There are moreLord of the Ringsgames than there are Rings of Power. Developers have drawn from the books, movies, and their own imaginations in crafting these titles. Fans should rejoice at having such a wide range of tie-ins. Little do they know that playing these games is comparable to bearing the burden of the Ring.
CertainLord of the Ringsentries are brutally difficult. They still function without issue, but the gameplay is absolutely punishing. It forces players to fight as if their lives depend on it, dealing with wave after wave of monstrous creatures. In addition, many of these titles have unorthodox structures to further throw fans off their game. On the upside, the high difficulty makes each victory a momentous occasion.
Showcasingthe struggle against Sauron’s forces outside the mainline trilogy,War in the Northsets out to be the most brutalLord of the Ringstitle. It achieves that goal through its incredibly bloody battles. In true hack and slash fashion, the heroes slice their foes to ribbons, soaking the ground with Orc entrails. Sadly, the slaughter isn’t as easy as it looks.
These conflicts can be just as damaging to the protagonists. LikeThe Two Towers, the game has numerous enemies flooding the screen. As the tale progresses, players meet oversized fighters who cause some real headaches. These tanks take a ton of hits and break the heroes' combos with bulky blocks. Oftentimes, players must deal with several of them at once. They’re lucky to get a single shot in.Maybe Saruman really did perfect the Orc formula with his Uruk-hai.
An MMO is perfect for capturing the massive scale of Middle-earth. Like most entries in the genre, however,The Lord of the Rings Onlinehas a lot of grinding. Exploring new areas carries a palpable risk, as fans could easily encounter enemies at a much higher level. Thus, they must strengthen their characters through quests, but that’s a long process. It’s especially slow for those who don’t want to pay for EXP boosters and other perks. However,LOTROis free to play, so fans can plow through the long grind by picking the right quests and going where the main narrative takes them. That said, even this approach comes with some hurdles.
Some quests contain legendary enemies with massive health bars and swarms of minions.Angmar, for instance, is filled with beefy foes. They can easily kill players despite being at the same level. Plus, it’s hard to predict when these instances occur. In the end, each quest is a gamble, which appropriately mirrors the trepidation that the heroes feel on their journey.
TheBattle for Middle-earthtitles already challenge players with their RTS gameplay, andThe Rise of the Witch-kingtakes that challenge up a notch by delving into the past. The expansion details the titular villainexpanding his kingdom of Angmar and eventually conquering the Men of Arnor. That’s easier said than done.
The campaign practically handicaps players. Frankly, most of Angmar’s units are awful. They die easily and inflict little damage. The only exceptions aretrolls, but these beasts take a while to spawn. As a result, this supposedly imposing army is little more than fodder for the Arnor troops, who are basically suped-up Gondor soldiers. It’s difficult to even survive, let alone topple their kingdom. How the Witch-king lasted a day without Sauron’s help is a mystery.
The fantasy franchise lends itself well to hack and slash titles, and this game is a fine example.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersfocuses on the first and second movies. Players controlAragorn, Legolas, and/or Gimlias they plow through Orcs in melee glory. It’s a reliable formula and executed well. Each character feels distinct in weight, skills, and reach. They all have several combos, and the controls are intuitive enough to pull them off. These factors present a solid foundation for the reenacting the tale’s iconic skirmishes.
The problem lies in how much the game throws at players. Each level has a seemingly endless number of Orcs, which can easily overwhelm the protagonists at any given time. Sometimes, the heroes must even protect a particular structure or individual. Since they can barely stay alive themselves, they inevitably fail that simple objective.
Adding further insult to that loss are the unforgiving checkpoints. Dying can set players back several minutes. Apparently, the developers expect them to complete a level in one, clean run. The prospect leaves fans feeling as hopeless as the heroes.
This obscure title represents an early attempt to bring grand strategy toThe Lord of the Rings.Riders of Rohanlets fans control the eponymous Horse-lords as they attempt to rid their land of Saruman’s hordes. The difficulty stems from not only the battles themselves, but general management.
The game forces players to juggle a myriad of elements. Each unit has individual stats, such as morale and stamina. These stats affect how well the unit performs in combat. The goal is to gather more and more of them into a large army, so keeping everyone in fighting shape only becomes harder to manage. Not to mention, the gameplay constantly changes.
It ranges from a large-scale map to top-down battlefields to single melee clashes. Each mode has a different set of rules and controls. With so much dividing fans' attention, they barely have time to make any headway in the actual war. Eventually, they face death by micromanagement.
