The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth is one of the best games in Tolkien’s fantasy world, but it’s difficult to find in 2023. Creative Assembly makes up for it.
On Dec. 31, 2010, an unfortunate thing happened: Electronic Arts shut down the online servers for The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, as well as its sequel and the sequel’s expansion. What’s more, EA’s licensing deal with New Line Cinema, which had allowed the former to develop games set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world since 2001, expired as well. Warner Bros. assumed the mantle of steward for The Lord of the Rings video games, The Battle for Middle-earth series disappeared from digital storefronts, and one of my favorite real-time strategy series vanished into licensing limbo.
The Battle for Middle-earth games aren’t impossible to play in 2023. Officially speaking, you can purchase pre-owned physical copies of each game on eBay, and play the whole series online via custom servers. There’s also a massive Unreal Engine 4 fan mod in the works (although it’s still unclear when, or if, the project will be finished).
Even so — it’s a shame that modern strategy fans can’t simply visit the Origin storefront, GOG.com, or even Game Pass to try out the simple yet compelling clashes between the Men of the West, elves, dwarves, goblins, Mordor, Isengard, and the forces of the Witch King.
The Battle for Middle-earth isn’t the best strategy series ever made. Combat relied on standard rock-paper-scissors unit weaknesses, factions were grossly imbalanced in multiplayer, and enemy AI repeated the same strategies custom game after custom game, leading to predictable skirmishes for anyone who preferred to avoid online multiplayer.
But as a means for marching an army of Gondorian spearmen, Ithilien rangers, and Riders of Rohan to Osgiliath, only to clash with an opposing force of uruks, trolls, and war machines in a pitched real-time battle, in which you defend two bridges over the Anduin river before launching a surprise attack with upgraded cavalry over a third? These games ruled.
