The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II expanded the successful concept of the first installment with two new playable factions, the Goblins and the Men of the East, which raised the number of sides in the conflict to four in total, so the game covered the whole world of Middle-earth beyond the main film storyline better. EA Los Angeles also added a map of the entire continent in the style of Risk, on which the player manages several battle fronts at once, which added a strategic layer reaching beyond individual battles.

The combat system stayed true to the previous installment but was enriched with heroes with their own skill trees, mounted units and more spectacular spells that can turn the course of a battle within a few seconds. The graphics and unit animations moved forward, and thanks also to its reasonable requirements the game ran well on the mid-range hardware of the day, so a wide base of players could enjoy it. The multiplayer part, with battles of several players against each other, was among the things that kept the game alive long after release.

Critics mainly praised the expanded content and the variety of factions, although some players missed the same strong cinematic feel as in the first installment, because this time the story strayed further from the canon of the books and films. Even so, the game ranks among the best strategies based on The Lord of the Rings license, and for fans of the genre it remains playable to this day thanks to community mods that expand the content and fix minor shortcomings of the original game.