Game Overview
Let’s start with the fact that if you haven't seen the movies or read the book then you probably aren't going to have a single clue about what is actually going on and unfolding before your very own eyes. However, not knowing what is going on isn't a huge problem when playing Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth II.

The story mode itself is basically what isn't seen in the movies, the off screen story whilst Frodo was farting about with some journey or something! However it does seem as though it is almost another chapter to the story, an extension to an already massive trilogy. You get the choice to join good or evil, there are separate achievement points awarded for both story modes so in order to bump you Gamer score up your going to have to do both Good and Evil story modes. You then take it mission at a time having to complete objectives whilst you command your army (much like C&C - Red Alert) to certain areas of the map, to fight particular Goblins and Dragons and generally take control of everywhere your army heads to.

As mentioned the game controls and looks like a Lord of the Rings version of Command and Conquer Red Alert, and what made Red Alert so popular throughout the world?....... Yep, you guessed it, the Skirmish mode, and that is exactly what has been included with Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth, the never ending, always entertaining Skirmish Mode, however don't expect a walk in the park with this one, it is a little feisty and the enemy seem to be relentless in their attacks, you really have to have eyes in the back of your head and really be on the ball!

The graphics are good enough to work for this type of game, the buildings look fantastic and on HD everything looks extremely clear and very crisp, the cut scene graphics are pretty good but they are so short they don't really need to be all that amazing; you'll be so hooked on the game you won't care about cut scenes! As for the sound we haven't hooked it up to a surround sound system yet however we can almost guarantee that the surround sound potential of this game is going to be out of this world, with armies of Goblins running at you from all directions and Dragons flying over head in an echoing cave, it's mouth watering what this game has too offer sound wise, ok so some of the phrases the characters use when you select them to fight get a bit tedious and repetitive but once your in the thick of a battle that won't bother you at all!

Our Conclusions
If you loved the films and like Command and Conquer style of games then you are simply going to love Lord of the Rings - Battle for Middle Earth II, it is a top quality game that really shouldn't be missed by anyone, crisp graphics, great sound effects and a gameplay that will suck you in and spit you out a complete mess without having any recollection of the months gone by! Go and buy it NOW!

Overall Score: 9/10

Massive thanks to EA for sending this over and re-sparking our love for LOTR!