A.), this says nothing about the game itself. While the game certainly takes place in the Third Age (the War of the Ring took place in 3018-3019 T. For some reason, a good chunk of the exposition isn't covered in cutscenes, but in orbs sent by Gandalf, Saruman, or the plot-if you aren't keeping up with them, you'll never realize that Hadhod has a dead son, for example.
All There in the Manual: An ingame one.Tropes in the home console version provide examples of:
