BIOS: Technology Means Business

Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games litter the market, so new titles need to offer something compelling to make you want to invest your time, money and effort. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (Best Current Price: £26.50) captures the grandeur and epic conflict that the books and histories so eloquently detail. And although it’s not groundbreaking in terms of gameplay, it’s definitely one of the best of its type. And there’s even a special collectors DVD edition, containing extra promotional material and additional maps, units skins and the privilege to control the mighty dragon.

Developed at the EA Los Angeles studio, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II is the sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Expanding on its predecessor, the latest PC title introduces you to depths of the fiction never before explored by EA, in accordance with an agreement with Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films.

In The Battle for Middle-earth II you wage war in the Northern regions of Middle-earth where you can choose to assume command of the most storied civilisations in all of Middle-earth history - the Elven and Dwarven armies - or fight on the side of evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. You can further customise your experience by creating your own hero and building all-new customised RTS units. For instance, you can build castles with fully customisable and upgradeable fortresses and walls or control the entire war with War of the Ring Mode - a high level ‘Risk’ style meta-game on the Living World Map with all new strategic AI.

For the Good campaign (just eight missions in total), the story starts in Rivendell where the Goblins from the Misty Mountains are poised to attack, while the Fellowship of the Ring journey south. For the Evil campaign (again just eight missions), it begins with the siege of Lórien from Mordor’s stronghold of Dol Goldur. The good missions really push the feeling of being cornered while the evil missions are all about attacking with superior numbers and disdain for the realms of the freemen. The single-player game consists of more varied objectives with long-term consquences than the ‘search and destroy’ scenarios which dominated the first game.

Additionally, the method of building bases on predetermined plots has been replaced with the traditional real-time strategy building style which features a fort operating as a base hub. The command point system has also been modified, which is dependent on the number of resource buildings (farms, mallorn trees, mine shafts, lumberyard, slaughterhouse). There are also missions or portions of missions inside buildings in the single-player campaign, which makes a nice change.

The game includes new races, places, heroes, and battles from Tolkein’s books and films. You get to command all the races of Middle-earth with three all new factions including Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins. Hardcore gamers will also appreciate the improved AI and depth of strategy allowing you to master unit control with smart formations, battle lines, and planning mode. Of course, there are navy battles at sea, larger battalions, and more traditional base building - unlike the original.

The Battle for Middle-earth II differs remarkably from its predecessor in resource accumulation (gone is the need to keep harvesting resources), and you are now able to build section of walls which expand in non-linear direction and attach the wall to impassable terrain, like mountains. Goblins and Umbar pirates can now even climb walls! Geeks will also love the ability to customise their own hero from scratch giving him/her their own unique appearance, skills, and abilities.

Defensive upgrades such as boiling oil, flaming arrows, trebuchets and catapults including unique bonus-giving monuments are all there, new powers such as the ‘Watcher in the Water’, ‘Flood’ and ‘Tom Bombadil’ (bizarre!) add an extra dimension, and special effects like spreading fire and light reflection look amazing. In fact, the whole game and its menus are extremely well polished. Sound is also spectacular, with many sounds recognisable from the movie. The gibbering of goblins and burr of the dwarves are all well appreciated and the spectacular movie soundtrack really sets the scene.

Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy and Lord Elrond in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) even expanded his involvement with The Lord of the Rings franchise and assumed the role of lead voiceover talent in the game. Weaving creates the game’s overarching tone by guiding players in and out of each good and evil mission within the single player campaigns. Additionally, concept artist John Howe of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy designed entirely new creatures and locations of Middle-earth. And boy do they look good!

[9] - Editors' Choice

[Best Game Pricing UK]
[Best Game Pricing US]

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