Once again, I must apologize for taking this long to post this review.
It should have been posted on Sunday, but I've been really busy. So, let's just begin, shall we?
It should have been posted on Sunday, but I've been really busy. So, let's just begin, shall we?
- First Look -
The 2006 game Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 (BME2) brings us, the long awaited sequel to the 2004 hit game and it looks like it won't disappoint all the fans of the first game.
First of all, the look and feel of the game is very, very similar to the previous title, except some minor changes to the interface, which, to me, isn't a bad thing. Why mess with "perfection", right?
So, what changes in BME2?
Well, even though the two are very similar, there are some major changes. In this game we can control a lot more characters from he Tolkien universe. Characters that didn't even appear in the Lord of the Rings films, appear in this game, for example, Tom Bombadil, Glóin and many, many others from both sides.
Another change is the addition of a new game mode, War of the Ring, where you can battle it out on a game board...something very Risk style. The ultimate objective is to conquer all of Middle Earth, one province at a time. Like I said, something very Risk style. The only difference from Risk is that when two armies collide you can choose between fighting yourself in real time or just let the computer automatically generate the outcome of the battle. Anybody who's played Shogun: Total War or some of the sequels should know what to expect.
First of all, the look and feel of the game is very, very similar to the previous title, except some minor changes to the interface, which, to me, isn't a bad thing. Why mess with "perfection", right?
So, what changes in BME2?
Well, even though the two are very similar, there are some major changes. In this game we can control a lot more characters from he Tolkien universe. Characters that didn't even appear in the Lord of the Rings films, appear in this game, for example, Tom Bombadil, Glóin and many, many others from both sides.
Another change is the addition of a new game mode, War of the Ring, where you can battle it out on a game board...something very Risk style. The ultimate objective is to conquer all of Middle Earth, one province at a time. Like I said, something very Risk style. The only difference from Risk is that when two armies collide you can choose between fighting yourself in real time or just let the computer automatically generate the outcome of the battle. Anybody who's played Shogun: Total War or some of the sequels should know what to expect.
The Multiplayer mode, to me, is the best thing in BME2, not because it's original, but just because it's really fun and it's much more challenging to play against a real person.
So, basically, these were the majors changes from BME toBME2.
So, basically, these were the majors changes from BME toBME2.
- Plot/Storyline -
The story in BME2 swirls around events that weren't portrayed in the films. The main action is spent in the northern lands of Middle Earth, with Dwarves and Elves battling Goblins. This goes on during all the Lord of the Rings events you've seen in the films and books. It completely steers away from the Fellowship of the Ring and their adventures, and focus only on those events that nobody ever saw, which is good and a logical step from the EA team behind the game, but, I rather preferred playing the original storyline of the first BME.
So, basically, this is it. Not much to talk about story wise in BME2, not because it's bad, it's just that this is a RTS game, and like any RTS, the story although important, it's not the main aspect of the game.
- Graphics -
In the graphics department BME2 doesn't disappoint either. Of course there's the expected and "traditional" cool looking initial FMV that greet you to the game. After that there's the awesome main menu where a scene from the Fellowship of the Ring is depicted, more precisely, the part where the fellowship reaches and sees the Argonath in all its splendor. What a great way to start a game!
So, regarding the in-game graphics, all I can say is that they're great, something that shouldn't surprise anyone if you think that the this big budget production is only 1 year old.
The scenarios and characters are really detailed and polished, and, regarding the characters that appear in the films, it's really easy to recognize them. In the above picture you can clearly see that it's Elrond (by the way, you can control him too) in the front.
Concluding, there's no real big surprise regarding the graphics in BME2. The graphics were already good in the first game, and in this second installment, the crew at EA really just upgraded and accompanied the video cards technology improvements from 2004 to 2006.
The scenarios and characters are really detailed and polished, and, regarding the characters that appear in the films, it's really easy to recognize them. In the above picture you can clearly see that it's Elrond (by the way, you can control him too) in the front.
Concluding, there's no real big surprise regarding the graphics in BME2. The graphics were already good in the first game, and in this second installment, the crew at EA really just upgraded and accompanied the video cards technology improvements from 2004 to 2006.
- Music/Sound Effects -
This, to me, is one of the strongest aspects of the game. Why? Well, just because, if you're like me, you're a fan of the OST of the films.
And that's what you mostly get, with some "minor"alterations, in BME2. That's all that is to it.
It's really cool playing the game listening to the movie soundtrack and, in my opinion, really helps the overall gaming experience.
