I’m not a huge video game person. I’ve always thought I could be, and certainly a lot of my friends enjoy various MMORPGs and other games. But even when I do get into the occasional game, I’m unlikely to finish it. They’re usually too challenging for me and/or don’t engage me enough. The solitary aspect of playing a single player game begins to bother me after a while, and I’m too intimidated (and reluctant to make the commitment) to try MMORPGs.

So, when I recommend a video game, you know it’s got to be good. I recently purchased Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for the Sony PS2. I just wanted an RPG (though that term is used so loosely these days it’s a stab in the heart for any pen and paper gamer) to amuse myself with over the holidays and cool weather weekends. Little did I know I would get wrapped up in the game almost immediately!

First of all, it’s based on the familiar world of the J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and has numerous video clips of the recent movie trilogy, and even extra voiceovers from the talented Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf.  I enjoy the world & loved the movies and so the game just builds on that. Secondly, it’s beautiful. Given the capabilities of the platform, the game designers made the forests come alive with dappled lighting, varied trees, birds and petals floating in the air. The creatures and characters are done well enough to seem alive and believable. An excellent musical score accompanies each level and sets the mood appropriately. Finally, the gameplay is just right for me: interesting and varied, yet doable. Not so hard as to make you pull your hair out and throw the controller away. Tactics vary enough in combat to make it seem less repetitive, but there are not bizarre combinations of actions that need to be taken (I loved Final Fantasy X on the PS2, but my god there were some strange things you would NEVER have tried to do without looking them up on the web first!).