Guardians of Middle-Earth

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 110 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 110
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 110
  3. Negative: 47 out of 110

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. WhyteDem0n
    Nov 16, 2013
    0
    This game is by far the most awful MOBA I have ever tried playing. Before I even get into the actual gameplay, I'd like to discuss it's horrible business model. Guardians of Middle-Earth (GoME) has a $19.99 base price. All that $20 buys you is access to the game. That's right, you still have to either grind out in game currency (similar to League of Legends' Influence Points system) or buyThis game is by far the most awful MOBA I have ever tried playing. Before I even get into the actual gameplay, I'd like to discuss it's horrible business model. Guardians of Middle-Earth (GoME) has a $19.99 base price. All that $20 buys you is access to the game. That's right, you still have to either grind out in game currency (similar to League of Legends' Influence Points system) or buy characters in packs for $15 a pack. If you decide to grind out the currency, then you forgo spending currency on it's rune/gem system (which is the -only- character customization there is, more on that later) and thus gimp your gameplay experience even further. They've combined a pay-to-play model with a free-to-play model and failed miserably in doing so.

    So, on to the the actual game. It's apparent right from the get go that this game is a lazy port from consoles; there are no graphical options aside from resolution and vsync, there are no customizable keybindings, and the mouse/keyboard controls simply do not work in the current default scheme provided. That being said, the game's graphics are rather decent. It also has licensed voice acting for every character which is quite good. Leaving the aesthetics, this game removed items and currency as a form of powering up your character in game. Instead, all of your character customization (aside from choosing which skills to put points into as you level up) is done before you get into the game via a gem/rune system. Runes are pretty much the closest thing to items you will see in the game. You have an 8 slot belt that you can put these runes into and runes can be 2-4 slots in size. These runes provide unique passives for your character. On top of the runes, you have to fill each slot in the rune with a gem that matches the color of the slot on the rune. The next customization you bring with you into a round of GoME are potions. These potions are single use, meaning you can only use them for one round and have to purchase more for the next round. Finally, you have guardian abilities (see: summoner spells from LoL). Thankfully, these are all free and unlocked from the very start. So, to fully prepare yourself for a round of GoME, you have to purchase runes, 8 gems to fill said runes, and single use potions. There is no feasible way to do this AND be able to afford characters as well. This would be fine, except for the aforementioned $20 you already paid to be able to play the game in the first place.

    Finally, when you look at this game's abundant problems, it's not hard to understand why there is nothing resembling a playerbase for this particular game. This brings another interesting problem that has many people scratching their heads. When trying to use the matchmaking to play with other human players, after X amount of time of waiting without finding players, it will fill all the empty slots with bots and just launch the game. Personally, I have never seen more than 2-3 actual people in a single match. There is not a single other MOBA out there that does this, and for good reason. When I click "Play 5v5 with other humans" I expect to do just that, play with humans. I expect to wait however long it takes to find 9 other players to play a proper round. This game's developers threw logic out the window and decide this was a better way to handle matchmaking queues. It's not, at all.

    When confronted about all these problems, the developers have consistently been dismissive. They have tried giving the game away (see: WB Humble Bundle sale)to solve it's playerbase issue. This did absolutely nothing but bring more attention to it's problems. The developers have shown no commitment or investment into this game's progression. It will almost certainly fade out of existence within the next year or so unless big changes are made. The biggest change that needs to happen is this game going free to play. Going free to play is the -only- hope for survival GoME has. Given the amount of other successful, functioning MOBAs that are -all- free to play already, there is no reason to be buying/playing GoME at all.

