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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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

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

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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.
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  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.
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