PC Strategy Roundup 2004 - Page 11 - Features at GameSpot

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth
Release Date: November 2004
Developer: EA LA
Publisher: EA Games
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Based on Peter Jackson's award-winning motion pictures
Four factions based on Tolkien's lore
"Emotion" system causes characters to act and react to onscreen action
Minimal interface
Streamlined base-building with "veteran" buildings

Watch a The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth video. Click "Stream for Free" for higher resolution. EA Games' EA LA studio previously worked on Generals, the fast-paced, good-looking 3D extension to the popular Command & Conquer series. The studio is now going in a slightly different direction by making a strategy game based on Peter Jackson's award-winning motion pictures (which were based on the literary works of author J.R.R. Tolkien). The game will feature two single-player campaigns: a "good" campaign and an "evil" campaign. These campaigns will familiarize you with the game's four playable factions: the human riders of Rohan, the human soldiers of Gondor, the armies of Isengard, and the legions of Mordor.

No matter which side you play as, you'll find that Battle for Middle-earth optionally has a surprisingly streamlined interface with no icons, status bars, or numbers onscreen. You see just your units and your buildings, if you even have any--buildings will upgrade themselves over time into veteran status to produce stronger units of that type (rather than forcing you to research upgrades). This is so you can focus on the spectacular battles between ents (huge moving trees), orcs, trolls, elves, and humans, who will display distinct "emotions" in battle--cheering when victorious and cowering when routed. Battle for Middle-earth will attempt to cater to beginners who may be fans of the movies but not real-time strategy experts--but the game also clearly has more than enough depth to keep veterans happy.

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Lords of the Realm III

Historic Real-Time...
Release: Mar 17, 2004
ESRB: Teen

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