    Do yourself a favor, and stay away from this game at all costs. In no way is this game worth $20 or the HDD space it would take up. I have no idea what game these people giving it positive ratings are playing, but it certainly is not the game the rest of us have played.    … Expand
  2. Grim13
    Nov 25, 2013
    2
    -SCAM ALERT- -SCAM ALERT- -SCAM ALERT- -SCAM ALERT- -SCAM ALERT- -SCAM ALERT-

    Pay $20... then discover the $100 worth of DLC available. ROFLMAO. They got my $20. I'll be damned if they get any more.
  3. Nalsii
    Dec 21, 2013
    2
    My brief background: I've been a gamer since the 1980s, a PC gamer since 1991. Though I'm not a hardcore fan of Tolkien, I am a fan nevertheless I have a lifetime subscription in Lord of the Rings Online after all. Also, I play LoL and DotA2 regularly, having played HoN in the past as well.
    I wanted to like this game, I really did. Seeing as it is a console port, I had next to no    My brief background: I've been a gamer since the 1980s, a PC gamer since 1991. Though I'm not a hardcore fan of Tolkien, I am a fan nevertheless I have a lifetime subscription in Lord of the Rings Online after all. Also, I play LoL and DotA2 regularly, having played HoN in the past as well.
    I wanted to like this game, I really did. Seeing as it is a console port, I had next to no expectations of it, but even these almost nonexistent expectations have not been fully met. One of these expectations was to be able to customize my controls and graphics options. Even though I didn't need to do it in the end (I have a good enough PC and I'm more or less used to the control scheme they went for here), I expect a PC game to allow me to adjust at least those two options. I mean, look at Dust: An Elysian Tail a godlike 1-man indie game that had come out on consoles and was later ported by the same one guy to the PC in an EXEMPLARY fashion.
    It's sad, really. The game itself seems like an interesting entry-level DotA/MobA/whatever set in a great world, with familiar protagonists and nice enough graphics (except the portrait art what's the deal with disfigured hand-drawn portraits of faces I am expected to know?), reasonable in-battle mechanics focused on immediate action and base upgrades instead of picking the right item build and farming money to afford it, and offering enough metagame complexity in the form of runes and gems to keep those more demanding interested if played on a console.
    On the PC, the experience is extremely disappointing. What's also disappointing is the monetization model: Dozens of dollars for the game, still requiring micropayments/DLCs or weeks of playing afterwards to be able to afford most of the basic/mandatory stuff? Again, maybe on a console (LMAO Forza 5) where the game is reportedly decent, but who the hell would subject themselves to this on a PC where the market is extremely oversaturated, with the genre's pinnacles being readily available, even free to play, and incomparably more user-friendly (with enough players playing them to actually play with/against)?
    I spent good 3 hours on this game, which is 3 hours more than I should have, because that's 3 hours I could have spent playing all the far better PC games I have, including LoL and Lord of the Rings Online, both of which offer an almost infinitely better experience than this game does.    … Expand
  4. Orrimaarko
    Nov 11, 2013
    2
    P2P connection makes lag common place. The game itself costs money, while around half of the available champions ALSO cost money, so purchasing the game doesn't even unlock the full game. This game should be free to play. There are no cosmetic upgrades for characters. The ONLY positive about this game is the ease that it plays with a controller. Overall much better MOBA choices andP2P connection makes lag common place. The game itself costs money, while around half of the available champions ALSO cost money, so purchasing the game doesn't even unlock the full game. This game should be free to play. There are no cosmetic upgrades for characters. The ONLY positive about this game is the ease that it plays with a controller. Overall much better MOBA choices and much better LOTR games. Buyer beware.… Expand
  5. Kagadar
    Nov 15, 2013
    0
    This game is a war crime. It plays horribly with mouse/keyboard, and the AI is dumb as a brick (given the difficulty with finding other humans to play against, this really does matter).
  6. andygum1
    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    They're no dedicated servers on the PC version so trying to play 5v5 is near impossible. The keyboard and mouse controls are terrible you cannot edit your own key bindings. The game constantly crashes my advice is avoid like the plague. So much potential just wasted makes me sad this should have been the next big MOBA imo.
  7. Scytale
    Nov 16, 2013
    1
    I recently bought this via the Humble Bundle and whilst my expectations were not high, I was thinking there may be a few hours of enjoyment ...

    Oh how I was wrong, oh how this game despoiled my meager hopes. This is a 5v5 MOBA (hero fight with elements of tower defense) done at it bare minimum basic features, with a tiny arena which lacks any depth. What is worse is the actual game    I recently bought this via the Humble Bundle and whilst my expectations were not high, I was thinking there may be a few hours of enjoyment ...

