The Lord of the Rings - The Third Age [PS2]

What binds groups of people together with differing beliefs? On planet Earth, little. The very idea on the philosophy of teamwork is traditionally associated with finding a common enemy to undermine. Of course, this is reflected in artistic literary outputs as well. Only humans know how to write, in which the ethos of written characters reflect those of the human creator.

In the first book of the best trilogy known to humankind, Tolkien's cross-race Fellowship forms during the fabled Council of Elrond. After much quarrel, the different races of Middle Earth unite under the noble cause of stopping Sauron. The common enemy is clear, and the fantasy is thus relatable to readers.

But, what of the imitated comradery of the group formed in Lord of the Rings: the Third Age? These inferiors are loosely bound together with tasks such as eliminating over 30 Nazgûls, despite there only being 9 according to Tolkien lore. Unfit to participate otherwise, it's time to direct this ragtag assembly in the footsteps of the esteemed Fellowship.

The Challenge? Complete the main story on Hard Difficulty.

Is this a worthy Challenge? Let's find out.

Gameplay

The back of the cover art for Lord of the Rings: the Third Age boldly proclaims: "the most exciting RGP since Final Fantasy." Enticing marketing that will be fully evaluated by Lord Rigor in relation to Difficulty. This installment offers a unique Middle Earth adventure from a slightly different perspective, yet keepers of Tolkien lore should always approach these initiatives with skepticism.

It is enjoyable to improve character attributes during the first few Chapters and, like most RPGS, it is natural to not train every character. Characters that don't participate in battles receive half experience, allowing for mid-game changes to primary party members. A single trivial attempt is made by the developers during the battle of Minas Tirith to utilize all six characters but, with enough stockpiled items, survival of the three weakest members is assured. With the stalwart Berethor leading the charge, very few can withstand his wrath.

Lord Rigor did not perform any creative leveling distributions across His three characters. These simply included Health for the tank (Berethor), Spirit for the mage (Idrial) and Strength for the warrior (in this case, Elegost the archer). Below are those end-game character statistics:

Survival in the Lord of the Rings: the Third Age can be Difficult. There is no shopping in this Middle Earth. Items are only obtained from treasure chests and battle rewards, making it important to conserve resources for tough fights. Specifically, items such as Dwarven Ale (removes character immobilization) and Sachels of Old Toby should be cherished.

Immense woe will incur if Idrial’s magic is suddenly immobilized during a boss battle and the game has not been saved for 2 hours...

Alas, once all characters join the party about a third through the game, flawed battle mechanics are fully revealed...

The Lord of the Rings: the Third Age includes a "win button"; a shameful indulgence that results in easier gameplay. In particular, Idrial's Aura of the Valar has been determined across numerous digital forums to be a game-breaker. As seen below, Elegost has been selected as the worthy son to be resurrected:

Why is the Aura of the Valar overpowered? That spell awards full HP and an instant turn to previously deceased party members. Even on Hard Difficulty, this is an unsatisfying choice.

In contrast, consider Final Fantasy X’s Auto-Life spell in which characters instead are revived with minimal HP and must wait their turn to attack. Superbosses such as Nemesis require forethought and remain incredibly Challenging, even with Auto-Life. In fact, that spell may very well be necessary to beat the Hardest boss in the game.

To continue the Final Fantasy X comparison, Lord of the Rings: the Third Age mimicked that game's conditional turn-based battle system. Primary similarities include the side-bar Act List indicator for turn-based attacking, as well as character Perfect Modes reminiscent to FFX Overdrives. Dishearteningly, EA Games did not implement these features correctly despite having a high quality template to follow.

Generally, no matter how linear a game may be, there are always choices to be made that should be evaluated intentionally. In this context, it is recommended to not use the Aura of the Valar spell. Lord of the Rings: the Third Age is not Difficult enough to require it and is one of the few fundamental decisions to be made if Hard Difficulty is to be fully considered.

Hard Difficulty

Speaking of decisions, selecting a Difficulty at the start of any new game is a monumental choice, and is the basis for the existence of this Lord of the Rigors initiative. Indeed, the battle hardened Lord Rigor may be trusted to help weary wanderers determine which ancient video games are worthy to play Hard Difficulty on.

Yet, Lord of the Rings: the Third Age is different than this traditional decision making. By default, the quest begins on medium Difficulty and players are not directly prompted to make the selection from the outset. Selecting Hard Difficulty must be sought after in the Options menu:

Word choice is important and binds the speaker to its intent, or lack thereof. In the above example, notice the language under the Difficulty selection: "change the difficulty of the game." Under what circumstances should players modify a Challenge that has already begun? Rarely.

Lord Rigor provides a single example in The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind in which slowly scaling up to 100 Difficulty is strictly pre-defined to attain an immersive and balanced Challenge.

In Lord of the Rings: the Third Age, the onus is thus upon the player to choose the path of resistance at any time. This introduces a fundamental discrepancy in the entire definition of Difficulty. In the below excerpt, a Patrick Gann from RPGfan discusses this flaw:

When a player can switch back and forth between difficulty levels, the lesson learned is that there is no reward for playing on "hard mode" (many games will give added storylines or different endings for completing the game on a higher difficulty level). Why not just play on easy? Of course, one can play on hard through the game, and then when the player encounters a "tough boss," let's just switch back to easy! The ability to be tempted in such a way is simply irresistible, and it leaves many gamers feeling unsatisfied; the accomplishment was cheap . . .

The dilemma has been declared and a Challenge of Rigor is now understood. What factors motivate the player to dismiss such beguiling availability? None; aside from Personal Gratification, of course. Onward!

