This is supposed to be coming out sometime soon. Are there any reviews available for it yet? What's the advance word on this, good? Bad? Decent?

I'm curious myself. To me, the idea of having a classic turn-based RPG based on LOTR sound incredible. I just hope EA can pull it off. If it's as good as I'm hoping it to be, it may be the game that will keep me from playing Halo 2 on launch.

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here is some early buzz..... buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Previews make it sound good, basically say it's FFX with LOTR characters.

But previews always make games sound good, so we'll really have to wait for reviews.

I figure it will turn out decent though, but probably not game of the year type quality or anything.

If it was anyone other than EA developing it, I'd have great hopes for it. I can't think of any good RPG that they've ever done. Too bad Bioware wouldn't have gotten the license.

Taylor34

Man if it as bad as Return Of The King I don't care about it. God that game had far to many timed levels in it and shit. I also don't see this being a very long game.

I enjoyed RotK. Thought it was worlds better than TTT. And the multiplayer is a lot of fun.

I'm not sure which timed levels you're refering to. I can't even think of one.

This is a turn-based RPG. It should be nothing like ROTK except for the world they're based in. I can't wait to see some reviews.

Yeah, pointless to compare this to ROTK. I didn't like ROTK much either, but simply because it was too difficult for my tastes. TTT was more than hard enough for me.

Comparing this to ROTK is like comparing Paper Mario to Dr. Mario.

Finally an LOTR game by EA that my thumbs or the controller won't take any abuse.

Actually looking forward to this game and I don't mind that its turn based either. I don't like the fact the battles will be random but the design team is comprised of a few people that worked at Square and in particular several of the FF games on the PS One, so we know where this idea stemmed from. If you notice in some of the screen shots the battle system looks similar to FFX and like FFX you'll be able to see character/enemy turns in order so you can strategize what moves to make. You'll also be able to rotate characters in/out of battle a la FFX.

My concerns will be how much creativity actually went into this game? They began work on this game back in January of this year and they're already done. So they had what 8-9 months work on a "epic" RPG? I'm just worried that they through this thing together and I hope I'm wrong because I've been waiting for a really good LOTR RPG.

In all my years of playing video games, this is the first time that someone else has deemed a game hard which I thought was relatively easy.

IGN's review is up and they gave the PS2 version an 8.5/10. After reading the review I'm surprised the game was given such a high score. From what I gather the game uses practically the same combat system from FFX, which is not to say FFX's combat system sucked but how about a little creativity here? Also, where's the challenge? Not only is the game short but its extremely unbalanced. Here'a a couple of things in the review which caught my attnetion:

Quote:

"Certain spells, once learned, will nearly always guarantee a victory in normal skirmishes. Here's one example: Aura of the Valor, one of Idrial's Spiritual Powers, will automatically revive a single character once knocked out."

"....the battle system automatically grants revived characters a turn just as soon as they're standing again. So, casting Aura of Valor on Idrial herself and then on one other character creates an endless cycle of death and rebirth. Since resurrection completely refills a character's health and magic, victory is virtually guaranteed."

and this last thing I read really turned me off to this game.....

LINK

Now granted this is just ONE review but I must say I'm not all that excited about this title. I love a good RPG and was looking forward to one set in the Tolkein universe but it seems EA's team didn't spend nearly enough time or put enough effort into this game and that's exactly what I had feared.

I for one can do without friggin' "Shops" in RPGs.

I always hated that part of RPGS and that's why I didn't even bother with them until "Knights of the Old Republic". I guess old age has made me more tolerant.

My favorite genre, so I am excited about it.

I guess that is what happens when you try and make a RPG in a year or a year in a half.

I could care less about shops but no effort required in leveling your characters or acquiring new abilities? What fun is that? I'll be renting this one first.

IGN's video review said the game takes between 25-30 hours to finish.

I concur. By the time you can afford anything decent in them, you've already found much better gear just by adventuring.

As for this game, it doesn't sound like my cup of tea after reading that review. Which is fine since I've got more than enough on my plate right now.

Ditto.

So true. I always buy "Plate Armor" and then walk two steps out of town, kill a rat and find "Shining Mithril Armor of Enlightenment."

Game informer online said that it was too difficult. Hear are their last two paragraphs. ( Their review is their top story today)

"The only real concern that I ran into was the fact that the game is quite difficult. Random encounters with enemies are anything but simple fights and often times you’ll find yourself up the creek without a paddle before you know it. Most enemies are capable of unleashing very powerful attacks, which can really put a dent in your success. Boss fights are the biggest offenders and some of them border on downright frustrating.



Overall, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is one of the best games based on Tolkien’s license. Epic storytelling and eye popping visuals create one heck of an experience, regardless of whether or not you’re a Hobbit lover or hater. While the difficulty takes some getting used to, the sheer amount of depth in customizing your characters and the feeling that you’re actually taking part in key moments from the books and films is priceless. Granted, if you’re one of those fans who are still trying to petition Peter Jackson to shoot a Shire ending for Return to the King, the game’s story may be a bit too outlandish for your hoity toity tastes, but for the rest of us, the game offers up plenty of reasons to take another trip back to Middle Earth."

I'll be picking this one up regardless. I am a sucker for LOTR games.

Now the question is for PS2 or Gamecube?