Battle for Middle Earth 2

[Greybeard]

So, bit of an oldie this but I missed it the first time around. Also, I coudn't find a computer game section in the forum so thought I'd put it here.

I found a copy of Battle for Middle Earth 2 for sale online (http://www.canada.for-sale.com/lord-of-the-rings-battle-for-middle-earth-2) and as I'm a big strategy head so thought I might pick it up. The screen shots look pretty good for such an old game:

http://www.cdn.actiontrip.com/images/reviews/thelordoftheringsthebattleformiddleearth2theriseof thewitchking3.jpg

The reviews are good too - 84 on Meta critic. I thought it would be a good idea to ask some real Tolkien fans though. Has anyone played it? What do you think? Does it stick with the Tolkien canon or does it venture off?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Zigûr]

Has anyone played it? What do you think? Does it hold stick with the Tolkien cannon or does it venture off?

Any advice would be gratefully received.
I've played this a lot. It's a fairly decent game if you're content with the designs to be based on the films (and some slightly iffy choices for fleshing out factions like Dwarves and Goblins). The gameplay is relatively straightforward but I like that you build whole blocks of men instead of individual soldiers (as many strategy games were still doing at the time). The upgrade system is a bit tedious; you pay for upgrades at the relevant building, but then have to upgrade each unit of soldiers individually, essentially paying for the upgrade twice.

I have to admit, I reinstalled it recently and didn't enjoy it that much, but admittedly I've been playing it on and off for years so maybe I'm just a bit too familiar with it. I'd say it's worth playing if you've never played it before.

In some respects I preferred the first one, although it's more limited and only has the "film" factions. The second one merges Gondor and Rohan into a single faction, which is a little odd. Nonetheless it's a fairly entertaining game and surely pretty inexpensive these days.