We're adding a lot of emotion to the game to bring the characters and the world to life. By way of illustration, Mark fires up the latest in-game demos, showing off the actions and behaviour of a few different units on the battlefield. First up is an elephantine Muma, carrying a saddle-load of black-clad archers into a Gondorian village. The big bugger starts off simply lumbering towards its foes, swinging its trunk chains like a scythe.
It's impressive enough as is. Rearing up on its hind legs, the dumb beast roars in panic, then tries to run away as the flames attack its hindquarters. Thrashing about like a cornered badger, the creature lays waste to several nearby buildings before dropping dead with a reluctant thump. It's an Oscar-winning performance, and one that wouldn't look out of place in a Peter Jackson action reel. If anything, the sentient creatures are even more impressive. When Treebeard gets set on fire by a gaggle of orc archers, he runs, unbidden, into a nearby stream to douse himself before returning to swing some angry wood.
Humans, meanwhile, can be seen jeering and tensing for combat whenever an enemy comes near, celebrating with cheers and sword thrusts after a victory, and cowering in trepidation before a monstrous troll.
Forget your tokenistic idle animations like press-ups or puffing a fag - this is the new way of doing things, and it's damn impressive. We want to give you the feeling of being behind the walls at Helm's Deep, looking out and seeing all the orcs and thinking 'we're doomed'. Getting the emotion system in there is going to be one of those things that makes you look back at every other RTS and think 'something's missing here'.
Owing to the size of the battles, the designers have had to rethink everything from troop creation up. So, rather than clicking to create a single unit, you now click to create an entire squad of troops, the size determined by the unit's natural disposition. Archers are currently set at around ten per group, while orcs are in the realm of You also have the choice of two or three formation shapes -wedge, square, bunny rabbit - for some of these groups, though on the evil side things are more or less chaotic.
However, grouping units is just one measure the team has come up with to tidy up the battlefield; the other is somewhat farther-reaching and potentially far more interesting.
When you have two giant armies coming together, you can set lines for your troops to stick to, enabling them to move forward in a nice wave. The ones in the front meet the fight, the ones at the back wait and then it breaks up into pods as the battle progresses. For a start, harvesting and gathering are gone, history, caput, deemed inappropriate for the Tolkien universe. As such, much of the resource collection now takes place in the walls of your base, be it through farms for the tree-loving humans or slaughterhouses for the savage orcs.
In addition, gold is set to be dropped by the dead in RPG fashion. To compensate for this simplification, it's been made much more difficult to upgrade as you climb the tech tree. For example, if you gain access to fire arrows in the middle of a battle, you can't simpiy upgrade all your existing archers to fire archers; but nor do you need to build a whole new set of fire-wielding troops. Instead, you have to send a cart laden with fire arrows out to meet your army on the battlefield, and only when it reaches them can they upgrade.
Clearly, enemy supply carts are set to become a natural target in the same way enemy harvesters once were, though with far more satisfying tactical implications. There are other new features we could talk about - the radical new interface, the streamlined base building - but in every case the aims remain the same. First, to make the game true to the Lord Of The Rings cinema: and second, to make it more fun. And this, after all, is what Westwood is best at.
After the three epic masterpieces that were the Lord Of The Rings films, it's somewhat baffling that we've yet to see the release of a PC-only game based around Peter Jackson's trilogy. We caught up with Mark Skaggs, executive producer on The Battle For Middle-Earth, and grilled him for information about the game like a Hobbit would a pack of juicy sausages. The first piece of good news is that you'll be able to command both the forces of good and evil, with each campaign's plot unfolding through video sequences that introduce each mission's background story.
For the good side, you get to control the Gondor and Rohan armies as well as the heroes of the Fellowship. Your goal is to defeat the evil armies across Middle-earth. This includes fighting all the major battles you see in the three films plus a few more, says Skaggs. For the evil side, you get to control the armies of Isengard and Mordor and you have to get the ring from Frodo and conquer Middle-earth.
Gone are the cumbersome hours of harvesting materials in pre-defined resource fields, replaced by what could be a far more intuitive and less time-consuming system. As Skaggs explains:When you play as one of the good armies, you get food from the farms you build and iron from blacksmiths. You also get treasure from some of the monsters you kill in battles. These resources go into a pool that you use up when you build troops and structures. Playing as Isengard or Mordor should see a similar system for resource gathering, only this time you amass raw materials via slaughterhouses food and furnaces iron.
However, as Skaggs explains, there will be one major difference between the two sides' resource collecting abilities. When playing as Isengard, you're able to get wood from cutting down trees. We put this in because it felt in line with what Isengard did in the movies.
We're not allowing the good armies to do this though, because it just feels wrong having them destroying the forests of Middle-earth. Quite right too. Base building is also receiving a major overhaul. We're moving to a Camps and Castles' type of base-building system, where each side will have a camp or castle area with pre-determined build plots where they can construct various buildings.
