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The Lord Of The Rings franchise has had a bumpy ride
into videogaming. The first title, based on the film of the same
name, Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, got panned
by both critics and the public alike, and the following two offers
were almost identical Scrolling Beat-‘Em-Up affairs, similar –
although vastly more competent – to the recent Ninety-Nine
Nights. Lord Of The Rings: Battle For MiddleEarth II
distances itself from its questionable heritage by offering an
altogether different gameplay experience, falling directly under the
Real-Time Strategy genre heading.
As a conversion of the hit PC sequel, Lord Of The Rings:
Battle For MiddleEarth II has a lot to prove. Not only is the
title trying to stabilise EA’s reputation on the new console, but
is also pushing forth a genre which commonly has been difficult, if
not impossible, to bring to console formats.
The title features two Campaigns, Good and Evil. Playing
through each Campaign allows the player to take control of each Race
available in the title – a total which has been upped for the
console release. Missions throughout the Campaign vary from simple
assaults with a pre-determined amount of troops to protection
Missions in which you have to construct a base able to withstand
enemy onslaughts.
Heroes play a major part of the title’s appeal. To add a
level of distinction to the proceedings, each race has a selection
of Heroes that can be spawned from the player’s Fortress, each
with selected abilities and Magic. Creating an Elf army stocked with
Morwood Archers and adding Legolas’ Train  Archer ability to the
mix greatly expands the depth available with even the most basic of
units.
Plenty of troop types and buildings are offered to each race,
and each has their own distinctive strengths and weaknesses. Often,
the Single-Player Campaign can be fought through with simple
blind-ambition, however, when taking the title online, expect any
opponent you face to fight to the advantages of their race, and
inherently spot the weak points in your army’s infrastructure.
A Skirmish Mode also makes an appearance, which offers a nice
– if tired – added attraction; however the online Multi-Player
far excels the Single-Player offerings. Given a variety of gameplay
modes, including Hero Vs. Hero – in which players must compete
with a band of Heroes to kill more randomly generated neutral
monsters within a set time period – and Resource Race – where
each player attempts to reach a pre-set amount of Resources (money)
before their competitors – and options for two-to-four player
Matches, the only element likely to disappoint would be the apparent
difficulty in finding a Match, and the even bigger difficulty in
finding an opponent who will continue playing through as soon as
they see their defences weakening.
Some major issues afflict Lord Of The Rings: Battle For
MiddleEarth II in an almost unjustified fashion. Firstly, the
Frame-Rate is simply astonishing at times. Often, when using
multiple bands of warriors, such a staggering drop when moving about
Map will result in button presses remaining entirely undetected –
not quite the precise level of control usually required for
Real-Time Strategy titles. Also, the amount of troops a player can
have under their command is heavily restricted. Many modern
Real-Time Strategy titles impose a limit so as to abolish the old
tactic of “build lots, kill lots” that plagued early online
Matches in the likes of Command & Conquer and StarCraft,
however, Lord Of The Rings: Battle For MiddleEarth II has
such a harsh limit that it lends to the belief that the restriction
is only in place so as not to bring the Frame-Rate into any more
disrepute.
The titles graphics are passable, but certainly not in excel
on the Xbox360. Given the ability to zoom-in, up-close-and-personal
with any troop on the battlefield is both rewarding and interesting,
however, the Character Models are never any more impressive than
that seen of the Current-Generation, and given the likes of Spartan:
Total Warrior offering hundreds of on-screen Models, Lord Of
The Rings: Battle For MiddleEarth II has little to reason it’s
passable nature. The sound quality is also bordering on the line of
average, without ever really being noticeable, but in equal measure
never ill-affecting gameplay.
Being the first Real-Time Strategy on the Xbox360, Lord Of
The Rings: Battle For MiddleEarth II currently has no
competition, and there’s none of the horizon either. While being a
fun experience to dabble in on Xbox360, players of the PC release
will do better to look elsewhere. Lord Of The Rings: Battle For
MiddleEarth II is far from the pinnacle of Real-Time Strategy
many will be hoping for but, given its originality and online
offerings, is also far from an abomination. One to be taken with a
pinch-of-salt, EA has delivered an entertaining package marred by
both its brethren, and its host format.
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