The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II differs significantly from the first.
The plot is based on the lesser-known War of the North, which occurred in the same period as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The game uses the book license in addition to the current licensing of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, which results in the presence of various characters not seen in the films in this game. Some original characters, such as Gorkil and Drogoth, are also included. The campaigns are once again divided into Good and Evil, although they are linear this time rather than taking place on a meta-map.
Men of the West (a combination of Gondor and Rohan from the first game), Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Isengard, and Mordor are the six playable factions in the game. The base system has been fully rebuilt, allowing free-form development throughout the map. Farm-style structures are still used to gather resources but must be erected widely apart and on ideal terrain to maximize income. Foot soldiers can capture neutral buildings such as beacons, pubs, and shipyards, much like tech structures in later Command & Conquer games. Furthermore, unlike farm-style facilities, production structures must be actively upgraded to train higher-tier units. More units are accessible to each faction, new Palantir support powers can be picked, and custom heroes can be developed and introduced in skirmish and multiplayer. Taking the One Ring (from a murdered Gollum unit that appears on the map from time to time) to a fortress allows the player to train a Ring Hero – Galadriel for the Good factions or Sauron for the Evil factions, both heroes being more potent than any other unit in the game.
The War of the Ring is a new game mode accessible in both single-player and multiplayer. After selecting a meta-map scenario and the armies that will appear on it, the game is played in a turn-based fashion across the regions of Middle-earth, with players establishing bases and task forces. Battles between opposing factions can be handled automatically or by loading a standard real-time mode map and playing a modified skirmish match with starting units and structures corresponding to the turn-based map’s state.
