The Lord of the Rings seems tailor made to the real-time strategy genre. The franchise is brimming with diverse races, distinct settings and detailed weaponry that beg to be brought to life and put at a player's command. The Battle for Middle-earth series offers just this kind of magical experience and now console owners will get their first taste of it when the second installment hits Xbox 360 next week. We've been covering the addictive multiplayer extensively - see here and here - but how's ... » Read More

28 Jun 2006

LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth II - multiplayer...

360 Preview | Lord of the Rings Battle For Middle-earth II

Hobbits and wizards may soon be as commonplace on the servers of Xbox Live as soldiers, athletes and racecars. The multiplayer aspect of the upcoming real-time strategy sequel The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II could be the best reason to pick up the game and theres a lot more to it than just throwing a few armies at each other and seeing who bites it first (though thats fun too – read our impressions of the games basic Versus mode here ). Players will also be treated ... » Read More

23 Jun 2006

LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth II - multiplayer...

360 Preview | Lord of the Rings Battle For Middle-earth II

There are a lot of reasons to be pumped up for next months release of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II on Xbox 360. Not only do we stand to get a fresh serving of pure Tolkien goodness from a team that has proven itself pretty skilled at adapting the license, but were also witnessing the first next-gen attempt at a real-time strategy game - a genre that has been woefully scarce on consoles. Now you can add another incentive to the list. Following our recent hands-on ... » Read More

20 Jun 2006

LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth II 360 hands-on

360 Preview | Lord of the Rings Battle For Middle-earth II

Wednesday 10 May 2006 The battle lines of Middle-Earth have already been drawn on PC, where Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II was released earlier this year. But in making the leap to Microsoft's next-gen hardware, the Tolkien-inspired RTS has undergone a clever and intuitive change that makes it more than just another fantasy strategy game. The game drops the mouse-driven strategy style of using a 'rubber band' box, where you hold and drag a box over what you want to select. ... » Read More

11 May 2006

E3 06: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for...

360 Preview | Lord of the Rings Battle For Middle-earth II

For some reason, PC strategy games rarely make the transition to consoles intact. From Syndicate to StarCraft, would-be armchair generals have had to stomach ports that either lost some functionality, looked like crap or both. That doesn't appear to be the case with the 360 version of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2. Not only does this next-gen version let you control the same armies of orcs or elves that the PC version did, but the developers have apparently gone to great ... » Read More

25 Feb 2006

Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II

360 Preview | Lord of the Rings Battle For Middle-earth II

Lord of the Rings may have exited stage left from theaters, but itll be playing on PC screens for as long as Electronic Arts can wield the license. The second installment of the Battle for Middle Earth strategy series promises more violent slaughter and more flexibility ... and a lot more to sink your axe into. Gamers can rejoice in a variety of new playable races, including dwarves, elves, and goblins, the latter have a perverse love of riding giant spiders and scorpions. The battlefield ... » Read More

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