The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
Developer(s)	Liquid Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment
Version	1000010_1010011
Released	November 8, 2003 (NA)
Genre	Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	PC

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring is a 2003 real-time strategy game (RTS) developed by Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the previous Battle Realms and its expansion, Winter of the Wolf, and published by Sierra Entertainment. Set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth, it expands upon the events of the War of the Ring as told in his fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. Unlike the later The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth by Electronic Arts, War of the Ring is based solely on the books, not the films by Peter Jackson. Thus, units like Frodo and Aragorn look and sound different from their counterparts as depicted in the films and the game. The game is officially licensed by Tolkien Enterprises, as are other book-based (as opposed to film-based) Tolkien games such as The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit (2003).

Gameplay

The game plays much like Warcraft III with added features, some previously used in Battle Realms. A similar layout and control system is used, and the player gets to control hero units with special abilities. Most regular units also have abilities of their own. The game also follows standard RTS conventions by having rally points, unit creation and purchase of upgrades at certain buildings, et cetera. Some features from Battle Realms that were carried over include toggleable walking and running for units and the ability to set buildings on fire. The game also emulates Battle Realms’ yin and yang system, where combat experience (or special actions) would provide a special resource that could be used to buy upgrades or units. This resource is called Yin or Yang in the previous game, depending on the faction being used, and is called Fate here. The player can use Fate Points (gained in combat) to summon heroes, purchase their special abilities, and activate special faction-specific Fate Powers that will aid him or her in gameplay (such as summoning an Ent or a Balrog). Also, some influence from Warcraft III can be seen, with the Minions of Sauron corrupting land with "war posts" before they can build upon it — very similar to Warcraft 's blight. (Also, when playing as the Free Peoples, one gets to control Huorns, who are very similar to Warcraft 's Night Elf Ancient Protector units. However, in this case, the latter creatures were probably inspired by the former in the first place.) Unique to the game are the Places of Power, monuments that award bonuses (like increased armor or attack) if controlled by the player. The player takes control of one by either finding on the map (by having a unit go near it) or wresting it from the foe (killing guards, if any, or else taking it when left unguarded). The game utilizes a more advanced graphics engine than does Battle Realms, with variable weather and lighting effects. The engine is able to generate eye candy such as blowing grass and units sporting bloodstained weapons after they have killed enemy units.

Multiplayer

The game also features a multiplayer mode of gameplay, where players fight against either the computer (skirmish) and/or other humans (via network) on preset or user-created maps. Like Battle Realms, this mode includes several variations like Razing and Survival. The game records the number of units killed by each unit as part of the interface when they are selected.

Factions

Goblin Spearmen.

The game features two factions to choose from: The Free Peoples of Middle-earth (the good side), and The Minions of Sauron (the evil). The Free Peoples include Men – such as those of Gondor and Rohan, the Rangers of the North, and the Beornings – as well as the Elves and the Dwarves. Playable heroes on this side include the Company of the Ring, as well as leaders such as Faramir and Erkenbrand. The Minions of Sauron include the various kinds of Orcs and Goblins, Wargs (ridden by the Orcs), Trolls, the Haradrim, and the giant spiders of Mirkwood. Playable Evil heroes include Gollum and the Witch-king of Angmar.

Campaigns

The game features a Good and an Evil campaign, in which one fights the War of the Ring from opposing sides. The game does not actually dwell on prominent battles such as the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (except for the Battle of the Hornburg, featured in the Good campaign) but rather presents scenarios based upon Tolkien’s writings (with varying degrees of license taken). For example, the Good campaign starts with Gimli and the Dwarves fighting the Orcs in the Iron Hills, and one Evil mission has Grishnákh destroying the Beacons of Gondor. A relatively more faithful scenario is the defense of Osgiliath with Boromir and Faramir.

Reception

The game received a lukewarm to average reception from reviewers. Its lower-quality graphics, especially when compared to games of the same genre, as well as its generally derivative gameplay prevented War of the Ring from becoming a commercial and critical success. The fact that it covers very little of the actual major battles of the War draws criticism from readers. Also, they take issue with the liberties taken with the source material for the sake of gameplay:

• By lumping all the good and evil peoples of Middle-earth into two factions, the game allows the player to create armies which may include allies who aren't supposed to be fighting the same battles (especially during campaigns). For example, the player may create Riders of Rohan during the defense of Osgiliath; it was fought without their participation.
• Also, the diversity of roles within armies is limited, to an extent (especially for the Good side, and during skirmish mode). For example, the player may create Gondor Swordsmen (infantry) and Riders of Rohan, but not Gondor horsemen and Rohan footmen. During the battle at Helm's Deep, one thus uses Gondor Swordsmen alongside Riders of Rohan (and Rohan Archers, who are an uncreatable, campaign-only unit).
• The game also takes some liberties with the units themselves (though for the most part, these do not explicitly conflict with Tolkien's writings). For instance, the Dwarves have the Axethrower, who throws axes, and the Shieldbreaker, who is armed with a hammer and a shield and is covered in plate armor. However, nowhere does Tolkien write that his Dwarves used hammers and throwing axes in combat, and plate armor was not used by at least the Free Peoples except for greaves or vambraces. Also, new characters have been invented – including Saleme, a female Harad assassin, and a playable hero.
• Also, the game presents Tolkien's goblins as distinct from his orcs (an error also present in The Battle for Middle-earth II); however, those terms refer to the same creatures.

External links

• The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring official site
• The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring at MobyGames