Lord Of The Rings, The Battle For Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king

An expansion that lasts as long as its title? No.

Version
PC

Developer
EA Los Angeles

Publisher
EA

Genre
RTS

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With the addition of the new faction does come new units - massive trolls that blunder their way through enemy units, scattering bodies around at will are clearly great fun for a while, though the initial glee does soon wear off.

"The Witch-king himself is a great character and is suitably badass."

The Witch-king himself is a great character and is suitably badass, leading the charge into battle and cutting through the enemy with ease. A few different siege weapons and special powers also come in to play, along with other units included to balance the faction. Again though, it's really nothing that spectacular - another side to play as online, at least.

This is certainly one of those difficult ones - whilst there isn't anything particularly wrong with Rise of the Witch-King, or BFME for that matter, it really doesn't do anything spectacularly well. Everything about the game is decidedly average, aside from the usual flashy EA presentation and nothing jumps out and grabs players, demanding the game be played.

There's just too much that's underwhelming about the experience - the epic battles seen on the big screen or in a reader's imagination are carried out with a dozen or so units each side: hardly the kind of 'epic' associated with the LoTR franchise.

Medieval: Total War 2 is an utterly fantastic game and shows the entire RTS genre how things should be done, even if it doesn't have the benefit of an entire LoTR universe to draw from. Having said that, Witch-king is not exactly a pricey expansion, and you'll already find it for respectable prices on your internet shopping run.

Graphics	Sound	Gameplay	Depth	Presentation	OVERALL
7.0	8.0	7.0	6.0	6.0	7.0

THE VERDICT: Those who own BFME II and have a strong interest in the LoTR and the story surrounding it should get a hold of Witch-king. Those who are interested in the multiplayer aspect and want a new faction to muck about with should look in to getting it. And those who have a passing interest in the setting, or have yet to pick up BFME II, should probably try elsewhere, as the experience offered by the game as a whole - not just the expansion - is barely above average.

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Lord Of The Rings, The Battle For Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king

An expansion that lasts as long as its title? No.

Kikizo:

Kikizo Classic:

Entertainment:

Lord Of The Rings, The Battle For Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king

An expansion that lasts as long as its title? No.

Kikizo:

Kikizo Classic:

Entertainment:

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