A battle among the ruins.

Fate points can be considered a special resource. They are earned by slaying the enemy and holding places of power. Accumulated fate points can be spent to acquire heroes to fight for your side and to purchase items and powers for the heroes. For example, you can arm Frodo with the legendary Sting or give Gollum a stealth attack. Fate points can also be spent to cast powerful spells – the more powerful the spell, the greater its cost in fate points. Save enough points and you’ll even be able to summon a mighty balrog to smite your enemies with his flame whip.

The most disappointing aspect of the game is that the AI is not that challenging. Veteran strategy gamers will not have too much trouble making their way through the game. The AI has a tendency to rely on smaller nuisance attacks that are not too difficult to counter. It is also susceptible to being defeated piecemeal by a large force – one AI base will continue to carry on as normal as another is overwhelmed by your forces. The game does have its moments, but overall sticking to tried and true RTS strategies will carry you through the game.

If you don’t mind the cartoon look to the game, the graphics are better than average for an RTS and its look will at times evoke thoughts of Warcraft III. The maps are colorful and filled with animated details such as blowing grass, which all helps to bring the game’s world to life. The maps are modeled in 3D and include rolling hills, cliffs, and valleys. The 3D engine also allows you to zoom the game camera, but the units don’t fare too well at the maximum zoom. With the camera pulled back, though, the units are attractive and fun to watch, especially the aforementioned balrog.

If you enjoy strategy games you’ll probably like WotR, although hardcore RTS gamers may find it to be just an average game and only a light challenge. If you’re looking for total Lord of the Rings immersion though, you’re probably going to be disappointed. WotR is far more a strategy game with Tolkien-inspired units than a recreation of The War of the Ring.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 72%.  Not a bad strategy game, but Tolkien fans may be disappointed in its treatment of the War of the Rings.

System Requirements:  Pentium III 800; 256 MB RAM;  32 MB Video RAM; 8x CD-ROM;  2.0 GB Hard Drive Space;  Mouse.

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