The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth - PC

One of two RTS games release the very same week from EA, The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth is exactly that - a RTS epic string of battles that faithfully depict the events seen in all three films of the Peter Jackson trilogy.

Divided into two distinct, if obvious campaigns, Battle for Middle-Earth sees players assuming control of the vast armies of either good or evil in a massive conflict that is best handled by the PC platform. Siding with elves, dwarves and humans, you'll be charged with facing and defeating most vicious of Sauron's minions as you battle against entire legions of orcs, trolls and any other foes the enemy can throw at you. Conversely the same is true if you should side with the forces of evil, and unlike the films, no one side has the advantage in terms of skill or sheer numbers.

But as most of you will know, there's much more to a true RTS than endless battles, and the same is true of Battle for Middle-Earth. Here, players are not only charged with managing their allies in battle, they must also oversee their chosen army's resources, build new bases, forge new heroes, and customise their abilities in battle. It's a mighty task, even for the most ardent RTS fan, but the whole experience is made much easier with the help of an intuitive and streamlined user interface.

EA claims that this virtual construct of Middle Earth, built on the Sage 3D game engine, is an open, living and breathing world, and to an extent this is no exaggeration. Locales are faithful to the movie experience, and entire armies come to life when they express any number of emotions and behave accordingly to a given situation. Though one for the RTS populous, Battle for Middle-Earth can be enjoyed by anyone who comes across it. more