Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Previews

Two hands-on previews for Electronic Arts’ Lord of the Rings: The Third Age hit the web over the past couple of days. The first is at GameSpot:

In Helm’s Deep we saw two key elements that highlight the game’s role-playing approach. The level finds you and your group making your way through the castle, interacting with characters and completing quests. Your tasks are fairly basic, such as talking to specific characters, but they require some exploration and character interaction. Some of the folks you interact with are members of the fellowship. Later in the level you actually fight alongside Legolas, who joins your party temporarily. The battle with Legolas takes place on the walls of Helm’s Deep as Sauron’s forces come for their social call. In one battle you will face off against Urukhai who are standing in front of some ladders. Once you down the Urukhai, you can attack the ladders and prevent more troops from climbing up. If you fail to take out the ladders, your fallen foes will be replaced by even tougher folk, which can spell doom for your party if you’re not careful.

And the second is at GameSpy:

Your party is comprised of six members. In the early portions of the game you control Berethor (a Gondorian), Hadhod (a Dwarf), Idrial (an Elf), and Elegost (a scruffy-looking ranger dude). Later on in the game, two characters from Rohan join your ranks. Even though interracial adventuring is uncommon in Middle-earth (“We are not as fortunate in our friends as you.”), the developers included a variety of races to add diversity to the skills and abilities of each party member. It also connects players more to the movies by allowing them to play as archetypes of the characters they saw on the big screen.