LOTR computer games...

[The Sixth Wizard]

Perhaps this will sound childish, as you are probably not all teenage computer nerds like me :D, but has anyone played any Tolkien-style computer games? I have managed to rack up a total of 3 games based in or around Tolkien's world. Cool eh?

#1. The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King:

Vulgar annoying game. I got it in a pack with Command and Conquer Generals and both are rubbish. All you do is go around the ROTK movie doing all the fighting bits. Oh whoopee-doo, I get to slay the Mouth of Sauron. :mad: And the darn sound always stuffs up on my computer. Grrrr.

#2. The Hobbit. (Sierra):

The best one. It isn't random violence like the last game and is much closer to the book. Basically you are Bilbo and you have to beat all the levels (chapters) in 'The Hobbit'. Sneaking past Smaug is very fun and so is rushing towards the Green Dragon Inn, only to find the bridge is out. Sound is great, the Shire sounds like the Shire. Aaaaah...

#3. The Lord of the Rings, The Battle For Middle Earth:

This is like Age of Empires, but Lord of the Rings themed. You build a base, create units (Gondor Soldiers, Isengard Uruk-Hai etc) and go do glorious battle with the enemy. Annoyingly, at this time the game designers didn't have permission to recreate the books, only the movie, so you can't play as Dale or Mirkwood etc. But still fun.

So Now is the Time to find out, is a Tolkien enthusiast also a gamer :p ? Has anyone else got any LOTR games?

[The 1,000 Reader]

I played the ROTK console one and had fun (Pelenor Fields was my favorite level, especially when I didn't have any super-powerful guys.)

Battle for Middle-Earth was also pretty fun, though the outpost plots was somewhat annoying. Witch-King cost way too much and each patch shifted the balance horribly.

Battle for Middle-Earth II was much more fun, and the campaign was much more involving. From assaulting Dol Guldur to doing a super pre-empetive attack on Lothlorien, I was impressed, and the balance seemed more solid.

Rise of the Witch-King just increased the fun. The Angmar campaign made you feel like a real general more than anything, the Witch-King finally had his own voice-acting (I hope the patch gives the Mordor Witch-King the voicework as well,) Angmar was thought out pretty well, Turning the captain of Cardolan into a wraith was a good moment, and Glorfindel being the narrator was a good touch. I don't get why we couldn't have a second campaign instead of an epilogue though. It was still good though.

[Laitoste]

I play the Hobbit on Xbox all the time--it's basically my favorite game! And my little cousins love it too.

I have the RotK game, but I haven't finished it yet. My brother has, but I don't think he liked it very much.

I also played a movie-based RPG, the title of which I have forgotten. I stopped playing because it got too boring.

I also have a Fellowship of the Ring (by Black Label Games) game that is book-based, that I really enjoy, although it seriously (and strangely) deviates at the very end. I really liked trying to beat off Old Man Willow.

[Mansun]

I found BFME 1 excellent, as it was just like the films. The battle at Helm's Deep was fantastic. BFME 2 wasn't in my opinion as fun to play, as all the battles fro the previous game had already been done, so the latter version just seemed to be added on & wasn't based on any story & seemed pointless. The Rise of the Witch-King was much more like BFME 1, as it was based on something.

[The Might]

I played the War of the Ring, but I thought it was boring after a while.
The problem is you only have two sides, and not several kingdoms, and also sometimes units can only be used in certain missions...that's a pity.
There also are a lot of things different from the book - summoned balrogs or ents, strange dwarf units are just a few examples.
But...it was ok.

[High King Fingolfin]

I have quite a few LotR games. For PC I have Return of the King, which I am extremely bad at and can make no judgements on, BFME 1, which I enjoyed a lot, and BFME 2, which is an excellent game and one of the best RTS's I've ever played. I don't have Rise of the Witch-King, but I hope to get it sometime. For Gamecube I have Two Towers, which I like, and The Third Age, a movie based RPG that I like, but has far too many elements of canon breakage to even mention.

[FeRaL sHaDoW]

x-box game = lord of the rings "the 3rd age"

[Anáwiel]

I am currently playing the beta of Lord of the Rings Online, the game is pretty good (the NDA has been lifted, so I can speak freely about it :p ) I've seen so far only small parts, but I am so excited about it, I absolutely love it. Of course there is some stuff to fix for the release but it is great.

I have played also LotR: The Fellowship or something, but the game appeared too stupid, I quit at the very beginning when I had done all quests in Hobbiton and had to leave it.

I don't like strategy games but I considered testing War of the Ring and The Battle for Middle Earth 1 and 2, especially the second one sounds quite promising. Probably I will give them a try some day...

[Elmo]

The best game ever would be Middle Earth: Total War, the campaign mode would be immense :D

[The 1,000 Reader]

The best game ever would be Middle Earth: Total War, the campaign mode would be immense :D

BFMEII and ROTW do have the War of the Ring mode as a feature.

In an odd sense, it was The Third Age that made me want BFME. At first, I thought that Third Age would rock, but then I went to the main site and realized that not only would it be RPG, it wouldn't have the main characters. Depressed, I checked out BFME, and I was much more pleased.