And that's what you mostly get, with some "minor"alterations, in BME2. That's all that is to it.
It's really cool playing the game listening to the movie soundtrack and, in my opinion, really helps the overall gaming experience.
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 is, fortunately, one of those games where the soundtrack really fits, even though I don't think the EA crew should be given all the credit. And I say this just because the music and most sound effects really come from the movie. But with this, don't think that I don't give credit to the team behind, far from it. Since this game shows us everything that the movies didn't show, there's a lot of things that the EA crew had to "create" from scratch and, to me, they did a good. One good example of this is Tom Bombadil.
Tom Bombadil is a character that you summon to help you, just like the Balrog, and, not only does it look like him but it's also really cool and fun listening to him singing in the middle of a fierce battle.
Again, no big surprise in the music department too.
Tom Bombadil is a character that you summon to help you, just like the Balrog, and, not only does it look like him but it's also really cool and fun listening to him singing in the middle of a fierce battle.
Again, no big surprise in the music department too.
- Overview -
What else to say about BME2? Not much really...
It's cool to play and has made some improvements from the first game, not to mention the fact that it gives the player the possibility to control every creature and race from the Tolkien universe.
If you've played the first game, sometimes, you may get the feeling that there's no real originality in it, that apart from the new races and stuff there's no real innovation, and, unfortunately I have to agree. At some point you may find yourself getting quite bored, just because there's not anything REALLY new in the game itself, after the "Wow...cool! New Races!" effect wears off.
It's not uncommon to end up just playing the multiplayer mode of the game or the War of the Ring mode.
So, in conclusion, BME2 is a great game...no doubt about it. The EA crew did a good job trying not to make this game an exact copy of the first BME. The graphics are, as expected, much better than BME, the music and sounds effects, fortunately, don't stray too far from the movie soundtrack and they weren't supposed and the storyline, being the biggest change from the BME to BME2, is actually pretty cool.
It's cool to play and has made some improvements from the first game, not to mention the fact that it gives the player the possibility to control every creature and race from the Tolkien universe.
If you've played the first game, sometimes, you may get the feeling that there's no real originality in it, that apart from the new races and stuff there's no real innovation, and, unfortunately I have to agree. At some point you may find yourself getting quite bored, just because there's not anything REALLY new in the game itself, after the "Wow...cool! New Races!" effect wears off.
It's not uncommon to end up just playing the multiplayer mode of the game or the War of the Ring mode.
So, in conclusion, BME2 is a great game...no doubt about it. The EA crew did a good job trying not to make this game an exact copy of the first BME. The graphics are, as expected, much better than BME, the music and sounds effects, fortunately, don't stray too far from the movie soundtrack and they weren't supposed and the storyline, being the biggest change from the BME to BME2, is actually pretty cool.
- Rating -
So, having all I've said in mind, and even counting with the fact that, after you've played the game there's only the multiplayer mode to pull you back in and not forgetting that EA really just took the original BME one step ahead, something expected if you ask me, I give Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 a good and very solid 8.
So, once again, let me apologize for the extreme delay posting this review, but like I've said I've been really busy specially because I'm going on vacation in the next few days and as usual there's a lot of packing to do.
Another reason I should be apologizing for is the poor, poor review I wrote today (lack of talent to write them showing up I think). I had to decide if I would be posting this review ten days from now (when I get back) and thus almost "abandoning" the blog for that amount of time or trying to do my best and write a review. As you can see, the latter was chosen...
So, for the next ten days or so I won't be posting anything here and if any of you are interested in knowing when I post my next review, you can leave a comment with your e-mail and I can contact you as soon as I post anything. And yes...before I even post anything, the first I'll do when I arrive is installing a mailing list.
See ya (in ten days).
So, once again, let me apologize for the extreme delay posting this review, but like I've said I've been really busy specially because I'm going on vacation in the next few days and as usual there's a lot of packing to do.
Another reason I should be apologizing for is the poor, poor review I wrote today (lack of talent to write them showing up I think). I had to decide if I would be posting this review ten days from now (when I get back) and thus almost "abandoning" the blog for that amount of time or trying to do my best and write a review. As you can see, the latter was chosen...
So, for the next ten days or so I won't be posting anything here and if any of you are interested in knowing when I post my next review, you can leave a comment with your e-mail and I can contact you as soon as I post anything. And yes...before I even post anything, the first I'll do when I arrive is installing a mailing list.
See ya (in ten days).
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