed in the Lord of The Rings craze in the early 2000s. A turn based RPG that had the soundtrack of all three films added (and being so fantastic anyways it's a no brainer), having bosses and enemies that felt awesome to defeat just made the experience so fun. If you are a Lord of The Rings fan, a medieval RPG fan or both, playing this game for the combat and strategy will definitely be the strongest thing you can take away from it and smile proudly.… Expand
  20. franzqq
    Apr 5, 2017
    9
    This game has a unique character amongst the other Middle-Earth game it's because based on Japanese Rpg system. You have 6 playable character during your quest. All of them have different skills and characteristic. Story is fine for a PS2 rpg game. If you are a LOTR fan and you looking for some good Middle-Earth video game i can recommend this game to you.
  21. RTCWFAN
    Jun 7, 2023
    8
    It has the most beautiful Middle-Earth experience to date. Perfect for RPG fans and story lovers. Overall rating: 8.4.
  22. VLG
    Aug 22, 2023
    8
    I loved the game, but, to this day, it still amazes me that a game like this has zero replayability, given how short it is. I wish they made a sequel.

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best PS2 Game of 2004
50
#50 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2004
29
#29 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 35
  3. Negative: 2 out of 35
  1. Total Video Games
    70
    This is not the best RPG title to be released this year by a long shot, but for those who wish to get into the world of Middle-Earth, The Third Age will satisfy some of the desire to become immersed in the story to a deeper level than the previous LOTR titles allowed.
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  2. TotalPlayStation
    50
    An utterly average RPG gets an average score. Fantastic visuals and killer sound effects can't hide the fact that this is a marathon most gamers won't be able to finish.
    Read full review
  3. Yahoo!
    80
    The game lacks the complicated character advancement common in the genre, but it's fast-paced, looks and sounds great, and will keep casual RPG and Lord of the Rings fans happy.
    Read full review
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