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

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 540 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 407 out of 540
  2. Mixed: 67 out of 540
  3. Negative: 66 out of 540
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  1. TM_Abay
    Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The plot in these games is an absolute mutilation of Tolkien's work. But why isn't anybody angry? Ah, I see the characters are white.… Expand
  2. faceless-1
    Dec 2, 2013
    4
    This game had great potential, but its AI, unit balance and online Lags are some of the worst i ever seen. The original BFME was just better, the biggest let down here is story mode. The main problem is that AI is absolutely broken. It never upgrade troops and just swarm, multiplayer could save it, but again unit balance is so poor that you will quickly go play online Starcraft, WarcraftThis game had great potential, but its AI, unit balance and online Lags are some of the worst i ever seen. The original BFME was just better, the biggest let down here is story mode. The main problem is that AI is absolutely broken. It never upgrade troops and just swarm, multiplayer could save it, but again unit balance is so poor that you will quickly go play online Starcraft, Warcraft 3. CnC 3 or dawn of war.… Expand
  3. IvenB.
    Aug 30, 2007
    2
    The campaigns are just like every other regular RTS style campaign, unlike the original. The gameplay is flawed and every new patch released by ea still leaves troops underbalanced or leaves overbalanced troops still far too overbalanced. the multiplay aspect is full of glitches, exploits and rushers, and if you finally get a good game people will end up leaving or the game will crash for The campaigns are just like every other regular RTS style campaign, unlike the original. The gameplay is flawed and every new patch released by ea still leaves troops underbalanced or leaves overbalanced troops still far too overbalanced. the multiplay aspect is full of glitches, exploits and rushers, and if you finally get a good game people will end up leaving or the game will crash for an unknown reason. Create a heroes are too powerful, you can only create them in one way as every other way leaves them vulneranble in combat, and as the game is based around fighting, you don't want your hero to die. BFME1 was a far better game to play, it had originality of base creation, the campaign was original and fun, and the online play was far better than on BFME2 or ROTWK.… Expand
  4. ChrisA.
    Jul 27, 2007
    3
    The original was alot better. EA had something original. BFME2 is now just like any other RTS game. THere's nothing unique to it. BFME2 was basically BFME1 with new units and buildings. The campaign wasn't good. They brought build everywhere back which isn't original, and now the game is only about rushing. There is absolutely NO TACTIC in BFME2 or BFME2: ROTWK. On The original was alot better. EA had something original. BFME2 is now just like any other RTS game. THere's nothing unique to it. BFME2 was basically BFME1 with new units and buildings. The campaign wasn't good. They brought build everywhere back which isn't original, and now the game is only about rushing. There is absolutely NO TACTIC in BFME2 or BFME2: ROTWK. On multiplayer games, the only thing that people build are archers. The graphics weren't different than the original. The music didn't fell LOTRish to me at all. There are big disbalancement issues. The forces of good are unbeattable which makes it pointless for a player to choose the forces of evil. The Create-A-Hero feature was uber crap All the heros of good had the same powers and all the heros of evil had the same powers, they are almost impossible to kill.The campaign missions were to repetitive and it seemed like you were only playing a skirmish game. This game was the biggest RTS disapointment ever. BFME1 was obviously better than BFME2 and BFME ROTWK. Mainly because of the simplicity of gameplay, you had the choice of playing a long campaign or cut through with the army of your choice. The balance was excellent and the graphics good for that time. The music was as good as the movies! It was also based on the movies which felt very familiar but different at the same time. Mark Skaggs was a much better producer then Mike Verdu. The people who gave this game 10/10 obviously are book fans who've never played an RTS game before and would give a 10/10 for any kind of game that's labelled "The Lord of the rings" Don't buy BFME2. Buy BFME1.… Expand
  5. LeoR.
    Nov 26, 2006
    1
    It is the absolute worst game of the year and the worst game on the Xbox 360 to date. It is dull boring, graphically crap and just well.....bad. No one has made one decent LOTR game yet.
  6. ChrisC
    Nov 13, 2006
    0
    Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash CrashCrash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash

    I would give    Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash CrashCrash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash

    I would give a rating on the graphics if I could actually see the game.    … Expand
  7. MartinPop
    Mar 29, 2006
    1
    This game is inferiour to the original from absolutely all points of view. The original actually looks better at the same settings on my computer. BFME II can look better if i settle for a slide-showing throught the game , i have to give EA that. I wonder how come the gamers hate it but the reviewers love it....$$$...
