The Battle for Middle-Earth Spreads

EA takes naming to comical levels in the first PC expansion for its Lord of the Rings RTS series. First images inside.

Xbox 360 owners are only now getting accustomed to the new control scheme brought in for Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth II and already EA is prepping an update for the PC version. This one's a mouthful.

When they're not working out ways to add in yet more words into the title, the makers of Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth II - Rise Of The Witch-King have been toiling away on the gameplay and backstory for this episode, which is set just before the events in Peter Jackson's recent flick trilogy.

The all-new singleplayer mode follows, as the title suggests, the rise of the wicked Witch-King and his efforts to subjugate the kingdom of Arnor. Thanks to a deal struck with the books' rights holder, EA has been able to include story elements plucked from author J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction.

"Fans will love exploring the evil side of Middle-Earth as described in Tolkien's fiction and brought to life in the visual style of the New Line Cinema films," reckons EA's Mike Verdu. "This game is set to deliver the ultimate RTS Middle-Earth experience."

Part of that is down to the new elements that expand gameplay. There's a new factions and new units for all the old ones too. The War of the Ring metagame has been gussied up too.

Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II - Rise of the Witch-King will be out for PC later this year. Find out more at EA's official site.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games