The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (2004)

by EA Los Angeles, Electronic Arts
Genres:Strategy, Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Themes:Fantasy, Warfare
Game modes:Single player, Co-operative, Multiplayer
Story:The players control the heroes or villians from the famous Lord of The Rings movies. With a hero characters similar to the Warcraft series you control both the armies and all the unique heroes. The game follows the movies very closely and even got scenes from the films appear in game. Not only does the game contain a giant campaign where you play through the journey of the ring as the good side, the game also features an evil campaign where as the players play as the evil forces of Middle Earth. With multiple diffrent races from all over Middle Earth, a giant spell tree to customize your game and a unique basebuilding layout the game was great for its time.Show more
user avatarAdded by @rdhruv
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.
48 828
Trailers and screenshots
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Stories about this game (113)
What’s your memory of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth?Share your favorite moments and see what others remember about this game.
user avatar@placeholder

Make sure to follow our Guidelines when adding new Stories.

If not sure what to write:
  • What made this game unforgettable?
  • Who did you play this game with?
  • What made it fun or challenging?
  • Why do you want this game on GOG?
user avatar@Bassi_2k10user avatar@Bassi_2k10
January 29, 2025
One of my alltime-favorite RTS. The game did a great job capuring the atmosphere of LOTR. Playing through missions like the battles at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith or commanding your heroes through the mines of Moria was just awesome. For me, Battle of Middle-Earth is one of the most memorable and also most enjoyable RTS I ever played. I'd really love to see this absolute classic to be available at GOG.
One of the best licensed games ever made and a damn good RTS as well. Definitely deserves a re-release. The recreations of the battles at Helms Deep or Minas Tirith are awesome and playing the campaign from either perspective (good or evil) was very memorable and fun.
i would love to see all the lord of the rings battle for middle earth games to come to gog ther ea rare breed of RTS wich is long since over long since overdue to return
user avatar@Snake-user avatar@Snake-
January 29, 2025
I played a lot at the time and the sequel. I also played with friends in LAN games. Although it didn’t have much strategy, was quite fun. The gameplay was simple but effective. It wasn’t a game to think too much about, but its atmosphere was very well crafted, with impressive graphics and an excellent presentation. Even though it wasn’t the deepest game, it managed to immerse you in Middle-earth and make you feel like part of its epic battles.
user avatar@sim_rafaeluser avatar@sim_rafael
January 29, 2025
This and BFME 2 were my favorite RTS, I still have the CDs. Using the Command & Conquer Generals engine, this game brings Middle-earth to life, with excellent voiceovers and nice mechanics. The game has a variety of mods over the internet, great singleplayer campaigns (good/evil) and LAN multiplayer where you can add bots to increase the challenge or play cooperatively against them. The licensing to release this game probably is complex, but it is a shame we don't have for sale in any store.
user avatar@Ashnazquser avatar@Ashnazq
January 29, 2025
Unfortunately, this game can't be replaced. This is a great wound in our hearts. A AAA quality remake is our biggest hope. What I saw on the screen when I used that 10 level ability for the first time after leveling Gandalf to 10 was priceless.
user avatar@Azrapseuser avatar@Azrapse
January 29, 2025
Great production values and great licensing of the Lord of the Rings movies. It had more depth than it appears. There were four asymmetric factions here: Mordor, Isengard, Gondor, and Rohan. The core idea of the game is that your initial base only has limited room for structures, so you must make an initial choice of strategy that you are going to attempt, and then you need to come out and expand by conquering other base locations in the map before your opponents do. Every faction has several possible strategies, chosen by the kind of resource buildings you decide to create and the production facilities you raise. This game discourages sending lots of units to their death, since killing units grants the player unlockable and thematic powers and effects during battle that go from summoning allies, making the sun raise and stunning your opponents, calling the Eagles, or bringing up the Balrog. Each faction had also unique heroes from the movies that you had to level up in battle to unlock more powerful abilities. These heroes could change the course of the game. Among them there all the fellowship members, Saruman, Gollum, or the winged nazgûl. The two single player campaigns (good and evil) were great, with a full map of Middle Earth were you can capture regions to get stronger, or go straight for the story. Then, there were lots of multiplayer or solo skirmish maps, and it came with a map editor to make your own. I spent lots of time making maps, and was part of the awesome modding community that flourished for this game. The sequel, added a multiplayer conquest mode, which was great. But screwed other stuff, like amalgamating Rohan and Gondor in a single faction, replacing the strategic base building system with a "free-build anywhere" one that, while it sounds better, it robs of much of the interesting decisions from the original. Also added Goblins, Dwarves, and Elves as factions, which is always good, but suffered a bit of generic fantasy design.
