User Rating: 8 | The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring PC
This game is in the higher half of RTS games. The game is a good mix of popular elements people want to see in a modern RTS. The gameplay is good, but could have been enhanced by simple things, like when you give commands, you don't always have a mark confirmation (the attack move when you set the game in left click mode). The game is user friendly, as the units surround the target by themselves. That's a good and a bad thing depending of the hunger of players for micromanagement. Most skills require a head to use, that add a bit of strategy and possibility to get better at the game. The interface is classic, so easy to use. I haven't played multiplayer game yet but the game system should be good for a good fight, since it promotes attacking to get Fate Points (Fate points are a special kind of ressource used to summon heroes and use special powers à la Command and Conquers : Generals). The graphics are the down side of the game. While being not bad, they are lower then what you can expect for a game today. The faces are single textured. The animation of the characters feel choppy from time to time and when there is a lot of action in the screen you wonder what is a unit and what is the ground (especially when fighting over the Evil Side special ground). The water and grass effects are cool enough to make the maps look more alive. But they could have work this to add special advantage for being in the grass (maybe cover from ranged attack or something like this, but I'm dreaming here since there is nothing of that in any game). The spell effects are good too (especially the Fate Powers) The voices of the units are clear and good. Exactly what you expect in this game genre, even though they lack originality (there is some exact Warcraft III sounds with almost the same voice). The music fits the theme. If the multiplayer is as it looks to me, the game value should be good enough. But the game will need a patch to increase a bit the AI. The computer is competitive, but have really strange strategies (like attack when his base is being razed). the 20 missions are entertaining and any LotR fans will love to control Gimli, Legolas in action. One sure thing, casual RTS players and LotR fans will love this game.
