The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring Preview

Coming from Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the successful title Battle Realms, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring will be the first real-time strategy placed in J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative Lord of the Rings setting. I must say that I'm truly optimistic about the talented folks at Liquid Entertainment; especially after playing Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf. Vivendi and Black Label Games took the right course of action by hiring such a competent development team to lead this project. The most important thing about War of the Ring is that the developers were given the freedom to use all of the races and characters from the books; provided, of course, that they all stay true to Tolkien's descriptions. This is, quite naturally, a mandatory aspect of any Lord of the Rings game, and is also a component Tolkien Enterprises insisted upon. And, just so you know, Tolkien Enterprises holds most of J.R.R's rights.

Both Vivendi and Liquid have remained tight-lipped on War of the Ring, gradually revealing a few features as the time went by. So, here we are... finally facing additional info and media, and ready to get a bit deeper into the scoop.

Thou shall not prevail!

Great. We've found a big giant head.

The story is no doubt familiar to most of you. Fighting to obtain the power of the One Ring, the forces of good and evil engage in an epic conflict. The outcome of the aforementioned war shall decide the fate of Middle-earth and all its inhabitants (Ed. - If you ask me, a storyline just doesn't get any better.) So, you enter a land where a war rages on between the Free Peoples of Middle-earth and the Minions of Sauron. You'll be able to choose one of these sides, and take part in several exciting missions and quests that are in one way or another connected to the events that took place in the books. Although that doesn't mean that the plot is exact to the very last detail described in the novels. The developers were given the freedom to improvise, and make things a bit more exciting both for average gamers and hardcore Tolkien fans. The missions are story-driven and intermitted with pre-rendered cut-scenes, which unfold the plot as player progresses through the game. Each scenario in the campaigns is concise, without any overly elaborate story-telling that might drive gamers away.

The extensive realms of Tolkien's epic fantasy-themed novels, makes sufficient grounds for an amazing variety of units and characters. Throughout the game, players will be able to control miscellaneous units, ranging from Trolls and Uruk-Hai warriors, to cute little Hobbits and the huge Ents. If you opt for Free Peoples of Middle-earth, you'll fight with the good races such as Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Huorns, and Beornings. We're still waiting to find out more about the races and their special abilities, and how they were incorporated into the gameplay. For the time being, however, we know there are some aspects of gameplay that bring War of the Ring closer to Blizzards widely acclaimed RTS, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Hero characters, for instance, can increase their experience and improve their abilities throughout combat. During the Free Peoples of Middle-earth campaign, you can control heroes like Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Gimli, and even the valiant Balin. (More greedy than valiant in The Hobbit - 2Lions) On top of that, the game has many subtleties for true Lord of the Rings devotees. For example, you get to lead a bunch of troops throughout the Battle of Osgiliath, which takes place in Gondor some time before Boromir took off to speak for humans at the council of Elrond in Rivendell. In this battle, both Boromir and Faramir are your key characters. Of course, this never actually occurred in the books, but it does correspond with a few descriptions that were briefly presented in certain chapters and the Appendix.

The player can also decide to support The Minions of Sauron - and an evil bunch they are. The forces of Sauron have no mercy and are all tied to the ever-increasing power of the Great Eye. In this campaign, trolls, wargs, spiders, Orcs, the Nazgul, and the Haradrim all lie at your command. To aid you in your struggle to rid Middle-earth of all free-folk, several heroes, well-known by their involvement in the books, will be by your side. These will include creature Gollum, who was tormented by the One Ring for centuries, Grishnakh the cunning orc general and the Lord of the Nazgul better known as the Black Captain. Other heroes include Qamara, an all-new character invented to lead the Haradrim, and of course, the legendary Saruman, the leader of Istari, the Wizards of Middle-earth.

As you can see, the game will treat you to an extensive range of characters and units from the realms of Middle-earth. Logically, the locations are also true to the Lord of the Rings saga. For the first time ever, players will be leading elven forces against the spiders of Mirkwood, helping Balin and the dwarves to conquer the Mines of Moria once again, and fighting alongside humans in the grassy plains of Rohan and the mighty fields of Pelennor (Gondor). But, that's not all. From what we've heard, you'll also play though the battle of the Fords of Isen and the attack on Cirith Ungol. Positively smashing! (Ed. - Will someone please stop him from using these stupid British catchphrases?) By the way, the game also takes players to Helm's Deep and the Battle of the Hornburg; an epic clash between the Riders of Rohan and Saruman's Uruk-Hai warriors. At some point, you'll even get to charge against the great armies of Mordor in an attempt to conquer its lands and foul dwellers. The best part is that all of these missions and battles are developed in non-linear fashion, offering many alternative ways for player to finish them.

