The Middle Earth you may not have seen.
The Xbox 360 version is pretty similar to the PC game although some concessions have obviously been made in bringing the game to a console. The biggest change to the game is with the controls, though a tutorial mode is included so that you can familiarise yourself with the changes before jumping into a battle. In game, you'll mainly use the Xbox 360 trigger buttons, the A button and the analog sticks. This means that everything you want to do is only ever a few button presses away. EA could have done a quick port and kept the complicated controls, but they've put a lot of effort into making this game very accessible. Whilst the control system still doesn't compare to a mouse and a keyboard it's certainly better than most other console RTS titles.
One of the notable omissions from the single player campaign is the dynamic campaign. For some inexplicable reason the Dynamic campaign is completely missing from the Xbox 360 version, which is a little bit disappointing. Despite this though the single-player campaign is still quite comprehensive. The Peter Jackson films looked at the war in the South of Middle-Earth. J.R.R. Tolkien's works indicate that Sauron's war was also fought in the North. The single-player campaign in The Battle for Middle Earth II places you in this war. You can play on either the good or evil side, and each side contains eight missions which include primary and secondary objectives. Achievements have made it into the game and you'll need to complete the secondary objectives to unlock these. Fans of the movies may be a little disappointed that the story doesn't follow Frodo's journey but it's still enjoyable to see EA's interpretation of the other side of the war on Middle Earth.
Aside from the single player mode there is a Skirmish mode (which lets you create your own battlefields with a decent selection of maps) and Xbox Live support. The maps from the original The Battle for Middle Earth have also been included, so you can create a battlefield with familiar locales from the films. The Xbox Live component of the game is a highlight and getting into a game is extremely simple. There are five new online modes exclusive to the Xbox 360 version. The first online mode is Versus, which is played against three opponents. The objective is just to try and wipe out all of your opponents as quickly as possible. The second mode is King of the Hill, whereby you're trying to hold a specific area of the map. In Capture and Hold, you need to find various parts of a map and Resource Race contains a list of resources which are needed. Our favourite online mode is Hero vs Hero. Each player is given four heroes and you've got to try and level them up as quickly as possible whilst taking out the other player's fortresses. The Xbox 360 online modes are a huge bonus and the primary reason for picking this version up other the PC edition.
The scenary can be awe inspiring at times.
Whilst EA has done a great job translating the game to the Xbox 360, there are still a few problems or things that frustrated us through the campaign. The game does contain sporadic slowdown. The slowdown is seemingly random though and happens online and offline. The game's frame rate doesn't always chug when things get intense, but it does happen occasionally which is a little frustrating in the heat of battle. Whilst the controls are pretty reliable they still just don't compare to the PC version and, in the heat of the moment, it's easy to make mistakes. If you want to play through an individual level you also need to complete the entire campaign, which can get frustrating.
Visually the game has transferred well over to the Xbox 360 with large worlds that really bring Middle Earth to life. The cut scenes can look stunning and the animation is top quality. Unfortunately the game does contain some long load times which is a bit disappointing. If you're a Lord of the Rings fan you're likely to absolutely lap up the soundtrack as well. The soundtrack adds to the feel of the game so if you're playing on the evil side then the soundtrack will reflect this. The voice-overs and sound effects are pretty impressive as well.
Till death do us part.
The single player mode is comprehensive enough to keep you going for a lengthy amount of time although including the dynamic mode would have been a great bonus. Once you've finished the single player campaign there is a lot to do on Xbox Live and this seems like it is going to be a very popular online title. We never had any issues finding anybody online to play and there is a large variety of modes, the game also includes a few unlockables if you want to get everything out of it.
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II all could have gone horribly wrong but the transition to the Xbox 360 has been handled well. If you've been put off by RTS titles on consoles before then this game should restore your faith. The game does have a few problems, it has been scaled back from the PC version and suffers from some slowdown at times but overall Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 is a fun real time strategy title on a console; no longer is that statement a contradiction.
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