Doesn't live up to either Lord of the Rings nor Star Wars Battlefront 2. Probably the most disappointing game ever made.
How do I know? Becuase I've played other games, like Assassin's creed 2. Even Pandemic's (also disappointing, but less so) Mercenaries 2 is far more impressive simply from an engine standpoint. In short, this game feels like a last-gen title.
You may think "I'm a big Lord of the Rings fan, so I'll probably like it anyway." I thought I would too for the same reason- I was WRONG. In fact, liking the movies means you should probably AVOID this game.
Why? The battles, even putting scale aside to be reasonable to the developers, are NOTHING like the movies because the fighting looks retarded and uncool. Mages are BS That's not what the battles looked like at all. Spells going left and right. Please.
What would have been good is a sword fighting combo system that actually acknowledged where enemies are- like Assassin's Creed's, in which you are in a fighting stance and can pull combos based on where you're pulling the control stick. In this game, you just swipe your sword. This happened in EA's "Return of the King" also, but in that game, at least swords actually hit each other if each person swung at the same time, and there were shields to make it interesting.
If you love Lord of the Rings and are looking for a great game to go along with it, there is thankfully another game from EA Games that is MUCH MUCH better. Two actually, although one more than the other (the 2nd). Even if you don't like Real time strategy games, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II, and the first Battle for Middle Earth, are the quintessential Lord of the Rings movie games. They were expertly executed, and used the license to great effect (without raping it like this one). They actually expanded off the movies in awesome ways and used the books too. Even if you don't like Real Time Strategy Games, I bet when you put a Berserker on a ladder in Battle for Middle Earth 1, and watch as he waits to jump off onto the wall, the awesomeness and your fandom will overtake you. Play those instead.