The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II - Review
Added August 13th, 2006 by Kisan Parikh
Introduction:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has seen enormous success in theaters, on DVD, and even with the previous LOTR video games. The action tittles were good in their own right, but the massive battles featured in the movies seemed perfect for an RTS game. The PC version has been out for months, but now, EA brings Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II to the Xbox 360 to allow console gamers in on the action.
Gameplay:
The campaigns in Battle for Middle Earth II revolve around the battles that weren’t shown in the movies. As battles waged to the south, where the movies take place, Sauron had also ordered forces of trolls and goblins to crush the Elven and Dwarven strongholds. The game allows you to choose either the Good or Evil Campaign. The good campaign has you fighting as dwarves and elves to dispel the evil threat. Elven Warriors, Elven Archers, Dwarven Warriors, and Dwarven Axe throwers will make up most of your forces. The Elven fighters are quicker; however, the Dwarves have powerful equipment that can take down enemy structures. The evil campaign, on the other hand, has you fighting alongside goblins and trolls to crush the strongholds.
Whichever crusade you choose, you will have heroes on your side that can help shift the tide of any battle. On the good side your heroes can heal units, call eagles to your side, and use special attacks on the enemy. The evil heroes are just as effective and can wreck havoc on the good forces. Any fallen hero can be revived at your fortress, which is the center of any base.
This brings us to the building aspect of the game. Everything you create in Battle for Biddle Earth II is based upon two things: Command Points and Resources. Each unit or building costs a certain amount of resources. To acquire more resources, you will need to build a production structure (Farm or Slaughter House) or sell existing structures. Similar systems can be found in many other RTS games. Command Points are another thing you will need to keep track of. These points limit the number of units that you are able to control. Each time you build a new unit, you will use some of these points. Command points can be increased by building resource structures, heroic structures, and fortresses. These two point systems keep you from building massive armies without any sort of discrepancy.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has seen enormous success in theaters, on DVD, and even with the previous LOTR video games. The action tittles were good in their own right, but the massive battles featured in the movies seemed perfect for an RTS game. The PC version has been out for months, but now, EA brings Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II to the Xbox 360 to allow console gamers in on the action.
Gameplay:
The campaigns in Battle for Middle Earth II revolve around the battles that weren’t shown in the movies. As battles waged to the south, where the movies take place, Sauron had also ordered forces of trolls and goblins to crush the Elven and Dwarven strongholds. The game allows you to choose either the Good or Evil Campaign. The good campaign has you fighting as dwarves and elves to dispel the evil threat. Elven Warriors, Elven Archers, Dwarven Warriors, and Dwarven Axe throwers will make up most of your forces. The Elven fighters are quicker; however, the Dwarves have powerful equipment that can take down enemy structures. The evil campaign, on the other hand, has you fighting alongside goblins and trolls to crush the strongholds.
Whichever crusade you choose, you will have heroes on your side that can help shift the tide of any battle. On the good side your heroes can heal units, call eagles to your side, and use special attacks on the enemy. The evil heroes are just as effective and can wreck havoc on the good forces. Any fallen hero can be revived at your fortress, which is the center of any base.
This brings us to the building aspect of the game. Everything you create in Battle for Biddle Earth II is based upon two things: Command Points and Resources. Each unit or building costs a certain amount of resources. To acquire more resources, you will need to build a production structure (Farm or Slaughter House) or sell existing structures. Similar systems can be found in many other RTS games. Command Points are another thing you will need to keep track of. These points limit the number of units that you are able to control. Each time you build a new unit, you will use some of these points. Command points can be increased by building resource structures, heroic structures, and fortresses. These two point systems keep you from building massive armies without any sort of discrepancy.
The buildings you can create and control have a wide variety of purposes. Of course, you will have buildings to train units of archers and warriors. Each of these units can be upgraded and modified. You are able to control their stance, whether you want aggressive or defensive. A few different structures allow you to construct unique units. For instance, powerful Ent armies can be built using an Ent Garden. Additionally, shipyards can create different kinds of ships in the naval level. Other specialty buildings will boost the health and/or ratings when units stand within a certain range. You can also fortify your base using Battle Towers and Wall Hubs. Wall Hubs allow you to create walls and gates that allow you to defend bases with ease. The wide variety of buildings keeps you busy as you improve your army to take down the enemy.