The only variation between the easy, medium and Hard Difficulty appears to be enemy Health Points (HP). This is a relatively thoughtless development choice with profound consequences because, without any other metric changes, this simply prolongs battles. Lord Rigor's willpower was closely extinguished near 75% game completion whilst slaying HP-injected Mûmakils on the Gondorian fields outside Minas Tirith. A desolate killing ground, that place.

Standard enemies with high HP are Difficult yet manageable. But, a ghastly dilemma is encountered when facing bosses on Hard Difficulty. Specifically, for bosses immune to stunning, the player must decide whether to use Perfect Mode attacks or not based on the following options:

Option # 1: Use Perfect Mode attacks, but enemies attack out of the Act List sequence.

Option # 2: Don't use the most powerful attacks in the game on the Hardest enemies in the game.

Most Perfect Mode attacks such as Berethor's Banner of Elendil inflicts high damage and simultaneously stuns opponents. An incredibly helpful move that provides enough breathing room to recover characters when necessary, especially on Hard Difficulty.

However, towards the end of Lord of the Rings: the Third Age, enemies are generally immune to stunning. Under normal circumstances, the player can accept this immunity and move forward by just inflicting the much needed damage. Right?

Wrong. If stun-immune bosses are hit with a Perfect Mode stunning attack, enemies will begin attacking out of Act List sequence for the remainder of the battle! The Act List is technically just a tool that players could perhaps ignore, but these bosses don't attack in clear patterns either. Without the ability to plan on Hard Difficulty, this provides an unprecedented sense of randomness resulting in unfair defeats. Utter blasphemy for true Challenge seekers.

For instance, in the below example, Berethor is indicated six consecutive times on the Act List. This sequence is entirely inaccurate and is a result of attempting to stun the stun-immune Dark Lord Sauron. Battle motivation instantly diminishes when Berethor's smug human face litters the screen.

Neither Option is practical. Option # 1 appears manageable but the turn-based sequencing gets even more haphazard as players attempt to direct character speed in relation to the previously described problem. Sadly, Lord Rigor chose Option # 2 and laboriously trudged through high-HP boss battles. The game's sound was sorrowfully muted because the Lord of the Ring's music score was too epic during such prolonged repetitiveness.

In short, Lord of the Rings: the Third Age is unsympathetically inconsistent. Most tediously rigorous video games can be conquered by sheer trial-and-error which are best handled in spurts of willingness. However, this haphazard battle behavior negates such tactics. In Gamasutra’s article Difficulty is Difficult, consistency is cited as a cornerstone to designing video games:

The player must understand how and why he failed, so that he can learn from his mistake and increase the feeling of failure being his responsibility.

Regardless of these unfortunate logistics, Hard Difficulty is indeed Difficult. Lord Rigor openly admits that His party of Berethor, Idrial and Elegost were continually annihilated and most often met their deaths at:

- Ramparts of Helms Deep -

- Bridge crossing of Rohan -

- Mûmakils outside Minas Tirith -

From enemies having enormous stocks of HP, to not using the most powerful attacks available, the player must make important choices in Lord of the Rings: the Third Age. Based on the unworthy barriers discussed, Lord Rigor proposes an alternative: only play the first three Chapter on Hard Difficulty and just defeat the Balrog.

This Difficult monstrosity appears early enough in the game to not be worn down by undeserving development choices. After a long spelunk through the mines, the party comes across Gandalf waging ultimate war against Durin's Bane, the mighty Balrog of Khazad-dûm. It here that the Lord of the Rings: the Third Age lore breaks because, of course, Gandalf did not need assistance to slay this immortal beast. Nevertheless, a Difficult onslaught ensues...

Hadhod, final redeemer of the Dwarves, initiates the battle with his Endure Flame spirit power. An immediate necessity as the Balrog unleashes its Roaring Inferno and Pillar of Wrath fire spells, which damages HP and drains AP. Enduring such powerful heat is only temporary and select party members are swiftly incinerated. Only Gandalf the Grey boasts enough HP to withstand multiple Balrog attacks, allowing items such as Elf Medicine to revive the burn victims. Charred yet rejuvenated, the party members eventually deteriorates the Balrog's defenses with item support from Bags of Old Toby to also restore AP points. Until at last, Hadhod delivers the ultimate blow with his Mountain Rage axe craft skill to throw down his ancestor's enemy and smote its ruin upon the mountainside!

The Quests in the first three Chapters are simpler than later Chapters, making this experience enjoyably straightforward. As if watching an extension of the extended edition of Fellowship of the Ring movie, the Balrog was slain and the Hard Difficulty journey fulfilled.

Always honoring time, Lord Rigor is reminded of a quote from a smart wizard:

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. - Gandalf the Grey

Conclusion

Is this a worthy Challenge? No.

The Lord of the Rings: the Third Age is not worth playing on Hard Difficulty due inconsistent battle mechanics and thoughtless Difficulty scaling. Both of these logistics immensely increase time investment and the prolonged experience is not rewarding. Without proper incentive to attempt the highest Difficulty, the mission of this estranged Fellowship is a shallow undertaking.

Of all the different video game genres that the Lord of the Rings franchise made appearances on, this RPG version is, however, very much worth experiencing; albeit on a lesser Difficulty. From being directed by Gandalf (Ian McKellen), to Challenging the infamous Balrog in Moria, to defending Helms Deep against the barbaric Uruk-Hai, these events offer renewed excitement. Branch out from the movie screen and indirectly participate in the events that shaped the Third Age of Middle Earth. Just choose medium Difficulty and enjoy the scenery.