In the early 2000s,The Lord of the Ringshype had hit fever pitch. WithPeter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsmovieschanging the shape of fantasy cinema forever, a wealth of video games were released to try and ride the coattails of the movies' success. The mid-2000s sawLord of the Ringsadopting a variety of genres, from third-person action, to hack-and-slash, to turn-based tactics. But by far, one of the most impressiveLord of the Ringsvideo game outings wasTheLord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earthseries, which adopted the real-time strategy genre.
Released in 2004 and 2006 respectively, the twoLord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earthgames took a lot of inspiration from other popular RTS games of the time, borrowing similar resource management systems asAge of Empires, and taking a lot of base-building and unit management cues fromWarcraft.The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earthwasn’t the most original game, but it was a solid Middle-Earth RTS, and the current gaming market is missing one of those right now.
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It’s Time for a New Lord of the Rings Strategy Game
The firstLord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earthgame released in 2004 for the PC. Based specifically on Peter Jackson’s movies,The Battle for Middle-Earthfollows the events of the trilogy closely, taking players all the way from Moria to the Black Gate. The gameplay loop sees players build up a base, create units, and push the enemy out of the territory, with campaign missions requiring the player to complete specific objectives that move theLord of the Ringsplot along. One ofBattle for Middle-Earth’s best features is its Evil Campaign, which lets players take control of Sauron’s forces of darkness in an alternate timeline, eventually destroying Minas Tirith.
The sequel,The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth 2, released in 2006 for the PC and Xbox 360. While the sequel carries over much of the same gameplay, it allows for much more player freedom, with an increased unit cap and the ability to place an unlimited number of structures. This sequel also added three new factions to the game, Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins, each with their own unique set of units, buildings, and abilities. This game tells an original story for both its Good and Evil Campaigns. The Good sees the player control an elf who is tasked withstopping an attack on Rivendell, while the Evil sees players control the Mouth of Sauron as he wipes out the armies of the North.
Over the last few months,Lord of the Ringshype has grown exponentially, withAmazon’sRings of Powerseriesstoking the fires once again. With a lot of hype behind it, it’s the perfect time for a newLord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earthgame, especially when fans consider the slate of upcomingLord of the Ringsgames. At the moment, there are a handful ofLord of the Ringsgame projects in the works, none of which offer an experience likeBattle for Middle-Earth. There’sThe Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a stealth-focused game,Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-Earth, a mobile RPG, andThe Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, a survival game, none of which is a grand RTS.
A newLord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earthgame could fill the void in the market right now, and with a few improvements over its predecessor, it could really stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do that is by doubling down on the series' Evil Campaign. Players rarely get to experience playing as the villain, and withThe Lord of the Rings' characters, that can be a pretty great power trip. A newBattle for Middle-Earthshould offer even more freedom than ever, providing more unique units and structures for each faction. By improving on the already-solid groundwork set by its predecessors, a newLord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earthcould be truly great.
The Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle-earthis available for PC.