[Mansun]

Any clues as to how to evade the Nazgul in the Fellowship of the Ring whilst still in Hobbiton? I have never got passed this level!

[Oddwen]

In Black Label's FotR? Frustrating, isn't it? It took me a while too. It's all a matter of timing.

I have that as well as The Hobbit for x-box - I love The Hobbit. The graphics are cartoony without being rediculous, the music is gorgeous, and it's at my level of gaming. >.>

I like the look of FotR - the Barrow-wights and the wights in the Old Forest still creep me out. The worst part about it is that Moria is so dark - I can't see anything and I keep getting lost!

I've played TTT and RotK - pretty blah. Tho my brother and I enjoyed staying up late quite a few nights trying to get past the Mumak battle in RotK before we finally looked up cheats.

I also played a movie-based RPG, the title of which I have forgotten. I stopped playing because it got too boring.

Ditto. Feh on you, turn-based twice-cursed pincher-scimitared uruk-hai.

As for computer games, erm, no.

[The Sixth Wizard]

Speaking of RPGs, can anyone imagine what it would be like if Bethesda (the guys who made Oblivion and Morrowind, which are RPGs ahead of their time, by the way) got a hold of the Silmarillion?

*drools disturbingly*

[Mansun]

I would like to see BFME III with the Last Alliance against Sauron. That is a true clash of the titans.

[The 1,000 Reader]

As far as titanic clashes go in Middle-Earth, the War of Wrath was the largest and most destructive. Somehow, guys armed with swords and arrows sank a continent.

[Elmo]

Speaking of RPGs, can anyone imagine what it would be like if Bethesda (the guys who made Oblivion and Morrowind, which are RPGs ahead of their time, by the way) got a hold of the Silmarillion?

Thing is they couldn't do the large battles in the Silmarillion. In Oblivion when you have to get reinforcements for the great battle to against the Oblivion hordes each city sends one guy so you end up having an army of about nine people. I don't think they could reproduce the Nirnaeth...

[Anáwiel]

Speaking of RPGs, can anyone imagine what it would be like if Bethesda (the guys who made Oblivion and Morrowind, which are RPGs ahead of their time, by the way) got a hold of the Silmarillion?

*drools disturbingly*
The Silmarillion is far too complicated, it is suitable only for an mmorpg. And I think Turbine should get it, they have done such an amazing work with LotR, of course not perfect but still wonderful. I am in love with this game.
As for Bethesda, they should stick to the Elder Scrolls, I am waiting for the 5th part :)

[Rumil]

Hi all,

I wonder if any of the other 'old timers' remember Middle Earth computer games from back in the last millenium? The two I can think of offhand were-

'The Hobbit' a classic text driven adventure game on the ZX Spectrum, where I don't think I ever got past the spiders in Mirkwood. Awesome at the time, laughable now I guess, infuriating trying to type in the right commands etc.

'Shadowfax' which was a ME shootemup where Gandalf zapped hordes of Nazgul with lightning bolts, possibly on BBC micro?? Amusing for a few minutes as I remember,

Cheers,

[Knight of Gondor]

The only one I've played is Return of the King, and I played it on a PC format. (I've never gotten any nintendo console; I've lost track of how many there are now.)

I used to think it was insanely difficult. Beating the King of the Dead was a BEAR. But having succeeded in beating the game, all the levels became a lot more easy.

My favorite levels are the South Gate (fun for when you want virtually unlimited combat, although eventually you can clear the battlefield) and the Courtyard of Gondor level. (Anyone need any advice on beating any RotK level, I'm the guy to ask.)

I really wish they'd brought out The Two Towers on PC, though. Really, really wish they did.

I have Age of Empires II and the Conquerers expansion, but when I saw the previews for the LotR strategy games, it became evident that the creators had put almost as much, if not more, effort into bringing the bad guys to life. And strategy and mindless amusement not withstanding, I couldn't bring myself to play the forces of Darkness, or be glad at a victory for me and a defeat for Gondor.

I still remember the game's creator gloating when he conjured up a balrog and scalded a Gondorian soldier to death. Jerk. :p

[Knight of Gondor]

I've played TTT and RotK - pretty blah. Tho my brother and I enjoyed staying up late quite a few nights trying to get past the Mumak battle in RotK before we finally looked up cheats.

The version I have gives you the cheats after you beat the game, and you can't activate them beforehand.

[Celegost]

I have some good games you might like to try:
The Battle for Middle-Earth II
The Battle for Middle-Earth II: The Rise of the Witch-King
The Fellowship of the Ring (based on the book rather than the Films)
The Third age (annoying, repetitive, tedious and complicated fighting but a good story)
The Return of the King

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming roleplayer "The White Council" (to summarise, basically GTA:Middle-Earth) :D

[Elmo]

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming roleplayer "The White Council" (to summarise, basically GTA:Middle-Earth)

I found this on Wikipedia :(
On February 2, 2007, however, the game was delayed indefinitely, and may be canceled.[2] This is said to be due to management problems, perhaps Steven Gray quit.[3]

[Celegost]

Yeah I saw that one too but im still keeping my hopes up
:D