Lotr battle for middle earth 2 reddit license#
The story highlights some of the lesser-known events of the book - as EA had acquired a license from Tolkien Enterprises as well as one for the movies, they used the battles in the north as the focal point, which are only briefly hinted at in the Extended Edition of The Return of the King (film) DVD, and noted in the Appendices in the novels: in the books it is explained that while the front of the war that the Fellowship characters are experiencing (and which is directly shown by the movies) is the primary one, it is in fact a war fought on many fronts across Middle-earth. For the Evil campaign, it begins with the siege of Lórien from Mordor's stronghold of Dol Guldur. For the Good campaign, the story starts in Rivendell where the Goblins from the Misty Mountains are poised to attack, while the Fellowship of the Ring journey south. Factions include the Elves, Dwarves, Men of the West, ( Gondor and Rohan combined) and the Goblins, along with Mordor and Isengard. The first title was a near miss.Unlike its predecessor, the game is set mainly in the northern regions of Middle-earth, and focuses on the war there. Now EA has a chance to improve the franchise with a sequel. I had hoped for more from a title set in Tolkein's world
The limitations when building your base were terrible, and the game quickly faded from my memory. The first Battle for Middle Earth was also a decent game, but it also had the feel of an RTS light. The hack n' slash console games, while not exactly a deep experience, were amazingly fun and well designed. The movies ended up being incredible though, and while the barrage of products and cash-ins has often been on the tacky side, enough people get it right that the whole mess almost feels worth it sometimes. I could never imagine it truly exploited.
One thing I found comforting is that the books felt unfilmable to me. Growing up I read the books time after time after time. Lord of the Rings is everywhere, from toys to art books, videogames, and posters. You have to wonder what Tolkien would think if he walked around a Best Buy these days. Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II