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jmichalec
Guest
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| Homepage states it's only for consoles. |
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Wed May 26, 2004 1:34 am |
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Garrett
Joined: 13 Jul 2001
Posts: 74
Location: Munich, Germany |
yes, that's why EA is so popular, apart from destroying such comapnies as Origin, Westwood or Bullfrog they also managed to NOT release a decent LotR RPG in 3 years they own the license...well, only the good die young... |
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Wed May 26, 2004 6:47 am |
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RPG Frog
Blade Runner
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 748
Location: the Matrix |
Initial impressions of Third Age...
Gameplay consists of FFX-style exploration, and combat. The level designs are better than FFX. There is actual architecture that you can go around, above, and below. You will miss stuff if you are a carrot-on-stick player. You can switch playable avatars for the exploration-mode. Maps are like FFX. They have 2 levels of zoom. There is a cool "Eye of Sauron" which appears when you are in area heavy with monsters.
Most of the characters seem like cheap-knock-offs of the fellowship. This does not matter because they start looking really wicked as you equip them with new weapons and amour. FF1-X did not show armor etc.
The FMV is all optional. I like how you have the option of watching it, or accessing it from main menu.
After you clear an area, I have only cleared one so far, you can go to the main menu and do a series of “evil” turn-based battles. This unlocks new items, which you can then save into your save-file, thus making them available to your party.
Like KOTOR and FF, the game can be simple or complex. This all depends on the player's use of the turn-based system. The more you use your abilities, the more skill-tree options will open. RPG newbies would not unlock many of the skill-trees, as these players tend to keep using the same techniques. Like KOTOR, you can assign skills wherever you want when leveling.
Difficulty seems easy to average. With only 2.5 hours of play, it is hard to judge this aspect. KOTOR was a cakewalk on all settings. After a good 20 hours of play, I’ll give you updated impressions. The emphasis on this game is exploration, items, and tons of turn-based combat. You would probably enjoy this game if you are into Final Fantasy and Tolkien!
Final Impressions of Third Age...
Completed LOTR-3rd Age and it took me 22 or 23 hours including all side-quests on the normal difficulty. Evil Mode probably took 1 or maybe 2 hours total.
Pros
Turn-based combat similar to FFX
Howard Shore music from movies
Getting to play as the Balrog & Witchking in Evil Mode
Cool locations from the movies
You get to control Gandalf, Legolas, Gimili, Aragorn when they join your party
Cons
Linear
Repetitive
Non-stop combat
Mediocre game-design
No replay value
No true economy or NPC interaction(there are NPCs but no dialogue options)
Ridiculous story that apes the movies…you hear dialogue from main characters verbatim from the movies only used in other situations. This is very stupid but funny. The story was so cheesy that I laughed a lot. You honestly did not care about any of these characters.
Rating…
7
It’s worth playing, if you are a diehard RPG gamer and a fan of both Final Fantasy and LOTR movies. I think it is worth $20.00. $50.00 is just to much for this game.
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Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars…Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand…to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. - Robert E. Howard |
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Wed Jun 15, 2005 7:17 pm |
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