By simplifying the process of building bases, we allow players to get to the fun part of producing units and fighting more quickly. It also allows us to tailor the look of the bases to fit the rich fiction of Middle-earth. Early playtests have shown that players think this new way of building bases works really well, states Skaggs. We're also moving away from the traditional tech tree concept you've seen in previous RTS games.
Instead, we're adding the concept of Building Veterancy. Each level of Veterancy brings with it more units and more defensive strengths. The final level of Veterancy also brings some ability for the building to defend itself with archers and the like.
If you're a regular reader, you may remember our excitement back in issue when we found out about TBFMEs all-new visual emotion system, a feature that depicts the feelings of every unit on the battlefield and their reactions to different situations and opponents. We pressed Skaggs to elaborate on this and give us some more examples of the types of behaviour we're set to see. One example would be soldiers quaking in fear when they come face to face with a troll, Balrog or Fell Beast," he explains.
However, beyond fear reactions, you also see cheering in reaction to good events and morale boosts when heroes are near.
So form example, it'll be very visible to players that when Aragom is near, soldiers don't quake in fear at trolls due to the morale bonus he gives them. And you can expect to see more than your fair share of fully upgradeable heroes too who gain both experience and new abilities.
Plus, all of the main characters from the films - both good and evil - pop up to say hello at some point and no doubt lop off some enemy heads while they're at it. Skaggs also told us about some of the other units there'll be a massive 60 unit types in all that you can expect to either command or come up against during the course of the two campaigns, including Warg Riders - the snarling wolf-like orccarrying beasts that we saw skirmishing with the Riders of Rohan in The Two Towers.
These rabid, hugely powerful creatures will be both fast and vicious, and are set to cany a 50 per cent probability of surviving if their orc rider is killed, at which point they wreak havoc on the battlefield by indiscriminately attacking any units. The Elven Warrior should prove to be another of the game's more powerful and versatile units. Akin to the sour-faced saviours of Helm's Deep, they not only excel in archery, but also prove more than a little adept with blades when the enemy is too close for them to use their bows, though Skaggs didn't comment about their ability to use a plank of wood as a skateboard like Legolas.
These pointy-eared killers also receive stealth bonuses in woods, which will help no end when setting up ambushes and taking a much-needed piss after a night on the Elven Ale without worrying about getting nicked by the local rozzers. What's more, if you combine two groups of Elven Warriors, one forms a sword-bearing frontline, while the other takes up positions directly behind and provides cover with their bows.
This proves that while they may have the charisma of a corpse, they're a handy bunch to have around in a scrap. But I know what you're thinking. You want to hear about the actual battles don't you? The bloodbaths, cauldrons of battle-scarred bodies where the ring of steel melds with anguished cries as swords meet flesh.
So without further delay, let's find out just what's in store in that department. We're going to have all the battles you see in the films - and more," claims Skaggs.
For example, when Eomer runs into Legolas, Gimli and Aragom for the first time and he's just been out hunting orcs across Rohan. You get the chance to go on those orc hunts with Eomer. While battles are set to be epic in scale, EA Pacific isn't aiming to compete with the likes of Creative Assembly's Rome: Total War, with even the largest skirmishes involving hundreds rather than thousands of troops.
Battles will range in size from a handful of heroes fighting off a band of orcs - just like at the end of The Fellowship Of The Ring -to full-scale rucks such as Minas Tirith and the battle at the Black Gate of Mordor. However, if you're worried about a lack of scale, check out the cavalry charge from the game's E3 demo from - last issue's discs , a sight that should ease even the most cynical sceptic's mind.
Tactics are also important to a degree, but in order to keep the game as accessible as possible, The Battle For Middle-Earth won't include tactical subtleties such as flanking bonuses. Height will give you an advantage and so will various formations, explains Skaggs.
Some of the coolest things we're doing are the unit combinations. Some of these give you real-life tactical advantages such as having archers in the back while soldiers provide protection from the front. We've got those morale bonuses too, but we're not going to have fatigue because most people donlt see it as fun. Skaggs also promises plenty of siege warfare, including the battle at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith. Decked out exactly as in the movies, with the same guttural voices, vicious-looking weapons and even animations, these make first-class cannon fodder.
There's no escaping that ROTK is designed with consoles in mind. Consequently, playing the game with a mouse and keyboard is like stirring soup with a severed sheep's head - it just shouldn't be done. So you'd better find yourself a gamepad if you're thinking of joining the fight against Sauron. While you're at it, make it a well-built and comfortable one, because for many hours you will be sat.
ROTK is a button basher. Yes, there are a variety of attacks, special moves and combos to be learned, but simply smashing the basic attack buttons more or less randomly is enough to see you through most of the game. Some steps have been taken to add extra dimensions to the non-stop gamepad abuse.