    Oh how I was wrong, oh how this game despoiled my meager hopes.

    This is a 5v5 MOBA (hero fight with elements of tower defense) done at it bare minimum basic features, with a tiny arena which lacks any depth. What is worse is the actual game itself terrible UI with little-to-no feedback, unresponsive or confusing interactivity, broken mechanics, horrible hit boxes for selection+targeting and unbalanced gameplay all of which lead to an experience that is just pure frustration.

    Oh and if you didn't get it through the Humble Bundle then then are you to make you pay, pay again and pay some more.    … Expand
  8. H3xu5
    Nov 20, 2013
    1
    I really don't have words to describe how bad this game is.

    I'm a veteran of League of Legends Beta, Dota 2 Beta, Defense of the Ancients, and Heroes of Newerth. This game doesn't even grasp the most basic of MOBA concepts. The UI offers no feedback. The game is confusing because of this. There is no direction, you literally have no clue where to go or what to do as a new player.    I really don't have words to describe how bad this game is.

    I'm a veteran of League of Legends Beta, Dota 2 Beta, Defense of the Ancients, and Heroes of Newerth. This game doesn't even grasp the most basic of MOBA concepts. The UI offers no feedback. The game is confusing because of this. There is no direction, you literally have no clue where to go or what to do as a new player. The game expect you to know MOBA as a genre but does nothing to point you in the direction their take on staples like item shops, jungles, teamfighting, etc.

    I got this game under the Humble Bundles. If I could I would simple request they keep this game and give the worth to charity. It's simply terrible. The sad truth, as I wanted a Middle Earth licensed game to succeed.

    In summation. Confusing UI, Lack of direction, Lacks most basic MOBA concepts, Expensive startup.

    Would not recommend to anyone.    … Expand
  9. bbg118
    Nov 15, 2013
    3
    I am going to admit now that I haven't played this game almost at all, but what I have played and seen will unfortunately keep me from coming back for more. I'll start out with saying that I am playing this game on PC, I got it with the Humble Bundle, which is honestly the only reason I am playing it now. While the developers have done well giving users chances to get free gold with whichI am going to admit now that I haven't played this game almost at all, but what I have played and seen will unfortunately keep me from coming back for more. I'll start out with saying that I am playing this game on PC, I got it with the Humble Bundle, which is honestly the only reason I am playing it now. While the developers have done well giving users chances to get free gold with which to purchase in game items, it is simply foolish to both charge for the game itself AND heroes. I understand that developers need to make money somehow, but it just seems foolish to try and make users pay for both when there are so many cheaper options out there. getting back on track, I hope that the game runs better on Xbox, because PC play was unbearable from me. I used to have a terrible computer that I played other MOBAs on, and it had terrible lag, so I am used to that. What I am not used to is game breaking bugs such as being unable to target ANY ENEMY UNIT halfway through the game. Heroes, minions, didn't matter. I couldn't target any of them, which left half of my abilities useless. I tried a game after that and the bug persisted. This is mostly what turned me off from the game, along with a lot of other small things. Unless the Xbox version had more effort put into it, other reviews on this site straight out lie when they say graphics and gameplay are amazing. The graphics are decent, nothing to brag about, but the lag and bugs really kill the game. Overall the idea of the game is great, I just wish it had been better implemented. As it stands I truly believe the game looks like a shoddy money grab using the LoTR franchise name. If the developers can fix the gameplay and lagging issues, this will be a game I would come back to ad enjoy. But until then, it will sit in my Steam library gathering dust.… Expand
  10. Zutha
    Aug 30, 2013
    3
    Unfortunately my experience has been very poor. The reason for this is that unlike LoL or DotA, games are using a shared connection between players in this poor moba. So all it takes is a single player to have a bad connection and the game lags consistently for everyone.

    When first logging in you can't even play the main iconic characters, but you can purchase with DLC.... I don't    Unfortunately my experience has been very poor. The reason for this is that unlike LoL or DotA, games are using a shared connection between players in this poor moba. So all it takes is a single player to have a bad connection and the game lags consistently for everyone.

