User Reviews (41 - 51 of 172)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Fun, but overall...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: September 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Now, don't get me wrong here. Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth is a very pleasing, eye-catching game that can keep one entertained for quite a long time. But if you choose to venture on a campaign, after returning to your computer to play a bit more again and again, you'll begin to notice that the game starts to become more and more repetitive as you progress.

In the game, your goals are very simple: Build some places, nab some resources, beat the stuffing out of people who get into your way. The variation in scenery and in different battalions is pleasing and adds to the eyecandy of the game, but eyecandy doesn't make the playing much more fun - thus, even in the larger, more exciting battles, I began to get bored as the game progressed.

Overall, the game will be a great enjoyment for hardcore LOTR fans, but for people who aren't as attatched to the series, it may be a bit of a disappointment - especially considering the heavy price. If you love games with fancy graphics and heaps of battle events, though, it's worth the $40 dollars you'll spend on it.

the best rts ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

this is more like an rts/rpg hybrid with all the heroes that you get, the coolest fact that the characters get carried over to the next mission. it is simply the best.

the graphics are awesome, the sound and voices incredible, and gameplay is wonderful for me, since i am not a rts veteran. there is very little micromanagement and more focus on combat which suits me just fine.

other reviewers complained that there are not enough armies. i think this is just fine, or it will be chaotic like in rome, total war (graphics suck compared to bfme)

i love this game. i have been playing the campaign and skirmish modes for the past 4 months almost daily. sadly, i am going to uninstall it because it is taking too much of my time, and i am not getting any work done.

the few gripes i had like zooming in 3d mode and capture middle earth risk type game seem to be implemented in bfme 2, so i am waiting for that.

highly recommended to tolkein fans, rpg fans and rts fans.

LOTR Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alright, this is a real blast. The sequel is coming out in March 2nd 2006. But never mind that now. Okay, You can use the Nazgul, the Witch-King, the Balrog, Lurtz, Saruman, Gandalf, Farimir, Borimir, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippen, etc.
Heroes are cool. Plus the units. Orcs, Uruk-Hai, Tower Guards, Archers, Trolls, etc. You should get it. It's one great game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-)

High System Requirements

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: May 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Be aware that this game has higher than usual system requirements, which are not described on this site, the official EA site or on the packaging. According to EA Games, you must have the following hardware and software to run the game:

Windows XP (32 bit version) with Administrator rights.
1.7 GHz or faster processor.
512 MB or more RAM.
Supported 128 MB video card with the newest manufacturer drivers.
CD Version, 8x or faster CD/DVD drive.
DVD version, 8x or faster DVD drive.
2.3 GB free hard disk space plus space for the Windows swap file and save data.

I found this out the hard way. Despite the fact that I couldn't find the system requirements listed anywhere, I bought the game assuming it would work on Windows 2000 (as described on this web page) with the equipment and software that I have. All the other recently released games I've purchased work fine. The game installed properly but crashed when I tried to play it, and the patch wouldn't work, so I contacted customer support. The only tech support EA offers is e-mail based, so it can be very time consuming and quite frustrating, since the customer service representatives don't seem to know very much and just quote from a manual. After weeks of updating drivers, deleting registry files and installing/uninstalling the game about 20 times, the tech support people finally announced that my computer does not meet system requirements, which they provided (see above). The game might be good, but make sure it will run on your computer BEFORE you buy it, or you'll be out the cost of the game plus S&H, because Amazon won't take it back.

Must-have for strategy gamers

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In Battle for Middle Earth, you can play the forces of light or darkness in the classic world of Tolkein. Either you're the fellowship, struggling to destroy the ring, or you are working for the lands of Mordor, hoping to conquer all.

The game is very much like its Command & Conquer and Warcraft predecessors. You get to choose a side, and then use strategy and warfare to reach your goals. You harvest food, build barracks and stables, and track your progress. As your troops move across the land, you uncover more terrain.