  8. BradH.
    Mar 19, 2006
    2
    The original Battle for Middle-Earth was created to be something different in the RTS world. They changed the conventional menu system to "build plots" and ready built castles with fortifiable walls. With no builders to worry about, building could be done directly from a
  9. rb
    Mar 19, 2006
    2
    i've installed the game and it didn't even crash so that's the first point i give for ea games. graphics look nice so that's the second point
    the game is full of bugs, campaign is too short, quality is nice except from the flickering, tactics are just who's the first one to rush. and balance is extremely bad. for 4 armies in bfme1 it took ea games like a year for    i've installed the game and it didn't even crash so that's the first point i give for ea games. graphics look nice so that's the second point
    the game is full of bugs, campaign is too short, quality is nice except from the flickering, tactics are just who's the first one to rush. and balance is extremely bad. for 4 armies in bfme1 it took ea games like a year for a fair balance, how long will it take now. and when will the last bug be resolved?

    maybe one day ea games will release a good game which is actually finished but most likely i will be dead aready when that happens    … Expand
  10. [Anonymous]
    Mar 11, 2006
    0
    Just so those of you know, I have a GeForce 6200 256 mb video card. 2.99Ghz intel celeron. 1 GB Hard Drive. This is more than the minimum requirements and just under to turn on all visual featres according to EA. What do I get out of the game. Freezing and crashing. So if you want to waste $50 bucks on this game go ahead. If you dont or you have a system that better than what I listed Just so those of you know, I have a GeForce 6200 256 mb video card. 2.99Ghz intel celeron. 1 GB Hard Drive. This is more than the minimum requirements and just under to turn on all visual featres according to EA. What do I get out of the game. Freezing and crashing. So if you want to waste $50 bucks on this game go ahead. If you dont or you have a system that better than what I listed then take the gamble. This game is nothing more than eye candy and a piece of crap. Very disappointed in EA for rushing this game at the expense of the consumer.… Expand
  11. NellyP.
    Mar 10, 2006
    2
    Ok, I tried like heck to love this game. I never played the original but heard it got some pretty good reviews. I picked this game up the day it came out and installed it. Let me tell you this game is the opposite of fun and exciting. There is almost nothing special about this game that makes me want to play I uninstalled it about three days after I bought it and now use the CD as a Ok, I tried like heck to love this game. I never played the original but heard it got some pretty good reviews. I picked this game up the day it came out and installed it. Let me tell you this game is the opposite of fun and exciting. There is almost nothing special about this game that makes me want to play I uninstalled it about three days after I bought it and now use the CD as a coaster. Let me preface this part by saying that I play a game called Dawn of War and the expansion Winter Assault, so this may be why I am so spoiled. The battles in BFME2 are downright boring, non-exciting yawnfest's. I feel like I am baking a cake when I am amassing my armies. The actually fighting itself is uninspired and doesn't make me feel involved at all. The strategic portion of the game seems clumsy and not well done, as well as the tactical. I love the graphics of the game and the sounds are nice otherwise this game would be a floater in the swimming pool if you know what I mean. If you seriously want a good RTS with action, story, competitive online play. Then do yourself a favor and don't get this game, get Dawn of War, Winter Assault, and the new expansion that is coming out soon.… Expand
  12. JerryO.
    Mar 10, 2006
    4
    Its like ive already played this one, but they have sertanly improved the graphics i like seeing a man fly away when a Catapult hit him. And when they die but the sound is like a bad English accent it does not sound real only like a real English Man and everyone sounds the same... and it took me 5 Hours to make it trough the game, if´you havent played number one buy it if you have Its like ive already played this one, but they have sertanly improved the graphics i like seeing a man fly away when a Catapult hit him. And when they die but the sound is like a bad English accent it does not sound real only like a real English Man and everyone sounds the same... and it took me 5 Hours to make it trough the game, if´you havent played number one buy it if you have played number this is only some new Stories and Missions and better Graphic and no new sound. but if you loved the books buy the game and play it i think it was okay.… Expand