All characters have a ranged attack, but an auto-aiming system removes any finesse that may have arisen from this. There's an RPG-style levelling-up system, with experience points spent to gain extra abilities and combo moves, but it's not sophisticated enough to provide any real longevity.
To its credit, ROTK tries to break things up with extra goals and tasks within the levels. At one point you have to slaughter reams of fleeing Uruk-hai with the assistance of some stomping Ents before the way ahead opens. Another level sees you helping defend the walls of Minas Tirith, where, apart from cracking skulls, you have to beat back orcs scaling ladders and siege towers to prevent an 'overrun' gauge filling up.
EA is obviously determined to get its money's worth out of this franchise. So we have footage from the films, the real actors' voices and likenesses, and even bits of concept art and interviews with the likes of Christopher Lee as rewards for finishing levels. Very glossy, very slick. However, as you watch cut-scenes from the film and listen to Ian McKellen narrate the next section, you know this Hollywood coating is not why you buy games.
However, as much as every anti-marketing, brand-hating bone in my body tells me that Return Of The King sucks ass, a few levels in, and despite suffering repetitive-strain syndrome from abusing my gamepad, I discover I am enjoying myself. It's nice to hear Mr McKellen's sage-like voice. It's nice to watch some of the best bits from the movies again. And slaughtering hordes of bellowing orcs can be fun. But that doesn't mean we'd recommend this as a worthy buy - it's far too one-dimensional.
If you've got a Rings-mad younger brother, or you're an insatiable consumer of all things Rings, then yes, this has got all the Tolkien trimmings you could ask for. Ultimately though, it's a shallow affair, something that no amount of EA gloss can hide. With peter Jacksons celebrated Lord Of The Rings trilogy set to reach its climax this Christmas, PC gamers could have been forgiven for feeling a little aggrieved. Whereas EA flooded the consoles with its take on The Two Towers, the PC was harshly neglected, despite surely being the most obvious market for all things bearded.
So while console owners got to mince around as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, beating several shades of shit out of the residents of Middle Earth, the PC remained as barren as a New Zealand desert. Admittedly, we did get Vivendi's hasty cash-in Fellowship Of The Ring -based on the book, not the film - but it was a largely shoddy affair that did little to justify the licence. This time round, EA has done the right thing, and The Return Of The King will receive a cross-platform release this November, a good six weeks before the film hits the screen.
Therefore, keen gamers will already be familiar with many of the scenes before they load up on popcorn and bed in at their local cinema for the final instalment. Not only will the game feature actual - and unseen - footage from the film, but the environments are also taken directly from it.
As such, you'll be able to convincingly explore the Paths of the Dead, defend Minas Tirith, and battle Sauron's forces at the Pelennor Fields before final confrontations at the Black Gate and the Crack of Doom. EA has clearly invested a great deal in the licence, something that has guaranteed the game's development team near unprecedented levels of access to the property.
This extends as far as the digital assets, as well as voice-overs from the actual actors, and the haunting score composed by Oscar-winner Howard Shore. The authenticity of Return Of The King isn't in question. What PC owners will be looking forward to discovering is how the undeniably rich universe has been fashioned into a game.
And in contrast to the limited number of characters in The Two Towers, this time there will be a total of nine playable and unlockable characters, including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam, and Frodo, all looking the part, and of course sounding the part thanks to the involvement of internationally famous film stars. More than mere hideous replicas, the characters will be able to get stuck into the action in an impressive fashion, interacting with the environments during both melee and ranged combat.
As well as punching enemies hard in the face and wielding great big swords, characters will also have the ability to jump and swing from ropes, fire catapults, kick boulders and tweak armpit hair one of these may not be true. And as is becoming increasingly fashionable, multi-directional attacks will be possible, along with a variety of combos that should help to slay such boss monsters as Shelob. While the emphasis is clearly on action, there will also be some adventure elements and even an RPG-lite system whereby characters can gain new combat attacks, new skills, and weapon upgrades.
And although it's not shaping up to be a radical departure from The Two Towers, it will be a bigger game, boasting one extra level for a total of 14, all of which promise to be larger than in the previous title.
Free-to-play multiplayer feature includes control of both light and dark side. HUD is named Palantir. The army is divided into infantry, ranged fighters, lances, cavalry, and siege soldiers. All characters have unique abilities. It is capable of summoning Gadriel or Sauron. Middle-earth is divided into three separate territories with their own unique features. The sequel added three new factions: goblins, dwarves and elves. Rohan and Gondor belong to the faction People of the West.
There is also Mordor, Isengard and others. Goblins have trolls, spiders and dragons at their disposal, Isengardians fight with the help of Uruk-hai and Saruman, and Morodorians recruit humans, orcs, mumkils and other creatures into their units. Download torrent.
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