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Real-time strategy games are a rarity on consoles. Several companies have made attempts but few, if any, have been successful. These reasons alone make Battle for Middle-earth II something to watch.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II is the second installment of the series and the first to appear on a console. Making use of EA’s “expanded” use of the “Lord of the Rings” license, which allows EA to tie in elements of both Peter Jackson’s film adaptation and J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, Battle for Middle-earth II puts you in control of either the good guys or bad guys as you battle to restore peace to Middle-earth, or plunge it into darkness.
Visually, Battle for Middle-earth looks as good as the PC version running on a high-end PC. Details are faithful to the movie as well as Tolkien’s own details from the book. Maps are huge and characters are incredibly detailed (especially for an RTS). Fans can also expect to hear the movie’s epic score woven through every battle. To top it all off, Hugo Weaving reprises the role of Elrond and serves as the game’s narrator.
The 360 version looks to bring over everything from the PC version as far as content. Players get two deep campaigns to complete, as well as a slew of multiplayer modes, some of which will be exclusive to the 360. Of the new additions, Hero vs Hero and Capture and Hold look like they could gain the most playtime. In Hero vs Hero, you are limited to just using your hero characters as you try to gain control of the map. Capture and Hold is a battle to capture strategic areas on a map and keep opponents from taking them away.
The key element keeping the RTS genre from flourishing on consoles is control. The PC’s keyboard and mouse interface is ideal for point-and-click strategy games while the console’s controller is workable, but not ideally suited. Because of this, designers set out to develop a game that not only worked well for PC’s, but could easily be adapted to a console.
The cornerstone of EA’s console-friendly control scheme is a context sensitive pointer. Depending on what it is placed on, the pointer will change its function. Place it over an area you can build on, and you’re presented with build functions. Hover over a target, and you’ll attack. Face buttons work as hot keys and offer quick access to important functions and the D-pad is used to queue up buildings or armies.
Most gamers, especially those who stick to PC games, scoffed when EA announced Battle for Middle-earth II would make its way to the 360. And, considering the genre’s history on consoles it was hard to argue against their comments. Based on an early look, it seems that EA has done their homework and is looking to prove everyone wrong. |
