The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth

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The Lord of the Rings:
The Battle for Middle-earth
Single-player, multiplayer

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth is a 2004

SAGE engine. The sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
, was released on March 2, 2006.

The official game servers for The Battle for Middle-earth were permanently closed on December 31, 2010 by EA Games, due to the expiration of The Lord of the Rings video game license,[3] however the players can still play it online using unofficial game servers.

Gameplay

The Battle for Middle-earth is a

Trolls
.

Keeping with the trends of contemporary RTS titles, basic units operate in groups, significant characters are represented by "hero units", and the destruction of units gathers points for the purchase of special abilities. There is also a unit limit. Unit strengths and weaknesses form a sort of

experience and levels
, becoming hardier and more dangerous. Squads replace lost members when rank 2 or higher without losing experience.

Most normal units have purchasable upgrades and may also have abilities such as changing formation, changing weapons, combining with other squad types, Ranger stealth and orc cannibalism. Heroes are unique, far more potent units (and Hobbits and Gollum) that lack upgrades but do have multiple, elaborate abilities, and can be purchased back if killed. Most hero abilities require certain experience levels. Good has the advantage in the quantity and quality of heroes; Gandalf at the peak of his strength is an anti-army device. Buildings also gain experience and may become able to build new units, research new upgrades, or bestow better passive bonuses such as a reduction in cavalry build costs.

The player's special powers are purchased from a small

Andúril
). Evil receives aid in resource harvesting (Industry, Fuel the Fires).

The Heroes for Gondor are Pippin, Faramir, Boromir, and Gandalf. Rohan's heroes are Merry, Eowyn, Eomer, Theoden, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, and Treebeard (he is bought at an Entmoot). Isengard's heroes are Lurtz and Saruman.

Mordor's heroes are Gollum, two Nazgûl-riding Ringwraiths, and the Nazgûl-riding Witch King of Angmar. Frodo, Sam and Shelob are playable at various stages of the good and evil campaigns, but cannot be used in skirmish battles.

Catapults firing on the walls of Minas Tirith

Campaign

The good and evil forces of Middle-earth each have a campaign. They take place on an animated map of western Middle-earth, where each battle represents the defense/sacking of a territory. Armies and characters move on the map, and moving the cursor over them shows snippets of the movies (whereas battle cutscenes use the game engine).

Some mandatory missions represent important events. Between these the player must take enough nearby territories in skirmish battles, variations on the theme of building a base and killing everyone. Each territory provides a permanent increase of power points, the unit limit, and/or a multiplier for acquired resources. Units, their upgrades and purchased powers also persist between battles.

Good campaign

The good campaign follows the story of the Lord of the Rings movies with an emphasis of traditional, scripted missions, from

Osgiliath, Sam's search for Frodo in Shelob's lair, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
and the Black Gate.

Evil campaign

The evil campaign begins with Isengard's betrayal and then continues with

Helm's Deep and the deaths of Theoden and Eomer. It then switches to Mordor's assault on Gondor and concludes with the successful destruction of Minas Tirith
and total victory for Sauron. It provides an alternative storyline to the book and film.

Development

Music

The Battle for Middle-earth features score from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy composed by Howard Shore, as well as original music in Shore's image by Jamie Christopherson and Bill Brown. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (Soundtrack from the Video Game) was released via digital sellers on August 28, 2006, featuring 22 tracks of cues from the game by Christopherson & Brown spanning 44 minutes.[4]

Working conditions

The development environment and "extreme crunch time" for The Battle for Middle-earth led to a high-profile labor lawsuit by programmers that was settled by Electronic Arts for US$14.9 million in 2006.[5]

Reception

According to Electronic Arts, The Battle for Middle-earth was a commercial success, with sales above 1 million units worldwide by the end of 2004.

Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[15] indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[16]

The critical response to The Battle for Middle-earth was fairly positive. The video game review aggregator GameRankings displays an average critic score of 82.5%, with about two-thirds of the reviews in the 80%s.[17] IGN praised the game for its visual flair and impressive audio, but pointed out its lack of depth in gameplay, giving out a score of 8.3 to the "decent, if not spectacular, game.[12] GameSpot, with a score of 8.4, also commented on the visuals and sound effects as well as its focus on large-scale battles that "befits the source material".[10] GameSpy gave 4 stars out of 5, calling the game "a perfect example of a license enhancing the final product."[11]

Awards

The Battle for Middle-earth won three awards: the E3 2004 Game Critics Awards award for Best Strategy Game, the 2005 GIGA Games award for Best Strategy Game, and the GameSpy award for Best of E3 2004 Editors Choice.

The Battle for Middle-earth was nominated for

PC Gamer US's "Best Real-Time Strategy Game 2004" awards,[18] both of which ultimately went to Rome: Total War.[19][20] It also received a runner-up placement for GameSpot's annual "Best Game Based on a TV or Film Property" prize.[21] During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, The Battle for Middle-earth received a nomination for "Strategy Game of the Year", [22] which was ultimately awarded to Rome: Total War.[23]

References

  1. ^ "2004 Release Dates". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Adams, David (2004-12-06). "The Battle Begins". IGN. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  3. ^ EA Games: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth Online Server Shutdown Announcement EA Games, Dec. 1, 2010, retrieved on Dec. 31, 2010.
  4. ^ iTunes - Music - The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (Soundtrack from the Video Game) by EA Games Soundtrack, Bill Brown & Jamie Christopherson
  5. ^ Gamasutra: Programmers Win EA Overtime Settlement, EA_Spouse Revealed
  6. ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  7. ^ Fahey, Rob (December 22, 2004). "The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-Earth: Laud for the Rings". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  8. Game Revolution
    . Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth Review". GamePro. December 10, 2004. Archived from the original on January 8, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Ocampo, Jason (December 7, 2004). "The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth Review". GameSpot. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Keefer, John (December 3, 2004). "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth". GameSpy. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Adams, Dan (December 4, 2004). "The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth". IGN. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  13. ^ B2B Staff (January 27, 2005). "EA: risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre fiscale". Multiplayer.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Edge Staff (August 25, 2006). "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century". Edge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  15. Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original
    on March 19, 2009.
  16. Gamasutra. Archived from the original
    on September 18, 2017.
  17. ^ The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth Reviews Game Rankings, retrieved on Jun. 7, 2008.
  18. X-Play. Archived from the original
    on November 7, 2005.
  19. PC Gamer US
    . 12 (3): 33–36, 38, 40, 42, 44.
  20. X-Play. Archived from the original
    on March 15, 2005.
  21. ^ The GameSpot Editors (January 5, 2005). "Best and Worst of 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  23. ^ "2005 Awards Category Details Strategy Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 October 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Battle_for_Middle-earth&oldid=1218593786"