Common Sense Media Review
By Liz Perle
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Excellent and addictive.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
Drawing from all three Lord of the Rings movies, players can command any of their heroes and armies as they battle for control of Middle-Earth. This is a real-time strategy game that allows players to choose their armies -- Gondor, Mordor, Isengard, or Rohan -- each of which comes with its own heroes and villains.
The game allows the player to be good or evil and control one of four groups each of which has its own playing style, resource management, and base-building techniques. The game is played across a three-dimensional Middle-earth map. The armies express emotions, cheering each other on but also becoming enraged at times. Players can challenge each other with the online multiplayer component.
Is It Any Good?
The standard strategy options are all here, but what really makes THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH so captivating (besides the excellent graphics and sound) is that the game invites the player into the battlegrounds of the movies. It's an intimate battle game without being too violent. Ultimately, this game is an imaginative kid's dream.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what they find so compelling about the game and tryto use it as a way to get the kids to read the original books.
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Electronic Arts
- Release date : December 6, 2004
- Genre : Strategy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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