One game to rule them all?
Pros:
The graphics are lovely, as is the gameplay and it'll last you ages.
Cons:
Main campaign too short, too high specifications, not strategic enough.
The Bottom Line:
Despite it being too easy to beat the computer through sheer number of units, it's a fantastic game, both online and off.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The Lord of the Rings is such a strong brand name that EA could release “The Lord of the Rings – Hobbit House Party” and it would sell millions. Thankfully, no such game is in development, and it’s a good thing, because it would waste precious time that could be spent playing ‘The Battle for Middle Earth II.’
The graphics in this game are exquisite, allowing you to zoom in when in battle, and zoom out when ordering your team around. You can order around vast armies, depending on how many farms you have built. At times, especially online, there can be hundreds of enemies fighting it out, which can be problematic if your computer is not very powerful.
There are four main game modes to keep you busy in single player. There is the ‘Good Campaign,’ which is when you fight through a number of missions with cut scenes in between each mission. Sadly, the first Battle for Middle Earth used all of the big battles from the films, so the plot isn’t as good, although it is still perfectly adequate.
There is also an evil campaign which is slightly longer than the good one, and possibly more fun. Longitivity is a bit of problem with the two main campaigns, so EA have also provided a skirmish mode, where you can battle against up to seven enemy armies. With eight armies fighting it out, the battles can last for hours, which means that if you are without an internet connection, this is where you will spend most of your time.
The fourth and final single player game mode is the ‘War of the Ring.’ This is a turn based strategy game that is very difficult at first, but becomes more enjoyable once you start winning.
If you are able to play this online, you must. It trebles the already long lifespan, and provides a proper challenge, rather than the too easy campaigns.
The sound conveys a good sense of battle, and a lot of the tunes are taken from the films, guaranteeing good music.
Sadly, there are problems. In single player it seems to be based more on who has more units, than who uses strategy. This means that you can effectively just build many foot soldiers and archers, use your powers at the right times and you’ve won. Another problem is the large system requirements.
Official min spec for BFME II:
* Microsoft® Windows® XP
* PC with 1.6 Ghz equivalent or higher processor
* 256 MB of system RAM
* 512 MB of system RAM for online play with 3 or more players
* 5.5 GB available hard disk space
* 16x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
* 64 MB GeForce3-class video card.
We will only officially support cards with ATI and Nvidia chipsets, and the Intel GMA 900 and GMA 950 products. We are not officially supporting the GeForce 4 MX series.
Please note, WE ARE supporting all other cards in the GeForce 4 series including GeForce 4 TI, GeForce 4 Go, and GeForce 4200.
* Sound card with speakers or headphones.
* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device.
* 56.6 Kbps or better modem for 1v1 online play.
* Broadband connection for online play with 3 or more players.
* DirectX 9.0c or above.
If you intend to play on the Ultra High setting and really want to enjoy the experience to the fullest the development team recommends: 3.0GHz Intel CPU, 1GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA 6600 or 6800 Ultra or 7800 GT or GTX.
Read that again. If you want to play on the Ultra High setting and really want to enjoy the experience to the fullest, you have to have a 3.0GHz processor. They don’t come cheap…
Even if you only have the slightest interest in The Lord of the Rings or strategy games, I would recommend this as it is great fun, and well worth the bargain price it can now be bought at.
