Gamers will have the opportunity to take control of six armies in total throughout both the good and evil campaigns. These armies include the Elves, Men of the West, Goblins, Isengard, Mordor, and the Dwarves. Each army plays uniquely, and must be mastered in order to survive some of the more intense battles. The Elves are fast and suited for long range while the Dwarves are slow and good at melee combat. Some armies even come with naval units; a first for a LOTR RTS. Since EA was able to get the rights from The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkein Enterprises they were able to include the new armies of the Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins. These rights also have allowed EA to let the stories for single player portion focus on the War in the North, where as the LOTR movies focused on the War in the South. The result is a story mode, which does not conflict with the LOTR movies but instead compliments them. Gamers will be fighting their own battles, not ones they have already seen play out on the silver screen. There is more freedom in a way.
Great environmental graphics In going along with this idea; base construction in not forced into certain areas of the map. BFME II allows for base construction to begin and expand wherever land is available. Thanks to the Tolkein look these bases are impressive to witness. The graphics of BFME II allow for just the right amount of detail. Thankfully, BFME II does not suffer from the "units are too small" problem which makes zooming in an issue. While a good portion of the units look bland and have almost Warcraft III like graphics, the buildings and environments are all next-gen looking. These are truly some of the most beautiful locations to send armies across. Whether snow capped mountains or the Elven paradise of Rivendell gamers are going to be in for quite a treat when it comes to environmental graphics. It also doesn't hurt that the fortresses and various buildings are detailed and animated. Surprisingly, though, these graphics cause a good amount of slow down while in gameplay. This slow down is especially apparent when there are numerous units on screen marching along or fighting. At times the frame rate issues got so bad they fell to a crawl and were incredibly disorientating. Why EA couldn't flesh out this part of BFME II is beyond me. I mean, it's only an RTS.
Complimenting the graphics is the sound for BFME II. Everything here is standard fare. Background music from all three movies plays quietly as the battles are fought but don't seem to have any reactions to specifics events (battle music playing while battles are fought). The sound effects though are pretty awesome. Everything from the Elves firing their arrows, to the cave trolls tossing rocks, and the armies marching across Middle Earth sound great. Sound was always a great part about the LOTR movies and BFME II has faithfully recaptured these effects. The limited voice acting is also very well done. Hugo Weaving has reprised his role as Elrond for the filler between the missions in the single player portion of the game and he does an admirable job. This plus the declarations from Gandalf and the triumphant music when one wins a match are a blast to hear. It would have been nice to have some new stuff outside the movies, but for the most part the sound is great.
Xbox Live adds tremendous replay value. The single player portion of the game offers a good amount of game time with both a good and evil campaign for gamers to take part in. Offline, gamers will also have the chance to fight in Skirmishes which just pits them against the computer. However, the real meat of the replay value lies online. EA has included a bundle of gameplay types all of which are entertaining. Gamers can participate in Quick matches or Custom games. These game types range from standard versus matches, to the crazy Capture and Hold where players or teams must rush to control certain points on the map. Fleshing out the online modes is King of the Hill, Resource Race, and Hero vs Hero (players control four heroes and race to destroy their opponent's bases and heroes). Online BFME II performs okay. There is a good amount of lag and the framerate does get choppy as the battles begin to heat up. It is bearable with only two players but does get worse when four are fighting simultaneously. Also, the best way to get into matches is through Quick match since RTS's don't have the draw and accessibility that a game like Halo 2 does.
Overall, Battle for Middle Earth II easily claims the title of best RTS ever to be ported to a console. While the control scheme EA created can't compete with a mouse and keyboard it is still the best one ever created. Invest enough time to learn the nuances and any gamer should be fine. The real treat of the game is the LOTR experience. EA was smart to acquire to full license rights to the LOTR world. Couple this with a moderately high replay value, and Battle for Middle Earth II doesn't look that bad. Go forth and enjoy the world of Middle Earth once again.
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| The Core Score |
Overall
8 |
| Fun |
|
8 |
| Gameplay |
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7.5 |
| Graphics |
|
8.5 |
| Audio |
|
9 |
| Replay |
|
8 |
|
| Kid Safe Score |
| 6 Good |
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For the most part, just a normal war type game; however, the battles can get a little gory. |
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