In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Electronic Arts brings the much-loved PS2 style of gameplay to Xbox.  This is a rare occasion for Xbox players, considering that it is the only next-gen console besides Dreamcast that did not receive a new Final Fantasy, the leader in turn-based role-playing. 

Finally there's an Xbox RPG for Square fans to lose themselves in.  Best of all it stars new characters from The Lord of the Rings films and features appearances by (almost) the entire cast.

Berethor is one of the first characters you'll meet in the game.  He fought with Boromir during the Battle for Osgiliath as the Citadel Guard of Gondor.  Elegost is a member of Dunedain (the same group Aragorn belonged to), swarn to protect the Shire from those who are evil.  Idrial is woven into the story when she helps Berethor survive an attack.  Hadhod and Morwen are looking for answers – one hopes to find pieces of his past, the other hopes to find remaining family members (Morwen lost her family when her village burned down).

These five warriors are brought together in different ways, but the ultimate goal is the same: stop the ring from falling into the wrong hands.  A sixth warrior, Eaoden, will worm his way into the story as well.  Where does all this lead?

I'll refrain from giving anything away, but I must note that the story isn't this game's strong point.  It's decent, even good at times, but the movies (and previous games) are much better.

Not surprisingly, The Third Age is littered with crates and other objects that need to be examined in order to obtain important items.  Few of them are necessary to your success, but there's a reason why you have to search for them: the items are actually useful.

Outside battle the game has numerous linear maps and a compass incase you get lost (or forget if you were walking northwest or southeast).  Inside the battles the game looks like Final Fantasy.  Easy-to-read menus indicate exactly who's turn it is, how much health (HP) is left, the number of action points (AP) that are available, etc.

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age has its own version of the Final Fantasy limit breaker system.  Attack your enemies as normal, then take a gander at the rectangular meter on the right-hand side of the screen.  Look what you've done this time.  The death of your greatest adversaries is bad enough, but now you've gone and made the Momentum Meter fill up with power.  Once full, switch over to Perfect Mode to unleash a set of attacks not previously available.

As players journey closer to the end, they will find themselves in a state of awe.  In a state of awe for the music, and in a state of awe for the graphics.  Musically the game captures the essence of the films.  If there's a new track here you won't be able to tell.  Each piece blends into the story so well that you'd think it came directly from the films.  Graphically the game is no less than what it should be: spectacular.  It's clear who each of the characters are (you don't have to squint).  That tiny detail seems to mess up so many licensed games, but not The Third Age.

What's breathtaking about it is the environments.  You know and love The Lord of the Rings worlds like you know and love the planets in Star Wars.  Their images are permanently ingrained in your head.  Seeing them come to life in this game is akin to watching a brawl on TV, then playing Tekken for the first time.  You've seen it before, but never did you know that it could look so good in an interactive world.

Nobody does The Lord of the Rings like Electronic Arts.  The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age proves that just because a movie trilogy has ended, you don't have to stop making games or only make ones that suck.

Call it a gift to yourself and take it home today, or grab that big black marker and add it to your Christmas list.  If EA keeps this up, Santa would need a few more workshops just to accommodate.

Gameplay: 8.5
The Third Age is presented in the same way you'd imagine: the graphics are gorgeous, the music is epic, and the battles are played out entirely through menus.  The camera angle changes for certain battles; its default position varies each time you encounter an enemy. 

Graphics: 9
Gorgeous Xbox graphics.  The worlds are big and beautiful (in design, but not always in gameplay).  The game’s artists did an impeccable job of rendering all the levels and characters, re-creating the films’ environments in video game form.  No Lord of the Rings fan will be able to take his or her eyes off this one.

Sound: 9
Mesmerizing music from one of the world’s greatest composers.  Every moment is heightened by an entrancing masterpiece.  It will become a part of you whether you’ve seen the movies or not.

Vocally the game isn’t perfect, but it’s not nearly as hokey as some of the voice-overs we’ve heard in other RPGs.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
RPG purists are once again faced with a game that, while grand and entertaining in almost every way, is not super-frustrating or overly difficult.  I’m thrilled that it’s not – an RPG can either be easy or cheap and frustrating.  I’ll take the former.  For those of you who don’t, I suggest you play a strategy/RPG instead.

Concept: 7.5
Traditional, turn-based role-playing set in the expansive Lord of the Rings universe.  None of the starring characters are in your control, but it’s Lord of the Rings – how could you not be intrigued?

Multiplayer: 8
Co-op?  In an RPG?  You bet!  The Third Age makes it possible to take a friend along with you on this extremely long journey, just like Frodo did when he set out to destroy the ring.

Overall: 8.5
Three films to rule them all, several places to buy them.  One developer to make the games, and one holiday to find them (under the tree!).  The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a great ending to a great run of games.  The length would almost be intimidating if this wasn’t an RPG.  I beat The Two Towers in less than two days.  The Return of the King didn’t take me much longer.  I didn’t keep track of the time I spent with The Third Age, but one thing’s for certain – you can’t beat this game in a few nights.  You could play it continuously, use a strategy guide and rush through every level and still have a hard time finishing it that quickly.  This is an RPG, and a Final Fantasy-sized one at that.  Take your time and enjoy it.