LOTR: Battle For Middle-earth II, The Rise Of The Witch King

8.0
Great

Gameplay	7.5	"There's fun to be had in this solid expansion."
Graphics	8.0
Sound	9.0
Value	7.5

By Tristan Clark

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What do you get when you add an expansion pack onto a game that has quite a long title? Why, you get a game that has an even longer title than before. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II: The Rise of the Witch King. Or as we affectionately call it around the office, LotR: BfME2: RotWK.

Luckily, this is a game that is worth the trouble of saying its name. EA have delivered a solid, if sometimes uninspired, expansion to one of the more entertaining real-time strategy games of 2006. You could probably run through an expansion pack check-list and tick off most standard elements: many elements of the original game have been improved and expanded on; a new campaign, featuring a new faction, is playable; the old factions have been given new units; and new multiplayer maps are available. Overall, Rise of the Witch King provides enough new content and tweaks to satisfy most fans of Battle for Middle Earth II.

So why is it called Rise of the Witch King? Taking advantage of their full Tolkien license, EA have gone back in time a couple of thousand years before the events depicted in Lord of the Rings, choosing to focus on the fall of Arnor, the northern kingdom of men. And while Sauron was still hiding away after having his finger chopped off, his second in command – the Witch King, aka the lord of the Nazgul – arrives on the scene to take Arnor to pieces.

The story involves its fair share of subjugation, betrayal, and destruction, and is presented well enough, but it lacks the polish or intensity of the original campaign. You can tell that, given a slightly larger budget to play around with, the developers could have produced something with much more pizzazz – but such is generally the case with expansion packs. Still, the levels are well worth playing through, especially if you’re a Tolkien nut (it’s always interesting to see how people interpret lesser-known parts of Middle Earth’s history).

The Angmar faction itself is quite defensive, sharing a few similarities with the Dwarves. However, it also sports a wide range of units and unique powers that help set it apart from the other sides, giving fans of the series plenty of new strategies to explore. The other factions have also been given at least one new unit to help smooth over any gaps in their armies.

The War of the Ring mode, a somewhat flawed turn-based tactical mode first seen in Battle for Middle Earth II, is back, and has been vastly improved. There are new scenarios to choose from, and all sorts of extra features have been added that make it much more fun to play. In general, it’s a nice addition to the campaign and skirmish maps, and gives the expansion pack an added sense of value. The new skirmish and multiplayer maps also help round things out, providing a number of new locations that are on par with the original levels.

Looked at as a whole, Rise of the Witch King is well worth your time if you enjoyed Battle for Middle Earth II. While it probably could have benefited from a larger budget, it still provides plenty of fun, whether you’re a strategy fan or a Tolkien enthusiast.

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