The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II

"One Great Game"

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II

Graphics: The graphics for The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II are quite good but I think they could have been better. Although they could have been better, they are not horrible. They is a lot of detail put into the buildings and surrounding environments which is always cool to zoom in on to get a closer look. The bird's eye view is the best fro getting a larger view of the area and for viewing the battle Overall, I would say that the graphics are good but they do not show the real potential that could have been achieved with the 360.

Gameplay: The gameplay for The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II is great. An excellent job was doe here. First off, there are two campaigns(Good and Evil) to choose from. The thing that is good about this is that the different campaigns offer different levels so you will not be playing the same levels over again just on the other side. However, I think there are maybe 1 or 2 levels that are the same but is not too much to worry about. During the game, there are many objectives to complete to beat the level and the special objective need to be beaten for the achievement to be earned. During the game points are earned and can be used to buy powers. Each side has different powers. These powers can prove to be the deciding factor during a level. Also, the heroes have their own powers that are unlock as they level up wit level 10 being the maximum. There are many types of units to choose from and as the game progresses upgrades become available to make the units stronger. Tactics are important and knowing how to use the resources will come in handy. Keep an eye on the amount of resources available because having a low amount of resources will effect the battle mainly because it will take awhile for it to get back up so you can buy new troops. Once that happens, you could already be overrun by the enemy. Also, the cut scenes in between the battles are excellent.

Controls: At first, I had trouble getting used to the control, which got in the way of enjoying the game. However, after completing the two tutorials, the controls were easy to master and use effectively during the campaign. Once a handle is gained for the controls, there should be no problem with building, moving the troops, using magic, attacking, etc.

On-line: Playing on-line can be quite fun when you are playing with your friends. After reading other review, people have warned about people quitting early but I have never had this experience. There are many different types of battle modes to choose from. There is much variety in the modes like King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, Siege, and other that I cannot remember at the moment. The on-line multi-player allows up to 4 players to be in a match at the same time. One major thing that I noticed about this multi-player that other games did not have was the ability for every player to communicate with each other regardless of their team unlike others where only members of the same team can communicate in-game. On the other side, some games take awhile to finish so you better have some time on your hands before starting a game.

Overall: This is a very good game and I would recommend it to anyone especially if you are a fan of RTS games. I would say buy it since it has been out for awhile and the price has gone down. If you are not sure, rent it because it is definitely worth a try. A solid game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/17/07