The graphics are relatively well done, with rolling hills, trees, flying birds, and appropriate buildings based on the locations. You end up in the Mines of Moria, Lothlorien, and other well known locations. You often include key members of the story in your parties, from Aragorn to Legolas to Eomer and more.

There is an overview mode where you can choose which territory to work on next, and as you progress through the game you build up your units and your skills. In addition to the main objectives, there are often bonus objectives to give you extra tasks to aim for.

Because of this combination of overall scope and individual battle, the game is much more epic feeling compared to other games out there. The game isn't "realistic" in its graphics but they do draw you into the game. Of course having the game set in Middle Earth is a huge advantage for us fans of the Lord of the Rings story! It is great fun to play a strategy game and see Rohan cavalry thunder across the screen :)

When you work on setting up a strategic situation, and then watch as hundreds of your troops take on hundreds of the enemy, in a true middle earth setting, it really is a thing of beauty.

Perhaps the only downside is that occasionally you end up with a storyline different than the books - but isn't that the point of the game? If you knew what was going to happen, there'd be no point in playing ...

Highly recommended for strategists who enjoy the Lord of the Rings world!

To Mordor

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I got this game for Christmas, I thought Dawn of War would be better. When I played Battle for Middle-Earth, I stopped playing Dawn of War. Once I found out about how to play, I liked it a lot!

I am very good at playing the Battle for Middle Earth. I like that you can summon Balrog by getting twenty experience and other experience to get upgrades. Now, maybe I can play one of you on multiple player!!!

By Kristian Stewart, age 9

You won't be sorry

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I look for an RTS such as Battle for Middle Earth I look for 4 things. I look at the Story Line, the Online Play, the Free Play Mode outside Story Mode, and the overall enjoyment of the game play. I found that Battle for Middle Earth (BME) had top scores in all of these areas.

The Story Mode of the game follows the events that happen in the Movie Trilogy. You'll lead the Fellowship through Moria and Protect Lothlorian from attack. Of Course you play through the epic battles at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith but you also find yourself leading Sam through Shelob's layer to a funal showdown against the Giant Spider. The seige fights are the moat fun part of story mode. As the good guys you have a certain amount of time to build up defenses around your walls and gather resources for kater when Isengard or Mordor arrives. When the enemy comes you must survive a certain amount of time before reinforcements come and help. Either way it's very fun.

The free play mode has the tools to let you customize your game to your liking. YOu can choose to play as Rohan, Gondor, Isengard, or Mordor. There are multiple maps to choose from and each map has a certain number of teams that can play at once. These games let your hone your skills to help in storhy mode or just for something fun to do when your bored and don't want to play Story mode.

Online play is fun, easy to signup for, and also gives you a chance to play against human intelligence. Play against people online in free mode style play when you get tired of beating the computer all the time and need another challenge.

Basically BME is a great RTS with all around good gameplay. The different unit skills and buildings flow nicely and the construction system is easy to learn and easy to use. The combat looks nice and the traditional point and click RTS controls are still present. If you have the money to buy the game and you like RTS style game and the Lord of the Rings movies, play this game and you can control the characters in all the epic battles seen in the Movies.

Fun Addition to Fantasy Strategy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Up-front: this game is not ground-breaking or earth-shattering in how it plays or what kind of game it is. The genre of Real-Time strategy is well-established. The game honestly doesn't offer anything new or unheard of; but the game does have some strong points, it does do some things right and refreshing:

Graphics & Sound:
- The visuals in this game, with the right PC hardware, are fabulous. The terrain, the buildings, and the units are done very well. Zoom in with the mouse wheel and take a close look: there is very intricate details on everything. Nice touch. The animations for battle are great - sometimes it's amusing just to watch orcs get trampled by the Riders of Rohan!
- the soundtrack is great. If you liked the music in the movies then you won't be disappointed: there are some differences but they are subtle. The voice-overs are great and the sound effects are very well done. If you play this game a lot it will get repetitive - as with any game.

