The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
- July 05, 2006 12:25 PM PST
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Though crippled by narcoleptic AI and an interface responsiveness issue, this latest entry in The Lord of the Rings' library is still worth a look.
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In addition to the film license, EA has signed an agreement allowing them to draw from the original books as well, granting access to a wider selection of locations and creatures than ever before; the Battle for Middle-earth II is the first game to use this new latitude.
A Crownless King
As used here, the expanded depth of the mythology is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you've got lots of unit variety --stocky Dwarven axe-throwers and plodding Ents, stealthy Elven archers and the creepy spiders of Mordor --and just about every one has researchable upgrades to purchase, thus fashioning your drab cannon fodder into gleaming engines of pain. Meanwhile, independent threats like Wyrms, Watchers, and worse give squads interesting opportunities to prove their mettle. On the other hand, the politics and racial distrust that so inform the source text are spread so thin across the good and evil campaigns that each cut-scene feels like a summary of a summary.
A Road Made Familiar
The most impressive feature is the expandable interface, which elegantly encapsulates every command, from grabbing an available builder, to sending a bookmarked group of allies on a rampage. After a couple missions, holding down a trigger, hopping through hierarchical icons, and pressing a selection feels natural for everything from building to conquering. Nobody would mistake it for a keyboard and mouse, but it's thoughtful enough to be a decent substitute. The only grievous mistake here is a maddening response delay that sometimes forces you to retrace steps because the last button press didn't register, and this is your first real sign that the game as a whole is in trouble.
A Broken Blade
Never mind that the graphics, though appealing enough, don't meet next-generation expectations, or that the sound design lacks the punch needed for epic confrontations --what really raises ire is when your units simply forget what they're doing. Halfway through a forced march a demolisher will get confused and idle while a dragon firebombs it to oblivion, or infantry will loaf around in the back of a formation like they're queued for concert tickets instead of joining in the bloodshed. As far as multiplayer goes, while a couple heroes dispatching entire enemy armies on their own might seem true to the spirit of the films, it hardly makes for a balanced and satisfying online encounter.
It's perhaps testament, then, to the spirit of Tolkien's world that The Battle for Middle-earth II remains relatively fun to watch and play despite these nagging flaws. Or perhaps its just altogether too much fun watching the dominant races of the third age beat the crap out of each other.
