First Battle for Middle-earth II trailer released

When EA announced last month that it had acquired the rights to the J.R.R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings novels to go along with its rights to Peter Jackson's blockbuster films based on the series, it promised that the recently announced Battle for Middle-earth II would let players go beyond the movies with heroes and creatures from the books.

One look at the new trailer for Battle for Middle-earth II confirms that the publishing giant kept that promise.

The two-minute trailer starts out tranquil enough, with some flybys of sweeping Middle-earth landscapes, but that quickly gives way to a menacing shadow overtaking settlements of dwarves, elves, and men. Following quickly behind the shadow (which it turns out belongs to a fire-breathing dragon) is a series of glimpses of the forces of Sauron on the move and in pitched battle. There's a posse of ringwraiths, spider-mounted orcs, armored trolls, warg-riding orcs, fell beasts, scorpion-mounted orcs, a Watcher in the Water, and more.

The trailer ends with another glimpse of the dragon as he spews forth flames that give way to the title screen, the official Web site address, and the release date of "early 2006." For more on Battle for Middle-earth II, check out GameSpot's preview.