user avatar@wazz91user avatar@wazz91
January 29, 2025
never got to play this, always wanted to, i hope i can experience this as a huge lord of the rings fan i wish there would be more games coming out like this please
user avatar@Kyblik81user avatar@Kyblik81
January 29, 2025
one of the best strategy games of all times, simply great experience and its The Lord of the Rings game! you love the books? you love the films? you love painting LotR minis? you love playing this gem!
user avatar@Wirbleuser avatar@Wirble
January 29, 2025
A great RTS game that really reproduced the feeling of the large scale battles of the LotR movies as well as having levels recreating parts of the Fellowship's journey. But the best part was the multiplayer. My friends and I spent dozens of hours in the coop-mode. Can heartily recommend.
Those games also need your vote!
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Breath of Fire: Dragon QuarterBreath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is a radical departure from the previous titles of the Breath of Fire series, and in some ways from standard Japanese-style role-playing games in general. The game is built like a huge dungeon crawler, with no overworld map. The combat is tactical: each character has action points (AP), which can be used to move around the screen during an enemy encounter, and perform a variety of combo attacks. There is no magic in the game, and many of the items found in dungeons are random. All the enemies are visible on screen. Depending on who first initiated a physical contact, the party or the enemies get an extra turn in battles. The game allows (and even encourages) the player to restart it from the beginning, keeping the items and the party experience. The game also features a special counter - Ryu can use his traditional dragon transformation abilities, but the counter raises with each such transformation, and when the counter reaches 100, the game is over. Raising the D-ratio allows characters to access new areas every time the game is replayed.
Fantasy
Fantasy
2 438
16
Breath of Fire II
Breath of Fire IIThe incredible sequel to the best-selling RPG hit Breath of Fire is here! You are the last member of the Dragon clan, fighting to rid the world of a growing evil. A cast of unusual and exciting companions joins you in your adventures across a wondrous land full of magic and mystery. You'll find strange mystic items, memorable monsters and exotic locations in your quest to conquer evil. There's strategy and spellcasting galore in the hours of compelling action and adventure that awaits you. Breath of Fire II is the ultimate in RPG excitement!
Action
Fantasy
Action
Fantasy
3 282
16
Viper
ViperA minigame collection based on the popular screensaver software
Action
Science fiction
Action
Science fiction
6
Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenpuu-chou
Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenpuu-chouThe first entry in the Tokyo Majin Gakuen franchise, a series of hybrid titles that mix school life adventure gameplay with strategy RPG battles.
4
Echelon
Echelon
Warfare
Science fiction
Warfare
Science fiction
27
Railroad Tycoon II
Railroad Tycoon IISid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation game. Railroad Tycoon was written by game designer Sid Meier and published by MicroProse Railroad Tycoon 2 is the only game of the series that was released fr the PSX console. You try to make it to the top of the transportation industry in Railroad Tycoon II, a simulation that takes you from a wannabe to a tycoon (if your lucky!).
Business
Business
41
Virtual Chess 64
Virtual Chess 64Transform your N64 into a powerful chess adversary. The most awesome chess engine adapts to any skill level. Learning is endless fun yet even superb players face the maximum challenge. Brilliant graphics brings this classic game alive. Become the next chess legend!
11
Namco Anthology Vol.1
Namco Anthology Vol.1This is the first volume of one of the series of Namco game compilations, released only in Japan. This anthology is similar to the "Namco Museum" series except that this collection include games that have been released on consoles originally. Each disc includes 4 games and, along with each of the games, there were also updated versions of those. This volume includes: - Star Luster - Tower of Babel - Wrestleball (aka. "Powerball" in America) - Conqueror's Continet (untagged)
4
Tribal Rage
Tribal RageRule the wasteland of the future as a gorgeous Amazon, or an evil Death-cultist in the real-time strategy game that doesn't take itself too seriously. With family choices including chain-wielding Bikers, Cyborgs, Enforcers, and Good ol' Trailer Trash, you're bound to find the Tribe that's right for you.
Action
Comedy
Action
Comedy
41
4
Norm Koger's: The Operational Art of War vol. 1 - 1939-1955
Norm Koger's: The Operational Art of War vol. 1 - 1939-1955TOAW is the first in a series of wargames released by Talonsoft. The game focuses on historic conflicts (mainly World War 2 and Korea) that lie between army- and battalion-sized engagements. Each unit is modelled individually down to infantry guns, tanks, etc. The game is scenario driven, meaning that there is no campaign where you fight battle after battle. A scenario can last from a couple of hours to several years (in game time). Two graphics modes are available: Top-down and isometric (pseudo 3D). The latter one shows units as "miniatures-like" icons, representing the main type of equipment in the formation. The other mode uses military symbols for representation. The game is played on a zoomable map (2 levels). The game includes weather effects and political events. All features of the game (units, map, events, etc.) can be edited through the included scenario editor.
Historical
Historical
27