The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Xbox, 2004)

I now own both versions and must admit visually I "see" an annoying brightness issue on the xbox version when you happen upon a "chest" of goodies, when you are close enough to activate the "glow" effect that indicates you are near a treasure...the xbox version literally becomes a blindingly bright screen and the "chest" is a silhouette on the screen until you open the "chest", the PS2 version is superior in this effect as the "chest" has it's low-level "fairy-glow" and the scenery is not blotted out.

I purchased the xbox version to prove a "bug" theory I seem to have experienced in the PS2 version where I did a massive amount of "crafting" and skill boosting after I got destroyed by the Balrog (very nasty critter) progressing into the Rohan village etc, I ran into a problem of not being able to "Save" which frustrated me.

To "find-out" if I am doing something wrong (google searches proved ineffective), I am attempting to re-create the "crafting" and skill progression as in my PS2 version...so far I have experienced no problems in the xbox version except for the aforementioned "Brightness" issue which goes away once you open all the "chests" on screen, as an afterthought, I do recall excessive brightness when using the Fire and Water "ranged" attacks on the xbox version over the PS2 version. This issue will be tolerable/acceptable IF I am able to progress through the rest of the game, still making my way through the Mines of Moria (west side, East side much longer) so I hope this review and test prove fruitful and informative to those who read it.

As to repetitive scenes and button-mashing using AP skills that seem prominent in other reviews I have read...I classify it as a necessary "end to a means", Suck it up and Quit whining...there is a degree of satisfaction "you" are missing from being accustomed to "instant gratification syndrome" instead of actually "earning" skills through exp gain alone.

Though you must be in combat...not all skills "require" you to "attack" a target to gain a "rep".

Use your brain and attack certain creatures that are immune to certain skills, you can blast them indefinitely and max out your particular skill tree if you have the patience to perform this: NON-instant gratification process and if you must "Attack", use your weakest weapon so you don't kill your target creature in one hit, and if you are not particularly observant, do yourself a favor and DO NOT use multi-attack skills as you only get one "rep" but do massive damage to the target, you will also need to AVOID Counter-Strike / Retaliation skills and Critical Strike skills while in Perfect-Mode as these activate at random (counter/strike hits) or every attack during Perfect-Mode (critical hits)and greatly shorten your targets HP's and they DO NOT gain you a "rep" (train in these last)...always use an attack they are strong against so your target "lives" longer thus netting you more "reps" from the combat you are currently engaged in.

I will not give you all my "secrets" for this particular game, but neither will I be kind to those who lack "Perception and Intuitiveness".

In order to appreciate something...you have to be willing to "Earn IT"


Thus ends my Review,
Scott Arnett
3-27-10

This game captures you from the start with it's graphics, plot and battle system. There are a lot of options for character development, armor and weapons. I have played through most (if not all) of the LotR games and none of them really kept me coming back. This game also offers something unique that the others don't; you can play both good and evil sides. This was a unique and fun feature. I wish that the evil side was more developed. It's main goal is just beat it to get weapons and additional items (which is nice, but they could have made the evil side into a much more developed games). Overall, one of my all-time favorite games and I would recommend it to anyone.

Did you love the movie? Well you'll love this game. Taking place in the middle earth universe you get to play a game that runs parallel to the actual movie story line. You get to control several characters, all of which, are very similar to the actual movie characters themselves...aside from the hobbits haha. If you liked the movie and want a game that'll put you into that world...THIS IS THE GAME FOR YOU...

I bought this for my girlfriend to help occupy her downtime. It's not too frustrating a game, which is a plus-as she and I both believe games are meant to be stress relievers and not the cause of more stress! She's enjoyed the story and the characters thus far. She has barely been able to put it down since she received it a few days ago and thus far she only got stuck by fluke once. The characters might be fairly stereotypical, but there's variety and if you enjoy the movies and enjoy RPG type games with a low difficulty, then this should be a game you'd enjoy.

Its a great RPG game. It has great graphics and detailed quests to follow. Very entertaining and keeps with the story line of the Lord of the Rings movies. Gives you hours of enjoyable game play.