  13. BradG.
    Mar 7, 2006
    0
    Can EA actually make a game that does not crash? This pile of garabage crashes right out of the box, even if you have a good machine. I had to go down to a LAN center near my house to play it, even then some of there machiens would crash. When I did play it was nothing more than a crudy clone of warcraft III. I refuse to give this game anything above a zero, it looks great in the screen Can EA actually make a game that does not crash? This pile of garabage crashes right out of the box, even if you have a good machine. I had to go down to a LAN center near my house to play it, even then some of there machiens would crash. When I did play it was nothing more than a crudy clone of warcraft III. I refuse to give this game anything above a zero, it looks great in the screen shots, but I guess EA never wanted anyone to play because of the game.dat error. Poor poor quality EA.… Expand
  14. RoganLaw
    Mar 6, 2006
    1
    This game is BAD! Come on. You can't put archers on walls! That is so stupid? Rohan and Gondor together, it's bloody idiotic. Who wants to play a game where your buildings are crushed in like 5 seconds? WOTR Mode? Terrible I can't believe it! It's like playing a long board game. Then you have campaign god it's short as hell and very bad, so bad that it's onlyThis game is BAD! Come on. You can't put archers on walls! That is so stupid? Rohan and Gondor together, it's bloody idiotic. Who wants to play a game where your buildings are crushed in like 5 seconds? WOTR Mode? Terrible I can't believe it! It's like playing a long board game. Then you have campaign god it's short as hell and very bad, so bad that it's only 16 levels. So you can… Expand
  15. TadH.
    Mar 6, 2006
    0
    I was a big fan of BFME. It was such a simple RTS- but it got the biggest thing right... Gameplay. Building was simple, but the battles were exciting and could see-saw back and forth based on one good or bad move. That is why I am so confused on how they screwed the sequel up so badly. Was the project taken over by a different design team or something? The new build system is atrocious. I was a big fan of BFME. It was such a simple RTS- but it got the biggest thing right... Gameplay. Building was simple, but the battles were exciting and could see-saw back and forth based on one good or bad move. That is why I am so confused on how they screwed the sequel up so badly. Was the project taken over by a different design team or something? The new build system is atrocious. You have to spread your resources out at spanned intervals in order to get anything out of them, which forces you to build a sprawling base very early. So, what does the AI do? Send in units on suicide raids that completely ignore your armies and run around destroying all your resources. So you can either turtle, and try to frantically defend all your spread out bases, or try to chase his units down, meanwhile hes building up... or lastly... rush him first. That is what is wrong with BFME2. This is the only viable option. It is the only option that works... so every game becomes a VERY predictable game of who can rush who first. After teh first 10 minutes of each game, you know whether you are going to win or lose. There is nothing fun about this. At all. And just in case you wanted to play these meaningless skirmishes over and over, you can head over to the War of the Ring mode. This great feature allows you to play skirmishes over... and over... and over... and guess what? Your armies dont transfer from one battle to the next. Your buildings either. Its the same tired excuse for strategy tacked onto RTS that other games have tried. Note to designers: DONT WASTE YOUR TIME. The campaign is forgettable. Although I havent heard from anyone else, Im having significant graphical issues (flickering), although its still playable. Long story short, it looks like BFME, but it feels like a budget game rushed out to turn a quick buck. It feels unfinished, unbalanced, and worst of all... poorly thought out. My guess is they tried something different, and by the time they realized it wasnt working, it was too late to fix it. They should have kept the gameplay of BFME intact, and just added content and called it an expansion. Instead they did a hackjob on a great game and charged me $50 for it.… Expand
  16. JoshT.
    Mar 6, 2006
    0
    Absolute crap! The game-play is down-right boring and has been done to death. When the game is not crashing, you are simply building a lot of units and sending them to attack. No strategy, just build attack. Did I mention that this game is always crashing? The design seems to be built around the idea that you just click to win, it annoys the hell out of me and sad to see that this is all Absolute crap! The game-play is down-right boring and has been done to death. When the game is not crashing, you are simply building a lot of units and sending them to attack. No strategy, just build attack. Did I mention that this game is always crashing? The design seems to be built around the idea that you just click to win, it annoys the hell out of me and sad to see that this is all EA can come up with. People that actually say they like this game for it's depth of tactics are down right monkeys. Avoid this game, if you want a good traditional game try Dawn of War or C&C Generals if you want something new try Empire at War. EA piece of Junk!… Expand
  17. T.Miller
    Mar 3, 2006
    0
    Awful. Beautiful, but awful. If you want a game with half the innovation as the first B4ME then go ahead and get it. If you want to be able to play the game past the single player mode, then buy something else.
