The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Game Boy Advance)

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a turn-based tactics game for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in 2004 by Electronic Arts and is the handheld version of a role-playing video game of the same name released for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

For the console version of the game, see The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age.
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
North American cover art
Developer(s)Griptonite Games
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
  • NA: November 2, 2004
  • PAL: November 5, 2004
  • JP: December 22, 2004
Genre(s)Turn-based tactics, tactical role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
The Mouth of Sauron (center) commands a force of orcs and trolls in the stage "The Black Gate Opens".

When starting a campaign, the player is prompted to choose a commander from either good (Aragorn, Gandalf or Elrond) or evil (Saruman, the Witch-King of Angmar or the Mouth of Sauron). Selecting a commander from either side begins a campaign from the perspective of that army. The player can store two saved games at any given time, one each for good and evil.

Depending on the campaign, a number of secondary heroes are available for use in battle. The good heroes include members of the Fellowship and supporting allies such as Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, Faramir and Boromir. The evil heroes include a variety of orcs and servants of evil from the films and novel trilogy, such as Grima Wormtongue, Gorbag, Sharku, Ugluk, Grishnakh, Lurtz and Gothmog. As the player completes missions and progresses through the campaign, they are able to use experience points to purchase skills and equipment upgrades in order to enhance the performance of their primary and secondary heroes. The game may be played on "Sauron Mode", whereby heroes who fall in battle are unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.

A number of non-selectable, non-upgradable heroes appear and are playable in certain missions. In the case of the good campaign, these include Merry, Pippin, Treebeard, Prince Theodred, and Isildur, as well as unnamed captain units. On the evil campaign, these additional companions include Orc chieftains and captains, Uruk-hai lieutenants and captains, and in a few select missions, the Dark Lord Sauron. Units known as standard-bearers are also occasionally available to either side and add to the command points on a given flank.

The campaign comprises 24 levels in addition to two tutorial levels and six bonus missions. All of the missions in a given episode must be completed to move to the next portion of the trilogy. Several bonus levels and heroes are unlockable by meeting specific conditions while playing the game.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic.[2]

References
  1. "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. "The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  3. Kato, Matthew (February 2005). "Lord of the Rings: Third Age [sic] (GBA)". Game Informer (142): 125. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  4. Iron Monkey (January 2005). "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Review for Game Boy Advance on GamePro.com". GamePro: 103. Archived from the original on 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  5. Harris, Craig (2004-11-02). "Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GBA)". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  6. "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GBA)". NGC Magazine. January 2005.
  7. "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GBA)". Nintendo Power. 187: 140. January 2005.
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