The actual battles that take place in Battle for Middle Earth II are fairly entertaining. The console versions’ controls, which we will discuss in detail later, work well, but are unable to allow the same meticulous actions that a PC can. Therefore, the battles are less about intricate strategies. You will still need to position the right type of unit in the right spot and use strategies such as flanking to surprise the enemy. For the most part, battles work well, but it sometimes just comes down to having the bigger army.
All in all the single player modes are engaging. You've got control over heroes with special powers to assist in victory, a wide array of structures, and many different types of units at your disposal. The campaign is set to a well-made storyline that is presented through cut-scenes and magnificent narrated artwork. Most things work well, although sadly the gameplay isn’t as deep as it is on PC.
Graphics:
Graphically Battle for Middle Earth II is good, but not great. On the good side, there are a variety of well done environments featuring different terrain and even water. Additionally, there are many characters that are right out of the movie such as the elves and dwarves. The animations of these characters moving and fighting all are extremely well done and look terrific. Other cool effects are seen when the game switches from in-game cut-scenes to the original artwork. However, the problems occur when you look at some of the sketchy looking details and witness the slowdowns. Granted, the slowdowns occur only in the bigger battles, but when they do occur, they can be quite annoying.
The actual battles that take place in Battle for Middle Earth II are fairly entertaining. The console versions’ controls, which we will discuss in detail later, work well, but are unable to allow the same meticulous actions that a PC can. Therefore, the battles are less about intricate strategies. You will still need to position the right type of unit in the right spot and use strategies such as flanking to surprise the enemy. For the most part, battles work well, but it sometimes just comes down to having the bigger army.
All in all the single player modes are engaging. You've got control over heroes with special powers to assist in victory, a wide array of structures, and many different types of units at your disposal. The campaign is set to a well-made storyline that is presented through cut-scenes and magnificent narrated artwork. Most things work well, although sadly the gameplay isn’t as deep as it is on PC.
Graphics:
Graphically Battle for Middle Earth II is good, but not great. On the good side, there are a variety of well done environments featuring different terrain and even water. Additionally, there are many characters that are right out of the movie such as the elves and dwarves. The animations of these characters moving and fighting all are extremely well done and look terrific. Other cool effects are seen when the game switches from in-game cut-scenes to the original artwork. However, the problems occur when you look at some of the sketchy looking details and witness the slowdowns. Granted, the slowdowns occur only in the bigger battles, but when they do occur, they can be quite annoying.
Audio:
The sound aspect of this title is one of its stronger aspects. The soundtrack is right out of the trilogy, and it gives the game an added Lord of the Rings flair. The in-game sounds are well done as well. Good warriors cheer when battles are won, and the evil forces howl and claw as you would expect. You hear the warriors fighting, shooting arrows, and moving around, and each of these sounds are true to the movie. Additionally, cut-scenes are narrated perfectly, rounding out the experience.
Controls:
Many of you who look at this title may be worried about how this game controls. You can all relax, because EA has found a great way to translate the controls from the PC to your 360 controller. Your basic method of selecting a unit/building is the A button. By using different combinations of the triggers, bumpers, and A button, you are able to effectively control everything. For instance, Left Trigger + A Button selects all units on your screen, and Left Trigger + A Button + A Button selects your entire army. The left button can add units to your selection and the right button can select unit types. This works out easily enough, and after you select a unit you simply target a location to move them to or attack. You Battle Window can be controlled just as easily. To scroll around just move the Left Thumbstick in the direction you desire, and to zoom in or out, just use the Right Thumbstick. All of the other options can be easily accessed using the Right Trigger. Simply hold while selecting a unit or building to modify or upgrade it. Additionally, you can access builders, heroes, and powers using the R button.
Everything works as it should, except separating your army and operating on many different areas may become tedious. RTS games are still easier to play on your PC, but this game’s control scheme comes fairly close when it comes to ease of use. It may seem complicated while reading a description, but the controls become natural almost instantly.