  18. ErikG.
    Mar 2, 2006
    0
    BFME 2 is really nothing more than a clone of Warcraft III. There is no real innovation, just the same old RTS game. Does't this get old EA? Being an RTS vet, I was really expecting them to innovate and offer some new ways to play, but I was sadly disappointed. The AI is also very poorly done and the game balance was atrocious. Summary: There are far better games out there (WarCraft BFME 2 is really nothing more than a clone of Warcraft III. There is no real innovation, just the same old RTS game. Does't this get old EA? Being an RTS vet, I was really expecting them to innovate and offer some new ways to play, but I was sadly disappointed. The AI is also very poorly done and the game balance was atrocious. Summary: There are far better games out there (WarCraft III, Dawn of War, C&C Generals, Star Wars Empire At War). Create a hero is about the only thing this game has going for it, but it does not warrant $50. I definitly recommend downloading the demo and playing before buying this.… Expand
  19. SamOmera
    Mar 1, 2006
    0
    A carbon copy of existing (and past) RTS games. No real innovation, just a bad ripoff of C&C Gnerals. They should take the "create a hero" mode and patch it into BFME 1 since it is a better game that at least attempted new ways to play.
  20. RickP.
    Feb 28, 2006
    2
    The game looks amazing, but the gameplay is boring a sterile. The battles are not even close to being as epic as the first BFME. The gameplay is simialr to C&C Generals and is geared towards the hardcore multiplayer RTS guy. Bleh! You think EA would have tried to innovate instead of side stepping. The best thing this game has going for it is the "create a hero" mode which is cool. The game looks amazing, but the gameplay is boring a sterile. The battles are not even close to being as epic as the first BFME. The gameplay is simialr to C&C Generals and is geared towards the hardcore multiplayer RTS guy. Bleh! You think EA would have tried to innovate instead of side stepping. The best thing this game has going for it is the "create a hero" mode which is cool. That's about it.… Expand
  21. MikeF.
    Feb 28, 2006
    2
    I was expecting this game to be outstanding. The graphics seemed awesome and the videos boasted some very intense action. An RTS set in the LOTR universe with large, epic battles, and touted improvements over the first BFME seemed extraordinarily amazing. However, after actually playing BFME 2, I quickly found out that the graphics were very mediocre on a mid level machine causing lots of I was expecting this game to be outstanding. The graphics seemed awesome and the videos boasted some very intense action. An RTS set in the LOTR universe with large, epic battles, and touted improvements over the first BFME seemed extraordinarily amazing. However, after actually playing BFME 2, I quickly found out that the graphics were very mediocre on a mid level machine causing lots of lag. Despite this, the gameplay seemed extremely lacking as well. Simplistic controls, buttons, and commands made the entire system immensely very watered down. The balance was horrible, destroying bases took seconds. In addition the game mechanics were changed to be more like C&C Generals and a very bad clone of Warcraft III. There is no real-innovation; only lots of glitz and special effects. I… Expand
  22. JulesV
    Feb 18, 2006
    0
    Wow! The original B4ME was fun, but this one went downhill fast. I have to say I've never been so disappointed. I was really hoping this one would eclipse the original but the game feels like the team just stopped caring. I give it a complete 0. What happened EA?
  23. JS
    Feb 14, 2006
    0
    Battle for Middle Earth II is so incredibly awesome (insert sarcasm here)

    I like the realism, where a stray dwarven axe flying through my base takes out five buildings on it's way off the map. It's also cool to play a game where all the super powers are less interesting rip-offs of C&C Generals:Zero Hour generals powers.
    Weak sauce.
  24. MattJohns
    Feb 11, 2006
    1
    Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II is indeed a great disappointment. I was expecting to see new improvements in game-play, Instead they side stepped, turning the series into a Warcraft III clone that offers little to no substance for fans of the original. It is truly a great example of why EA is not a leader and innovator in the genre and can really only copy what

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PC Game of 2006
16
#16 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
25
#25 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Yahoo!
    80
    While Battle for Middle Earth 2 has taken a step back from its more avant-garde predecessor, it's a welcome one. If it wasn't for the woefully sub-par AI, this game would earn an easy, unreserved recommendation. But rolling over the AI time and time again in single-player just gets old, and if you don't have the appetite for online play, you'll end up pushing it to the back of the drawer and hoping for a patch.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    92
    Innovative, fun to play and a joy to watch. A breath of fresh air in the stale real-time strategy genre. [Mar 2006]
  3. GameSpot
    83
    The Battle for Middle-earth II improves on 2004's game with a better strategic mode and a much broader scope that encompasses the whole of Middle-earth.
    Read full review
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