Gameplay:
- There is a decent campaign that spans, in a roundabout way, the basic story of the movie. The campaign offers a few choices but it is ultimately linear (the final outcome is one-way). You can choose good or evil to start but the path to victory is more or less set in stone. Depending on your skill this game can be very challenging or disappointingly easy. If you excel at RTS games in general then this game will be very easy for you.
- the skirmish (free battle) mode is fun. After the umpteenth skirmish it can get a bit tiring - there is a multiplayer matching service included with the game so you can test your skills online if desired. There weren't many options for customizing or configuring the game for skirmish mode.
- The best part of the game for me was using the heroes. There are many heroes from the movies in this game and each of them has unique powers and abilities. The heroes are the key to the game and can turn the tide of battles single-handedly. The visuals, sound, and abilities of the heroes were very well-done.

Performance:
- This game is a resource hog. You should have plenty of hard disk space, free system memory, and a really good graphics card if you want to enjoy the visual details. Turning up visual settings will radically reduce performance. The sheer number of armies on the screen hits the system hard - if you have a mainstream PC be prepared for some serious lag / slowdowns in big battles.
- Even with a high-end rig I found this game to be sluggish. It was certainly good enough to play without issues but not as fast and responsive as, for instance, Rise of Nations. Make sure your computer exceeds the minimum requirements by a comfortable margin or be prepared for slow performance and/or reduced graphics and sound quality.

Overall this game is a fun time but it is nothing new. The battles can get boring and the Lord of the Rings theme, though one of my favorites, doesn't make the game unstoppable. There aren't a lot of options for army types, gameplay modes, etc...
If you can find this at a decent price it's worth the fun it will bring.

2 Stars for the game itself, 1 for the Lord of the Rings thematic elements, and 1 for the excellent adaption of Heroes in the gameplay.

Pretty cool game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: June 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, but it can get really old really fast. The coolest part for me was the campaign, You get to play as either good or evil. on good you get two cities to play as: gondor or rohan, and on evil you get Isengard and Mordor. The game gets a bit boring if you play the same thing too much (as in, you just have to destroy all the enemy forces) It's way more fun when you have to conquer places in the movie like: Edoras or Gondor Or Fangorn. Each side you play as in the game has a strong side and a weak side, for good th strong side is Rohan and the wek side is Gondor, for evil the strong side is Isengard and the weak side is mordor. The game has music from the film too. I would recommend this game for people who love warcraft or age of empires.

Probably the best Real Time Strategy game to date

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game has excellent graphics and very smooth and simple gameplay. It also manages to follow the storyline of the movies reasonaly well. This game is definatly not for the timid RTS player. To defeat you enemies, you have to keep the pressure on them constantly. You have to coordinate attacks on a number of different fronts with multiple unit types or you will not succeed. You can not just sit back in you base and destroy your enemy with special attacks like you could in Command and Conquer Generals. This game is highly energetic and fast-paced. The different factions (i.e. Rohan, Gondor, Isenguard, and Mordor)are well balanced and each has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. This game, however, is not quite perfect. First of all, you need to have a really good computer just to run it. Also, a lot of the mission objectives can be repetative. Most of the time, you just go in and kill everyone as quickly as possible. The epic sounding voices of the heroes can get old after a while too. I have heard some say that they believe that Gandalf is too powerful. I disagree with this. In fact, if anything, Gandalf was not powerful enough in the movies (the fact that Jackson thinks that Gandalf could not stand up to the Witch King would be laughable if it was not so disappointing). Gandalf killed a Balrog! Sauron, for lack of a better description, is a Balrog (the Silmarillion). Gandalf and Sauron are polar opposites; therefore, it makes sense for Gandalf to be more powerful than everyone else. Besides, his power is offset by the almost unreasonable amount of money require to recruit him.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions