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Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth (PC) As far as real time strategy game goes, Battle for Middle Earth comes from the genre of Command & Conquer, with a hint of WarCraft thrown in. This is not a difficult strategy game by any means, however, players will marvel at a clean design that allows them to participate in their favorite moments from the movies. The two main campaigns follow the side of good or evil. The good campaign picks up as the fellowship journeys through the Mines of Moria, and continues their way through exactly as the book does. The evil campaign starts in Isengard and takes a path that totally diverges from the book Either way, the player is in for some big time strategy gaming.
There is a huge emphasis on large scale battles. Units are always divided into companies of five or so, allowing players to control large armies. There are units representing Rohan, Gondor, Isengard, and Mordor where each have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. The side of evil is generally weaker, but can attack in greater numbers . The Riders of Rohon are excellent at running down units on foot. Elves are great archers, and Mountain trolls are destroying things in every direction. The best part of the game is the combat system. As opposed to other games, Rome has two options, quick resolution, and detailed battles. The quick system will tell you immediately who won and give you an account of all the soldiers that died on each side. The battle system however is completely contrasts the quick system. For the battle system, you are transported to a detailed three dimensional field that shows both armies. In the battle system, you can close in and look over your army in any direction. You are able to set certain formations, deploy units, and carry out elaborate attacks. The soldierslisten to your general before the battle which includes information such as tactical and strategic advice. When the battle begins, you can see the soldiers shoot arrows, form a phalanx or testudo, or throw javelins, depending on each unit. Your cavalry can ride down the opposing army and drive through any infantry force.
All of the characters you are familiar with whether you like them or not appear in this game. The main characters of the movies appear in the form of hero units. Gandalf and Aragorn are quite powerful. Legolas and Gimli are not as tough, but do their job in a battle. And finally, we have the hobbits. There is nothing especially good about them. They suck pretty bad, but then again, they are fat little hobbits and you can’t expect too much from them. The economic part of the game allows players to spend most of their time on the battle. It’s a lot more interesting then watching hobbits farm or blacksmiths mining for ore. There are several portions of the map that can be claimed as a city, and be built in a way where they are only used to collect money. Even though it’s simplistic, it allows the game to go on too long. If money is hard to get, then you are going to be especially careful and strategic with what you focus on buying and protecting. There has been a lot of time and energy put in for movie clips. The segments are inserted in a way that allows players to feel as though they are apart of the movie. The music adds to that them and makes it even more evident. More dialogue has been added to add to the large quantities of lines. Units are always talking and these small audio pieces are helpful when engaging in battle. Okay, so we’ve been hearing that Mark Skaggs, the Executive Producer on TBFME, has officially resigned form EA. The reason was that he wanted to spend more time with his family. So, does this mean that there will be no expansions or patches to the game? Its hard to believe, but EA has also scrapped plans for the popular C&C game, Red Alert 2 meaning that we may not see another RTS from EA for a while. Although its hardly a difficult strategy game, BFME is an exciting, quick, and graphical experience that captures the mood and feel of the movies. When you start playing more of the skirmish, you’ll find that it’s a little too easy, but its still a fun and enjoyable game in its entirety. LOTF: The Battle for Middle Earth is a great strategy game, with great music, and beautiful graphics. |
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