Beytran70
Janitor of Moria
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2020
- Messages
- 38
Those of you who were still young after the Lord of the Rings films were released in the early 2000s will likely remember the various video game adaptations of Tolkien's work that were directly inspired by the New Line Cinema alternate universe. The likes of Lord of the Rings Conquest have recently been touched on, but for fans of strategy games there was only one real option: Battle for Middle Earth.
This trio of real-time strategy games were published by Electronic Arts in association with New Line Cinema, with the first game being particularly closely linked and even using dialogue and scenes from the films throughout its campaign. The story mode had you follow along the Fellowship and it's journey and could even diverge slightly by letting the player keep several of the heroes alive until the very end. You could take control of four factions, Gondor and Rohan for good and Mordor and Isengard for evil. The core of the gameplay was the construction of bases using pre-set foundations, gathering resources, building an army, and defeating the enemy. Additional features included Ring/Evenstar powers that could be unlocked as battles progressed, and various heroes/villains such as Gandalf or the Witch King who gained levels and various abilities.
Battle for Middle Earth 2 and it's expansion Rise of the Witch King were slightly different, no longer being directly tied to the films or its universe, and instead offering a new side story tied to the events of the War of the Ring. The gameplay also expanded, allowing free building instead of relying on plots of land, and merging some existing factions while also adding others. The total faction count grew to 7 with the Men of the West being comprised of units and heroes from Gondor and Rohan, the Elves having units and heroes comprised of Rivendell, Lorien, and Mirkwood, and the Dwarves representing the heroes and forces from Erebor. Evil, on the other hand, consisted of Mordor, Isengard, a new Goblin faction, and an additional Angmar faction added in the expansion which is based on the realm of the Witch King in the early Third Age when he destroyed the Northern Kingdoms of Arnor, the events of which are what is showcased in that expansions campaign.
All three of the games were wonderful fun, but sadly the licenses for all of them have since been lost to EA, and therefore they have not been sold for many years. But what if I were to tell you that not only could you play these games right now for free (and ethically), and that there were also hundreds if not thousands of players internationally that were also playing it online! That's right, a small but loyal fan base has kept these games alive all these years, and they would love to have you!
Youtube and Twitch content creator BeyondStandards is one of the key community members, and one who frequently hosts large online tournaments with prize pools often reaching $500. Here is a video showing how to safely download the games!
I would encourage anyone who loves strategy games and Lord of the Rings to check it out, and if you remember these games nostalgically like I do, you will likely enjoy at least replaying through the campaigns and doing some skirmishes. If you enjoy it and play more, you may even face against me online!
This trio of real-time strategy games were published by Electronic Arts in association with New Line Cinema, with the first game being particularly closely linked and even using dialogue and scenes from the films throughout its campaign. The story mode had you follow along the Fellowship and it's journey and could even diverge slightly by letting the player keep several of the heroes alive until the very end. You could take control of four factions, Gondor and Rohan for good and Mordor and Isengard for evil. The core of the gameplay was the construction of bases using pre-set foundations, gathering resources, building an army, and defeating the enemy. Additional features included Ring/Evenstar powers that could be unlocked as battles progressed, and various heroes/villains such as Gandalf or the Witch King who gained levels and various abilities.
Battle for Middle Earth 2 and it's expansion Rise of the Witch King were slightly different, no longer being directly tied to the films or its universe, and instead offering a new side story tied to the events of the War of the Ring. The gameplay also expanded, allowing free building instead of relying on plots of land, and merging some existing factions while also adding others. The total faction count grew to 7 with the Men of the West being comprised of units and heroes from Gondor and Rohan, the Elves having units and heroes comprised of Rivendell, Lorien, and Mirkwood, and the Dwarves representing the heroes and forces from Erebor. Evil, on the other hand, consisted of Mordor, Isengard, a new Goblin faction, and an additional Angmar faction added in the expansion which is based on the realm of the Witch King in the early Third Age when he destroyed the Northern Kingdoms of Arnor, the events of which are what is showcased in that expansions campaign.
All three of the games were wonderful fun, but sadly the licenses for all of them have since been lost to EA, and therefore they have not been sold for many years. But what if I were to tell you that not only could you play these games right now for free (and ethically), and that there were also hundreds if not thousands of players internationally that were also playing it online! That's right, a small but loyal fan base has kept these games alive all these years, and they would love to have you!
Youtube and Twitch content creator BeyondStandards is one of the key community members, and one who frequently hosts large online tournaments with prize pools often reaching $500. Here is a video showing how to safely download the games!
I would encourage anyone who loves strategy games and Lord of the Rings to check it out, and if you remember these games nostalgically like I do, you will likely enjoy at least replaying through the campaigns and doing some skirmishes. If you enjoy it and play more, you may even face against me online!
