Battle For Middle-Earth 2 - What Happened In The North. (Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (PC))

Member Name: hypnoticstate

Product:	Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (PC)
Date:	01/10/07 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent addition to BFME1 and LOTR backstory.

Disadvantages: Is more restricted than BFME1 in some areas.

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth 2 is the sequel to the first game of the same name. The story is an original work that was not written about or catalogued in the Lord of the Rings books or the films. It is set at the same time and within the same time period a the events in the LOTR films/books. the LOTR story centres mostly on the events that happen in the south of Middle-Earth, whereas the Battle for Middle Earth 2 (BFME2) is set in the north. The games is a real-time strategy game and made by Electronic Arts.

The main characters that you play as in BFME2 are Glorfindel the Elf and Gloin the Dwarf (father of Gimli). There are 8 missions to play as Evil and 8 missions to play as good.

Gameplay:

BFME2 features many additions that weren't available in BFME1. The most significant of all being the "build-anywhere" feature. The player has the ability, with the use of builders, the deploy their fortress anywhere on the map. From here, you are able to extend walls and construct buildings anywhere around the castle that you wish. Your base is fully denfendable and customizable. You can select if and where you would like to place various items such as arrow towers, catapults, wall hubs, gates or postern-gates. Also, the fortresses themselves can be equipped with their own defences specific to the faction the you play as. Resources are gathered by placing the generator on an area of the map. different areas give the player varying levels of income. The more spread out the generators are, the more income you will receive. The gameplay is very similar to that of Command And Conquer: Generals (the engine used to create both the games is the same).

There are over 40 locations for the skirmish mode of the game, though the AI is not a great opponent and it is far more fun to play against someone over the internet or a network. Another addition to BFME3 is the "War of the Ring" mode. This essentially a game style similar to that of "Risk", where you get to play the battles out yourself after moving pieces on the large-scale map of Middle-Earth used in BFME1.

Another new section is "Create A Hero". This is what it says on the tin. You can create your very own hero. You get to choose from the species, then you can give them their abilities and strengths. Your Hero can only be used in skirmish mode.



The following are most of the differences between BFME1 and BFME2:

1) Men of the West is the name for Rohan and Gondor combined.
2) The story is set in the north, not the south.
3) Most of the Heroes and units have new powers.
4) You can now make an unlimited number of buildings.
5) Create A Hero mode is new.
6) You cannot play as Gollum in BFME2, though he is in the game.
7) War of the Ring mode is new.
8) There are no citadels with walls. You now start with a fortress that is customizable.
9) You can play as three new factions in BFME2. These include Elves, Goblins and Dwarves.
10) There is no option for making units guard an are in BFME2.

In my opinion, BFME2 is a great game. I am a huge LOTR fan so that may mean i am a little biased but it is still a very enjoyable game to play. There are many new features that have been upgraded from BFME1 though I enjoy both equally because of their different game types. BFME2 is quite structured, following a specific path with more freedom in individual missions whereas BFME1 gives less freedom on the battlefield but more in the structure of where and when you attack. This is a great game I would recommend it for fans of BFME1, LOTR and RTS games.

Summary: A Great Game For Anyone Who Likes RTS And Fantasy.