    When first logging in you can't even play the main iconic characters, but you can purchase with DLC.... I don't understand how they can charge for characters after charging a purchase cost when better moba's are available for free.

    If this wasn't lord of the rings then it wouldn't of seen the light of day    … Expand
  11. Drain
    Aug 18, 2014
    0
    Guardians of Middle Earth is an absolutely abysmal game, ripping off other MOBAs while abusing the LOTR license. It's definitely another movie licensed cash grab pile of trash, but is also an awful MOBA as well. It charges money up front but can't even compare to FREE MOBAs that it is failing to copy with any decency. It's an absolute cash grab off the LOTR license, much like War In TheGuardians of Middle Earth is an absolutely abysmal game, ripping off other MOBAs while abusing the LOTR license. It's definitely another movie licensed cash grab pile of trash, but is also an awful MOBA as well. It charges money up front but can't even compare to FREE MOBAs that it is failing to copy with any decency. It's an absolute cash grab off the LOTR license, much like War In The North. Do not believe any review on here above 5, maybe even 4. I have to say that because this is a dreadful game. That is the truth and reality. They are lying to you, probably working for WB trying to get you to buy their crappy game. Any player that's played League or Dota2 will see right through this crap and uninstall on the first day. As a long time League of Legends player(2011 to present), I can tell you that this game fails in EVERY way to compete with it, on top of charging a box just to play it. They then run a cash shop with locked content after you paid them for a box in the first place. This is for a mediocre ripoff we're talking about. Those other games are FREE, in a very rightfully done way, yet many times better than this paid game, which then runs a cash shop on top of it anyway.

    If you want deeper details as to why this game is in every way a complete and total failure; I'll try to make a nice list for you...
    -Dated, muddy graphics that you can't crank up. All you get is a Resolution, Window mode, and Vsync. Nothing else. Did you like the nice amount of graphic customization in League? Well, you won't find that here. This is among the most restricted of customizations you can find. Console ports from 2009 come with more settings. Hell, Warcraft 3 from 2001 was more appealing. Not technically "better", but so much more charming and pleasant to look at even today. This game is muddy and ugly.
    -Crappy controls that you can't edit. That's right, like the graphics, you can't fix the controls either. They are locked in a rather awful default scheme. Unlike League, you can't hold down space to keep your hero moving. You can't use A to attack move if you like to do that. Thankfully Shift does it, but I find I use both, and many players may prefer A. The default scheme is not convenient in the least, and you can't change it. Like, why do I have to press to bring up my level up menu? Why can't that just pop up on its own like League? Why does the press for the building upgrades not even work? No, you have to press U EVERY time you want to upgrade a building. You can't change it, and the button to press for it doesn't work.
    -Extremely simple game mechanics. There's no AD vs AP like League, no Mana, no Energy, it's just spam spam spam when your stuff is off CD. Some League heroes are like that, but most aren't, and the game isn't built around it. Here, the game seems built for dummies, devoid of almost any strategy. Pick any hero, spam every ability, there, you're playing this game.
    -What customization the game does have makes no sense. You can choose between Gems and Relics(aka Runes) but you can get all of them right off the bat. So why would you even bother with the weaker ones? In League, again a game that knew WTF it was doing, lower runes were for lower levels, better runes, which cost a lot more, were for higher levels. Here you can basically get max tier runes right out of the gate, so why bother with anything less? Why does the game even have account levels??? They don't do anything!
    -4 Summoner abilities, renamed to "Commands", but they all share 1 CD. So what's the point of giving us 4? You're probably only ever going to use 1 or 2 out the set and just forget the rest. Btw you can't edit their default keys, which are A to F. HF with that. I should mention now that the game has no "stop" command for when you want to STOP your hero. I keep wasting my Command CD hitting S expecting my hero to STOP, but it doesn't. The game instead wastes my Command CD. So A and S are Summoner CDs, no way to change, instead of Attack Move or Stop. Wtf is wrong with this Dev team? Why is there no "STOP" hotkey???
    -Confusing interfaces that make it hard for me to keep up with what I own and don't own or what hero I can play or can't play.
    -No warring factions. This is a big FU. You've got LOTR here, a universe built around good vs evil, with many races to support it, yet you copy League(This time it's not a good thing) by having anything on either side. Wtf? So why should anyone play this over League? It should be good vs evil, yet you can see both sets of heroes on both sides at same time.
    -The multiplayer is dead. It takes a LONG time to find a match. I sit in queue for several minutes only to get a 2 player+3 bot vs A.I. team because the game gives up on finding a full set of 5 players. NO ONE is playing this game. In real games, like League, you push the button, 5 seconds later, you got a full match, Co Op or not.

