The Lord of the Rings franchise has an interesting history with video games, as it's experimented with a wealth of different genres over the years. From a grid-based tactical game to a LEGO adaption, Lord of the Rings has seen more video games than most licensed franchises, Star Wars notwithstanding.

Sadly, many Lord of the Rings games are nearly impossible to find these days and haven't seen any kind of update or re-release. In this category is The Battle for Middle Earth and its sequel, The Battle for Middle Earth 2. These real-time strategy classics did a phenomenal job at adapting Middle Earth, on top of having some of the best strategy gameplay found in the genre.

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It's incredibly disappointing, then, that The Battle for Middle Earth games are a headache to try and play in this day and age. It's proof that classic Lord of the Rings games need some kind of update, or even a simple re-release through digital stores like Steam.

The Battle For Middle Earth Takes Serious Work to Play in 2020, and That's a Shame

Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth 2

There's no good, legal, way to obtain the Battle for Middle Earth games, without paying nearly $100 on eBay or some other shopping site. A bigger problem, however, is that even when players obtain a copy of the game it doesn't play properly on Windows 10. Both Battle for Middle Earth games simply won't start up past the splash screen. Luckily fans have kept the games alive through patches, updates, and fixes, but, sadly, anyone wanting to boot up the games in 2021 needs to go through a series of fixes to even play.

While the first Battle for Middle Earth set the stage, Battle for Middle Earth 2 really shined as one of the most ambitious Lord of the Rings games out there. The original focuses on the war in the north of Middle Earth, following the elf Glorfindel and the dwarf Gloin. Of course, there's also an evil campaign to play through on the opposite side. The game obviously takes liberties, but much of the story is based on info Tolkien wrote himself or was detailed in his appendices. Battle for Middle Earth 2 opens up gameplay from the first by letting players place building anywhere, instead of having set locations. Units are grouped into battalions, which significantly bumps up the scale of battles. There's a smart interplay between unit types, requiring players to find a good balance of melee units, ranged archers, and cavalry. On top of this, there's a dynamic powers system that can instantly change the flow of battle, letting players call in an extra battalion of soldiers or summon a fearsome unit like the Balrog or eagles. The campaign has nice mission variety, but the more interesting mode is War of the Ring. In this mode players and CPs vie for control of a world map with different territories. It's a bit like Total War's gameplay style, just boiled down and more streamlined. It's a blast to battle for control of different territories, especially considering a match can have up to six players, all of which have three armies roaming around the world. Battle for Middle Earth 2 masterfully uses the aesthetic of Middle Earth, as well as its music. Players feel like they're inhabiting Middle Earth, commanding massive armies in the stunning battle from the films. Campaign missions that task players with defense are particular highlights, like one that has players building up defenses around the mountain of Erebor and surviving a lengthy siege.

There's a handful of quality Lord of the Rings games, but Battle for Middle Earth 2 stands at the top as something the developers put a ton of time and care into. It's clearly built by and for Lord of the Rings fans, which makes it sad that it's so difficult to find. The right to Lord of the Rings now lies with Warner Bros., who released Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, which could explain why so many of the old games are so hard to find. Still, Lord of the Rings is a massive series, and surely re-releasing games would turn a profit. It'd be nice to see some deal get carved out to keep the games alive before the only thing that remains is what fans have been able to salvage.

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