"Simple RTS but ridiculously fun to play!"

First off, I'll keep this short. The Battle for Middle-Earth is a new style of RTS where the focus is not on managing resources but the battle itself. If you consider yourself a fan of The Lord of the Rings and you don't have this game, then stop reading now and go get the game.

Graphics - 10
For a real time strategy game, the graphics are fantastic. From trees to water to wildlife scurrying about as you march your armies to war, the graphics of the game is breathtaking. But when we talk about the level of detail in the game, this is where The Battle for Middle-Earth really shines. The detail put into buildings is particularly amazing. You can see archers training in the archery range as an instructor looks on. You can see the Mordor butcher working in the slaughter house as he takes beasts from one room into another and emerges with a huge slab of meat a moment later. Well you get the idea.

Sound - 9
The sound in most RTS games usually take a backseat. In The Battle for Middle-Earth, however, the quality of the sound is also on par with the other aspects of the game. The voice-acting by the actors in the movie is very well done. The sounds of the surroundings also accompany as you wage war upon others (i.e. birds chirping, water flowing, etc.). Last but certainly not least, you get Howard Shore's fantastic music as you play the game. It all adds to that Lord of the Rings aura you felt when you watched the movies.

Gameplay - 10
The gameplay is as my title states: simple but FUN. You start with a castle, but more importantly a castle with fully functioning walls. Walls that you can walk on and fire arrows at an army that sieges you castle. Finally an RTS game with walls that actually work. Balance in this game is not an issue unlike other RTS games. Sure, trolls can knock out 5 soldiers in one go but all you have to do in this game is use your common sense. Take out that troll with arrows. The point is that you don't have to memorize what can counter what as you would do in Warcraft. All you have to do is think logically. Horses trample all foot soldiers but point a pike at the horse and that horse is going down. As I said earlier, the focus is on the battles itself. Though you may be outnumbered, the game can still be won with a great tactical maneuver such as attacking an unprotected flank of the enemy's army.

All in all it is an RTS game that makes you feel you are in the movie itself. A quote from PC Gamer: " A gloriously cinematic RTS game that matches the epic scale of the movies." As for me, I could not have put it better myself.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/05