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| The Lord of the Rings The Battle for Middle-Earth II |
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| Action/Strategy |
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| Electronic Arts |
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| Electronic Arts |
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14th July 06 |
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5th July 06 |
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12+ |
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(T) - Teen |
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The Lord Of The Rings has made for some varied game experiences since the very early home computers up until the present day ( I have fond memories of playing The Hobbit on the ZX Spectrum). With the advent of Peter Jackson’s interpretations of J.R.Tolken’s books in movie form, the series has become even more popular as a timeless tale of all things dark and mysterious. The movies really did highlight and bring to life some of the epic battles described in the books and the games have done a reasonable job of recreating the battles as well. In a new direction for the Lord Of the Rings games Electronic Arts has embarked on releasing the long winded titled Lord Of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. What separates Battle of Middle Earth II from previous games is the fact that for the first time on Xbox 360 gamers will be treated to a Real Time Strategy game.
I think when you mention the words Real Time Strategy game or RTS to gamers this immediately conjures up images of the Command and Conquer series of games which have been hugely popular in the genre. To describe the basics of a an RTS title is fairly straightforward pit 2 or more teams of players against each other on a large scale map which lays host to limited resources and then build and reproduce units or troops to make your army as strong as possible in order to attack or defend against the other players. Use the resources of the land under your control to build bigger better and faster than your opponents. Well this is a rather simple overview of an RTS game but is pretty much the underlying theme for the majority of them.
Battle for Middle Earth II adopts the RTS approach for some epic tactical battles which means players will be able to control hundreds of units on screen at any one time. Units come in all shapes and sizes and have a host of abilities such as Elves being great for longer ranged attacks where as orcs are more accustomed to close melee combat. With the whole Lord of the Rings universe at their disposal, the Battle for Middle Earth II will feature a whole variety of different units for players to mess around with including some new ones not featured in the movies. Gamers will also be able to perform some limited customisation to their units and fortresses including building naval ships and specific class heroes.
We are also promised a reworked and intuitive control scheme which no doubt has been a concern for console gamers especially as RTS games are far more suited to keyboard and mouse set ups. Let’s hope that the control scheme is simple but offers enough diversity for the more complex commands needed in the heat of battle. I’m not sure if external keyboard and mouse support will be included with the game but from what EA are saying the set up for controller should be perfect for the task at hand.
For the comprehensive single player campaign players will no doubt get to hear the familiar voice of Hugo Weaving AKA Agent Smith from the Matrix. In Battle for Middle Earth II he reprises his role as Lord Elrond and offers constant assistance throughout the game. Expect an aural masterpiece to hit your ears as all hell breaks loose on the battlefield.
Well RTS games are definitely fun verses smart AI but I think one of the big features of Battle For Middle Earth II will be the option to go head to head against other players across the globe via Xbox Live. Game types that have been confirmed for Live play are King of the Hill, Capture and Hold and Hero versus Hero modes. Either way the inclusion of Live play will certainly add some diversity to the game.
In my opinion RTS games are an acquired taste but can be incredibly addictive once you get to grips with seemingly complex actions and controls when you first start playing. RTS games do require a fair amount of brainwork but are very rewarding when you get the desired results in the form of victory after victory versus the AI or humans. As a first time RTS game on Xbox 360 I think players should at least give Battle For Middle Earth II a look. With the power of the hardware offering more realistic animations, more units on screen, exciting and intense looking battles there’s really no excuse to sample the delights of what this genre has to offer. Maybe we can expect a Marketplace demo for those who wish to remain firmly fixed on the fence?
Preview By: Robert Cram
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