The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring

The one game to rule them all?

For those wishing to rule Middle-Earth, wish no longer. The real-time strategy War of the Ring follows the events of the novels and takes place during Sauron?s rise in The Two Towers. While the game will appeal to hardcore Tolkien fans, WOTR looks and feels too much like other RTS titles, including Liquid?s own Battle Realms.

You can choose to join either the Free Peoples or Sauron?s minions. Each mission usually requires you to establish your stronghold and army quickly, building things like mills, watchtowers, and forges, as the smart enemy A.I. will attack your camp from all sides if you take your sweet time.

In battle, each side has heroes you can summon, provided you gather enough Fate points, food, and ore. The heroes, including Frodo, Legolas, Gandalf, Gollum, and Sauron, have powerful battle abilities. If you don?t protect them, however, it could spell instant doom for the mission.

Controlling a LOTR story is appealing, but WOTR doesn?t bring much to the RTS table. WOTR?s multiplayer mode, which features games like Survival and the capture-the-flag-like Control of the Places of Power, offers some replay value if you aren?t tired after finishing the two single-player campaigns. The orchestral score and voice acting are good, and the detailed graphics are incredibly well animated, but those features and Tolkien?s story aren?t enough to distinguish this game from all the other strategy titles out there.

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