The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
- October 27, 2004 00:00 AM PST
It's a Hobbit sized adventure fit for a king. Bilbo would be proud.
The armies of Middle-Earth are at your command in this The Lord of the Rings-themed turn-based action/strategy game. Players can choose either the forces of light or darkness, and select between six various heroes.The unique turn-based battle system features a map that is separated into three different flanks. Each turn, players are randomly allotted command points based on their chosen hero's leadership stat, which are then spent to maneuver units and attack.
While the superficial allure of commanding armies of trolls and Ents is seductive, the game engine in the preview build felt sluggish and unbalanced. Each turn, players gain, at most, only a half dozen command points to maneuver a force of 20 to 50 troops, which leads to a very limiting gaming experience.
The damage engine also feels too randomized and characters seem haphazardly allocated statistics--how can the Witch-king be more powerful than Sauron's bodily incarnation? But still, it's a cool concept...and if the game engine can be minorly tweaked, The Third Age could be magical.
