|
Genre: Strategy
System(s): XBOX 360
ESRB: Unknown
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (BFME) is a real-time strategy game for the PC developed by EALA. It was inspired and licensed from Peter Jackson's recent adaptations of the famous books by J. R. R. Tolkien and also features a number of the voice actors, including all the hobbits and wizards. It uses the Sage engine from Command & Conquer: Generals and was released on December 6, 2004. The sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, was released on March 2, 2006.
While there have been numerous other games based on The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and its film adaptations, Battle for Middle-earth is unique in the fact that the developers intended to bring the feel of a "living" Middle-earth to the PC through impressive graphics and special effects, as well as to push the genre beyond the RTS niche market by introducing a more intuitive system. Though lauded for its graphics, it did not make a major impact with critics. The game was still well-received by many Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings and RTS fans (though also lambasted by other, more discerning fans). It allows players to control units from 4 major "factions" of Middle-earth: Gondor, Rohan, Isengard, and Mordor, as well as members of the Fellowship. However, some people were disappointed by EA's promotional videos promoting the game as a Rome: Total War-style game, commanding thousands of troops at once, while the actual in game unit count and variety are actually quite low relative to other RTS titles. This game plays very similar to Command & Conquer: Generals even down to the power point system which allows players to earn special powers as you destroy more enemies. The powers that can be earned range from summoning elven allies, calling Eagles, all the way to bringing out the Army of the Dead or the Balrog.
The name of this game comes from a quotation by Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) at the end of The Two Towers film: "The battle for Helm's Deep is over; the battle for Middle-earth is about to begin."
|