Replay:
Battle for Middle Earth II comes with essentially three single player modes: Good Campaign, Evil Campaign, and Skirmish. The two campaigns are great to play through and will eat up a bit of time as you fight your way to supremacy. Skirmish is just a quick way to dive into a battle with various options such as starting points, maximum players, maps, and difficulty levels. Once you are done with single player, however, you also get to play online with Xbox Live.
The sound aspect of this title is one of its stronger aspects. The soundtrack is right out of the trilogy, and it gives the game an added Lord of the Rings flair. The in-game sounds are well done as well. Good warriors cheer when battles are won, and the evil forces howl and claw as you would expect. You hear the warriors fighting, shooting arrows, and moving around, and each of these sounds are true to the movie. Additionally, cut-scenes are narrated perfectly, rounding out the experience.
Controls:
Many of you who look at this title may be worried about how this game controls. You can all relax, because EA has found a great way to translate the controls from the PC to your 360 controller. Your basic method of selecting a unit/building is the A button. By using different combinations of the triggers, bumpers, and A button, you are able to effectively control everything. For instance, Left Trigger + A Button selects all units on your screen, and Left Trigger + A Button + A Button selects your entire army. The left button can add units to your selection and the right button can select unit types. This works out easily enough, and after you select a unit you simply target a location to move them to or attack. You Battle Window can be controlled just as easily. To scroll around just move the Left Thumbstick in the direction you desire, and to zoom in or out, just use the Right Thumbstick. All of the other options can be easily accessed using the Right Trigger. Simply hold while selecting a unit or building to modify or upgrade it. Additionally, you can access builders, heroes, and powers using the R button.
Everything works as it should, except separating your army and operating on many different areas may become tedious. RTS games are still easier to play on your PC, but this game’s control scheme comes fairly close when it comes to ease of use. It may seem complicated while reading a description, but the controls become natural almost instantly.
Replay:
Battle for Middle Earth II comes with essentially three single player modes: Good Campaign, Evil Campaign, and Skirmish. The two campaigns are great to play through and will eat up a bit of time as you fight your way to supremacy. Skirmish is just a quick way to dive into a battle with various options such as starting points, maximum players, maps, and difficulty levels. Once you are done with single player, however, you also get to play online with Xbox Live.
There are five Xbox Live game modes to choose from. Versus is your typical skirmish in which you battle until one side remains. King of the Hill involves controlling a set area for the longest time within a set amount of time, and Capture and Hold involves capturing various areas around the map. Resource race simply has both players competing to see who can acquire the most resources at the end of the time limit, and hero vs. hero allows gamers to control four heroes and battle to destroy their opponent. Whoever destroys all the fortresses or attains the highest level hero at the end is the winner.
These game modes are all fairly fun to play, with the basic Versus mode being the most entertaining. The game is much different against human opponents as they are much less predictable on the battlefield. Therefore, you will have to be a bit more creative in your methods. Xbox Live works fairly well, and there are only minor hiccups, allowing you to enjoy the game to the fullest.
Summary:
This title is easily the best RTS game seen on consoles. The control scheme allows anyone to jump into the game fairly quickly, although you cannot get as detailed with your strategies and forces. This is the game’s biggest flaw, and may be a turnoff for hardcore RTS fans. However, the game is highly entertaining and allows you to participate in epic battles from the world of Lord of the Rings.
These game modes are all fairly fun to play, with the basic Versus mode being the most entertaining. The game is much different against human opponents as they are much less predictable on the battlefield. Therefore, you will have to be a bit more creative in your methods. Xbox Live works fairly well, and there are only minor hiccups, allowing you to enjoy the game to the fullest.
Summary:
This title is easily the best RTS game seen on consoles. The control scheme allows anyone to jump into the game fairly quickly, although you cannot get as detailed with your strategies and forces. This is the game’s biggest flaw, and may be a turnoff for hardcore RTS fans. However, the game is highly entertaining and allows you to participate in epic battles from the world of Lord of the Rings.