    So there ya go. In summery, DO NOT get this garbage.
    -Drain(Steam)    … Expand
  12. Teldil
    Sep 6, 2013
    1
    This is the WORST game I have ever purchased on Steam. The game is a SCAM.

    Worst console port ever seen No graphic options AT ALL, no key binding options AT ALL. Controls are clunky and unresponsive as possible. Graphics look like something out of a Playstation 2 game. Online matches are based on P2P connection this game has no servers. Due to that, the game is basically    This is the WORST game I have ever purchased on Steam. The game is a SCAM.

    Worst console port ever seen No graphic options AT ALL, no key binding options AT ALL.
    Controls are clunky and unresponsive as possible. Graphics look like something out of a Playstation 2 game.

    Online matches are based on P2P connection this game has no servers.
    Due to that, the game is basically unplayable due to lags and there is no way to ensure a smooth game.
    Furthermore, there are NO players online, and the game matches you up with BOTS instead of real players.
    If the idea of playing against bots 90% of the time sounds like fun to you........you still won't enjoy this piece of garbage game.

    AVOID AT ALL COSTS.    … Expand
  13. Brosman
    Sep 15, 2013
    3
    Sadly DOTA 2 and LoL are sooo much more fun that this game. Its not even close. The roster in GOME is so small compared to the competition. Throw on top of that the fact that characters pretty much all play the same anyways and you have little incentive to play an already inferior version of its competition
  14. Cordova
    Aug 29, 2013
    3
    Hm, how to begin. Well, there's absolutely no reason to play this over dota2, LoL, smite, forge or HoN.

    The combat is surprisingly slow, but that's not because you need the time to employ tactics/strategy, it's just slow. There is no item store you're supposed to equip stuff pre-match. So during a game, if you're mismatched, there is no way to "build tanky" or utility, or damage, and    Hm, how to begin. Well, there's absolutely no reason to play this over dota2, LoL, smite, forge or HoN.

    The combat is surprisingly slow, but that's not because you need the time to employ tactics/strategy, it's just slow. There is no item store you're supposed to equip stuff pre-match. So during a game, if you're mismatched, there is no way to "build tanky" or utility, or damage, and so on. It's pretty uninspired, no last hitting, you just get xp for being around stuff as it dies.

    The only good thing they had are these crystals, leaf, well things that give you damage resistance if you capture them. So fights can be had by those, but they're really easy to recapture (5 seconds maybe) so even if you spend your time capping them all, someone can just take them back before you can get back to fight over it.

    I regret buying this game, I'm not going to continue playing it unless I hear about some miracle patch in the future that makes it fun. If you're going to release a MOBA these days, you should at least try to be somewhere near the standards of the big players (lol/dota2).