There will be no eagles to save you this time, old man!

Sssneaky, yess that's what we are!

Liquid Entertainment also promised to make an effort to create a stable and advanced AI both for friendly and enemy units. You'll be pleased to know that the AI routines are actually highly improved intelligence patterns taken from units in Battle Realms. Another rather impressive thing we heard about the AI, is that it can react to your style of play. So, if you start focusing on attacks, fighting and rushing your opponents, then the AI will act in an accordingly aggressive manner. Where as if you're the type of gamer who prefers building up to the final attack, then the AI assumes a gradual approach and you'll have more time to form your battle strategy. Actually, as I recall, the AI in Battle Realms was a bit too tough, still that doesn't mean the game was frustrating. Quite the contrary; It was challenging, fun, and very addictive. War of the Rings will, no doubt, offer a similarly gratifying RTS experience.

In terms of gameplay, there are many interesting aspects in War of the Ring. First of all, most of the missions emphasize the shape of the terrain as a key element of your strategy against the enemy. Many areas in the game play significant roles to the outcome of battles, since units can collect global bonuses for remaining within those areas. This, in turn, gives them a great advantage over opposing forces. In addition to that, there are numerous ways you can improve your units' morale. For instance, you can issue out the so-called "battle cry" group order, and bob's your uncle, watch your troops as they march bravely (and loudly) into battle. (Ed. - You're pushing it, my man.) The gameplay improves even further, as the player gets to use a variety of spells. One particularly interesting moment is when you get to use the penetrating eye of Sauron to spy upon your enemy. A very cool addition to the game I must admit. Also, some missions will allow you to use the Balrog unit, which can knock back its opponents by shaking the very ground it stands on. On the other hand, if you're playing as the good guys, fighting alongside the Free-folk of Middle-earth, the healing powers of Lothlorien will be at your disposal. And the mighty Mithrandir (Gandalf) might also have a few neat tricks up his sleeve, so be prepared for that one as well.

The visuals look splendid. They show off excellent animations, particularly the Balrog, which has a unique move - it casts a powerful blow to the ground, destroying units in the nearby area. (He was really impressed with that one - 2Lions) Also, some of the environments will be going through dynamic changes. As Sauron unleashes his destructive powers, all the lands will slowly become desolate and ruinous, birds fly away and evil begins to spread. Hell yeah, Sauron rules! Thanks to all of these details, we believe that War of the Ring looks considerably better than Liquid Entertainment's previous achievement. Of course, we've witnessed some other impressive effects like rippling water, dynamic volumetric shadows, and cool-looking weather effects, so make sure you razz your brolly! (Ed. - Will somebody kill him already.) (What does that mean anyway - 2Lions) The GUI also appears to be intuitive and well-designed, with all of the necessary options right at your finger tips.

Multiplayer fans can look forward to classic RTS game types. But, one mission in particular, caught our fancy. Namely, the developers have worked on a multiplayer mission that takes place in Helm's Deep, where one player can fight alongside the Orcs and Saruman, while the other fights with the people of Rohan. Naturally, one side has to conquer the fortification before dawn brakes, and the other must defend it at all cost... Remember, the defenses have to hold! All multiplayer modes will support up to 8 players. So smoke a kipper and ring your mates, cheers! (Ed.- You have to sleep sometime, you know this right?)

With all that we've heard and seen so far, this is shaping into a fine real-time strategy. War of the Ring will be a huge game and it's surely going to be a must have for all Tolkien fans, as well as RTS gamers. It is scheduled to hit the stores in November 2003, and will most likely carry a $49.99 price tag, or about 35 quid!

(Ed. - We apologize for the fault in the previewer, those responsible have been sacked. ...great now I'm doing it....) (I thought the preview was bloody brilliant, mate! Wicked! - 2Lions)