Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Preview

Team Xbox has written up a two-page preview of Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Electronic Arts' upcoming RPG set in the popular Tolkien universe. Check it out:
The open ended style of The Third Age also gives gamers a much broader choice of player characters which takes the focus off of the Hollywood side of the trilogy and places the emphasis more on the background of Tolkien's fabricated universe (similar to Star Wars novels which expand the movie's scope, such as The New Jedi Order series). Gamers won't be stuck with the rickety old Gandalf or the vertically challenged Sam in LotR: The Third Age. Instead, warriors-in-training will be able to choose from a wide array of characters, both good and evil, with varying abilities and attributes far beyond the scope of the films. Some gamers will thank the powers that be for allowing control of some of Sauron's nasty creatures since they were so rockin' in the movies; The Third Age is less about being on the good side of the battle between good and evil, and more about general, turned-based ass kicking. Each character is presented in typical RPG style, with defined experience in key areas such as attack strength, weaponry, fighting stance, and special powers. Warriors will gain experience when choosing to partake in the quest missions or the side quests which work as mini fetch adventures. Experience will upgrade various areas of the (skill tree) which is a further breakdown of each character's natural attributes. Weaponry can be separately upgraded, such as melee or ranged combat, as can the important areas of combat such as defense and black magic.