    I love LOTR, but don't get fooled like I did, pass this one up for now.    … Expand
  15. M8ass
    Aug 30, 2013
    3
    Its like paying for tap water, you have the alternative to play a better, and free alternative compared to this, but hay. Its your money, if you wish to encourage companies to take something free and charge people for it, its yours to make.
  16. issaqua
    Sep 1, 2013
    0
    I don't know how they made this such a painful experience, but they succeeded. It feels like a bastardised, less enjoyable version of Demigod. Save your money.
  17. djodars
    Dec 22, 2013
    0
    This ladies and gentlemen, is the worst MOBA... no wait... the worst GAME of all our existence. The controls are unresponsive, the skills don't work half the time, the gameplay is boring as hell, there's literally NO ONE playing this game. You will wait 10 minutes in queue just to play against computers. Not only that, the AI sucks hardcore, they make no sense at all. I got this from aThis ladies and gentlemen, is the worst MOBA... no wait... the worst GAME of all our existence. The controls are unresponsive, the skills don't work half the time, the gameplay is boring as hell, there's literally NO ONE playing this game. You will wait 10 minutes in queue just to play against computers. Not only that, the AI sucks hardcore, they make no sense at all. I got this from a humble bundle and it's so bad that I wish I could get my donation to the children back. (just kidding). but seriously, stay away from this pile of junk at all cost.… Expand
  18. Biokiipper
    Jan 12, 2014
    2
    I would rather to get paper-cut between my fingers than playing this game more minutes than I have. If you think it might be good because its Tolkien's creation, oh boy...think again...
  19. Veska
    Oct 19, 2014
    2
    The worst MOBA, that i play. The best thing in this game is cinematic intro. But others? Gameplay? Terrible. Graphic? Terrible? And 56526561431351 DLC.....Dont buy it! Save your money. Really. If you want play MOBA, play games as Dota, LoL, Hon and maybe Smite and others. But this one...? No Sauron must be so angy and maybe kill creators of this ♥♥♥♥.
  20. m0skit0
    Aug 31, 2013
    2
    This is a MOBA game "based" in LotR. I know you might be thinking about trying this game because it's based in LotR. It's not even worth that. It's ugly -graphics are from 10 years ago-, it's sluggish -loading screen runs at 10 fps, in-game has occasional sluggish, has horrible gameplay and controls -one of the worst I remember-, interface is one of the less intuitive and slow in any game.This is a MOBA game "based" in LotR. I know you might be thinking about trying this game because it's based in LotR. It's not even worth that. It's ugly -graphics are from 10 years ago-, it's sluggish -loading screen runs at 10 fps, in-game has occasional sluggish, has horrible gameplay and controls -one of the worst I remember-, interface is one of the less intuitive and slow in any game. Looks like -and most likely is- an unfinished game. And on top of this there are plenty of other MOBA games WAY better than this one. LoL is definitely very far from this game -sorry for the swearing but there's no other way to describe this mess-. Stay away from this "game".… Expand
  21. Canettieri
    Aug 29, 2013
    2
    The game is ridiculous, looks like it's in a alpha version. The game makes me think in a refund in Steam!!
    If you love your money, wait some months more! Let's see if developers releases some news..
  22. Helloween81
    Sep 1, 2013
    0
    I played this game on xbox 360 and even though i went through hell and back due to it's problems i chose to give a try on a pc version. How they managed to make things even worse is beyond me. The game is laggy as hell for the vast majority of people among many other problems. Please stay away. It's broken beyond repair.
  23. joejoebaggin
    Aug 29, 2013
    2
    i have been playing this game since its release on xbox and the game is amazing. once i heard it was coming to pc i was stokd and could not wait to play it. the day came where i got to play it and i am very unimpressed with it. the gammy is laggy as hell, all you get is bot matches and unless you have a super pro PC you cannot play it due to the game not having any kind of options toi have been playing this game since its release on xbox and the game is amazing. once i heard it was coming to pc i was stokd and could not wait to play it. the day came where i got to play it and i am very unimpressed with it. the gammy is laggy as hell, all you get is bot matches and unless you have a super pro PC you cannot play it due to the game not having any kind of options to change graphics (auto set to max). the only way to help performance its to play in window mode or to lower the resolution (which makes the game look like poo.)

    for people wanting to play this game i suggesting buying it on consoles where it works MUCH better than pc. At least until a fix comes to pc which probably wont happen.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 3 out of 12
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 24, 2013
    40
    Multiplayer strategy that's played by no one? Something's rotten in this Middle-Earth. And it's really not much of a surprise, given the game's poor execution and steep price. [Nov 2013]
  2. CD-Action
    Oct 16, 2013
    30
    A messed up PC port of an interesting console title. The game is horribly unresponsive when you use mouse and keyboard, the connection lags are awful and it’s hard to find people to play with. [11/2013, p.86]
  3. IGN
    Oct 1, 2013
    79
    A streamlined, easy to understand MOBA for those looking for an entry point to the genre.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »