Mrcere writes: LOS ANGELES – Let me make this really easy for you: If you have played EA Game’s “Battle for Middle-earth II” and enjoyed it even moderately, the new expansion “The Rise of the Witch King” is spectacular! If you haven’t played it, you may find like I did, that crawling into Middle-earth in a game format is immensely fun and contains more of the ‘feel’ of Tolkien’s works that you thought possible.
Everybody in the Tolkien universe, or at least the pop-culture side, knows that there are Lord of the Rings games aplenty. Most of us have some, boxed on a shelf or received as presents or even board games or card games or miniature games that have received a fair share of use.
Computer games are nothing new either. Console games or games for the PC have been around as long as Tolkien has been part of mainstream pop-culture. So EA’s two “Battle for Middle-earth” games have always been in the back of my mind somewhere as something I really should try.
So when the call came from EA Games to visit its campus and try out the new “Rise of the Witch King” expansion for the “Battle for Middle-earth II” game, I had a vague idea of what to expect. In the gaming circles, which I assume doesn’t include all TORn readers, BFME2 (Battle for Middle-earth 2) is a ‘real-time strategy’ game, known as RTS to gamers. I have even played RTS games before somewhere in the “Command & Conquer” series and had a lot of fun.
THE SUMMIT
The big event EA was promoting is the expansion of “BFME2: The Rise of the Witch King,” which hits the streets on November 28th and is a major addition/expansion to the game touted as having several significant upgrades and differences in game play. Apparently, TORn along with representatives from several gaming sites were the first to actually get hands on the finished game and play it. If you already know the BFME and BFME2 games, let me make this real easy for you: Rise of the Witch King is fantastic!
For the rest, who like me, maybe don’t know the games inside and out, let’s look with a little more depth. First, I only played the game for eight hours at most and some of that time was spent teaching myself the basics. BFME2 is required to play the expansion so EA didn’t need a tutorial on the game, but as a BFME2 virgin, I had to spend some control-learning time which was fun.
In full-disclosure, I can’t ethically give a complete review of the game because I didn’t play it all or anything close to it. I can only say that I absolutely loved what I played and if the rest of the experience can match the early stages, well, it was enough to send me scrambling for a BFME2 game so I could play the expansion after I completely devour the game it expands. Again, I can’t say for sure that the game holds up over time, but my enthusiasm for it at this stage is genuine.
THE BASICS
For beginners, the concept puts a gamer as a 3rd person all-powerful controller of a race from Middle-earth. You can play Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Isengard, Men of the West, and Mordor. You will be pitted against the computer or other players who also control a group (called factions) and you square off to wipe each other off the map. Players must manage resources that are harvested by mechanisms such as mines for Dwarves, Mallorn trees for Elves, farms for Men and so on. Resources allow players to build various fighting units which can be used to take out the opponent’s army or his structures.
Now, that all sounds basic but the joy of the game comes from all the complexities inside that simple formula. To twist a phrase that only a Tolkien-geek can love, the Valar are in the details! A real feeling of the richness of Middle-earth is in the game, allowing players who manage well to produce stone-hurling Ents or a secret attack Watcher in the Water. Each faction has story-appropriate attacks and defenses and heroes. This allows favorite characters directly from the books and films to make appearances but without being silly stock units of an army.
WHAT IS NEW?
So the expansion of the game takes the player out of the familiar movie and book world of LOTR. EA has a license from both New Line Cinema but with Tolkien Enterprises, allowing them to delve deep into the lore and legend of the greater Middle-earth, not just for the War of the Ring. (Look for more details in a pod-cast interview soon!)
Game producer Amir Rahimi presented the game to the community members and journalists invited to the summit. In favor of brevity let me just spit out the leading features about the expansion:
With 3,018 years between the loss of the ring and Frodo’s quest, EA picked the rise of Angmar and its leader, the Witch King to set its battles in
Basic game play changed, enhanced, deepened by 1) improved siege 2) enhanced, better artificial intelligence 3) new units
The new faction for the game is Angmar
Improved game artificial intelligence
Siege weapons improved, more of an emphasis in the game
Every former faction has new units
New weapons and armor – something for every unit
Economy feature added to world map (think Risk with money!)
14 new territories, geography given emphasis
8 complete missions available plus epilogue
New powers including: ghost of werewolf, soul freeze, snow blind, fell wind, avalanche (note the winter theme)
Lots of heroes from legend and lore including: Khamul (second in command of the 9 ringwraiths), Morgomir (another wraith), Wormtongue, Sharku, Azog (Orc who killed Thror), Brand (of Dale), Rogash, Hwaldar, Gothmog
Each faction gets a mini-hero or a hero in a unit as follows: knights of Dol Amroth, Noldor Elves, Dwarven Zerkers, Uruk Beserkers and fire drakes and black riders
Angmar units are thrall-masters that recruit different units on demand in the game, a versatility that is fun
Angmar sorcery units actually drain the life-force of his followers to cast spells, very cool
CONCLUSIONS
So the pleasures of the game for me come on several different levels. I love the play, just the fun and strategy of the game. It seems to me, from talking with community members who know the game inside and out and from playing it myself, that of the versions of ‘Battle fore Middle-earth’ the Witch King expansion, features the best game play. Now again, I can’t know this for certain until I play the game and previous versions a lot more but that is definitely a strong impression I left the summit with.
The solid BFME2 game has been tweaked and improved to improve imperfections in its previous issue. Of course this happens all the time with such games in the way of patches, but this seems to be another step up.
I also enjoy feeling like I am back in Middle-earth while playing. I am a Tolkien guy and clearly the books are cannon and the films are an interesting interpretation, but the game allows me to poke around in the corners of Middle-earth that haven’t been defined in too much detail. At first concerned about being a bad guy like the witch-king, I found instead that it is fantastic fun. I enjoyed playing a version of what might have been a sequence of battles that led to the fall of the kingdoms of Men in Middle-earth. Witchy, and his followers, have a great and terrible legacy in Tolkien’s writings, but the details aren’t too specific and while the game isn’t gospel, it is fun. Playing it creates an impression of depth and substance that I enjoy.
I think I enjoy it more than playing a game set more in the time of the ‘Lord of the Rings’. My mind goes wild with possibilities of possible new directions EA could take these games. Although I know what I concoct in my head wouldn’t be commercial enough, I still love the ideas. I dearly hope the expansion game comes to the Xbox 360 as I find I just have too much to do at my computer already and I prefer my couch, big-screen TV, surround sound and thoughts of Xbox live. Hopefully the new Microsoft OS that promises to link computer and console game experiences will allow even more in-depth play.
My biggest criticism of the game is actually the limits on live and head-to-head play. I would have loved the possibilities of expanded team play. The idea of a TORn team (or several) facing off against three other players somewhere and co-operating to bring the other team down would expand live play into something beyond its current possibilities. I can hope EA fits this in the game for “Battle for Middle-earth III” (if it happens) or some other expansion. In my opinion, in today’s gaming marketplace, this alone would launch the game to a whole level.
Playing through the scripted missions is fun, but playing head-to-head offers a whole new intensity. With options to play it live, well, I fear the amount of time this little diversion might cost me. Part of this is game play and part of it is having my own hands in Tolkien’s imagined world. I doubt Christopher Tolkien is available for on-line matches, but still the game feels respectful of the good professor and his creation.
I talked with producer Amir Rahimi one-on-one for a few moments, mostly about how they managed to translate Middle-earth. That interview should be available on a pod-cast in a day or two.
SUMMIT TOURNAMENT
At the summit at the EA campus we were given several hours to get our hands on the game. Fittingly, we then were placed in a tournament to play head-to-head. I feel no shame in admitting that had I played every single one of the approximately dozen other players I would have lost to them all. Fortunately I only had to get wiped out once. These folks, compared to me, were masters but despite the butt-kicking I had a lot of fun and to my face at least, nobody laughed. One of the players, and a new friend from Heavengames.com, allowed TORn to use screenshots of her game. My fortresses and war machines were much less impressive than hers anyway, but they still don’t quite communicate the coolness of seeing this thing live. The animations and actions and behaviors and voices of the battle-units are just plain fun.
So, as the holiday’s approach, I must say I recommend the game with the exceptionally long name, “Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch King”. Vet gamers will appreciate it, especially live and Tolkien fans, especially those with a taste for exploring more Middle-earth will find many hours of fun.
So you signed every petition you could find and wrote lengthy letters to every New Line and MGM-adress you could find and you still feel a little frustrated over all this PJ/Hobbit-news? You still feel a little disappointed and glum? Let’s try and channel that into something fun and creative! Because like Pete said; there is no positive value in bitterness and rancor.
TheOneRing.net would like to invite you to show your support for a Peter Jackson-directed The Hobbit in a positive and creative way, while we wait for new developments. Feel free to participate in one of the following contests with the added footnote that, well, you can’t really win anything!
Show Us Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit!
Let yourself be inspired by our hugely popular (and creative) ‘Show us your DVD’-requests or the even more hilarious 7-Up in Middle-earth campaign we ran. Photoshop, cut and paste a scene, poster or screenshot based on The Hobbit or simply the current situation of the project. Let your imagination run wild!
Peter Jackson Caption Contest!
If you, like myself, can’t photoshop for the life of you, then join in on this caption ‘contest’. Let us know what you think Pete’s thinking!
The rules
Of course there have to be some rules. First of all; don’t be offensive. Though we cannot argue about taste this is not a platform for flamewars and the likes. The TORn Staff will not post entries which they deem to be offensive.
Secondly, if you are going to email us your creations please do so in a decently-sized .jpg-format (our mailserver has suffered enough the last couple of days).
And last but not least: don’t forget that this is supposed to be lighthearted and fun. We are not out to attack anyone, we are going to be supportive and creative!
Entries can be emailed to leo@theonering.net, keep an eye on the frontpage for them to appear online!
Saul Zaentz, the owner of Tolkien Enterprises, and ultimate holder of the film rights to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings was very recently interviewed about the Hobbit and Peter Jackson’s involvement.
The interview has since been posted on German Rings site Elbenwald. You can read the original article here. It’s in German, so below is a translation of his comments. The translation comes from Jurgen at TheHobbit-Movie.com.
Q: What is with the long anticipated Hobbit-adaption?
A: It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. The question is only when. He wants to shoot another movie first. Next year the Hobbit-rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us in contrast he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.
Every year the Ojai Music Festival has a house tour to help raise funds. This was the 61st year of the Festival and there was what has to have been the crowning jewel of houses on the tour. It was the Whitman House as noted on The One Ring on November 7th. This stunning home was designed and built by noted architect Marc Whitman and his wife Julia. Julia’s father bought the original home that had been built in the 1930’s as part of a cattle ranch. Marc remodeled the home in two phases with an eye to influence by art nouveau and gothic revival – especially Antoni Gaudi and Bernard Maybeck. The delightful result is a home that, to a Tolkien fan’s eyes, looks like a combination of a hobbit hole and Rivendell.
Mr. Whitman’s philosophy is that “Nature is the standard on which we weigh our sense of beauty.” The home and gardens (as designed by Mrs. Whitman) fit as seamlessly into the natural landscape of the hills of Ojai as any elfin home. Each room of the home is a cozy individually sculpted creation that would please the most discerning hobbit. Mr. Whitman believes “Integrating architecture and nature is the ultimate marriage of mind and heart.”
Mr. and Mrs. Whitman had a charming story about the round hobbit door of their home. That part of the house was completed just two weeks after the opening of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring. They were teased at how lovely their “hobbit door” was, as though they had somehow put it together in just a few weeks!
If you are interested in learning more about the other works of Mr. Whitman please visit his website at whitman-architect.com. If you would like to learn more about the Ojai Music Festival please visit their website at ojaifestival.org.
I would like to personally thank Mr. and Mrs. Whitman for the privilege of photographing their beautiful home.
TheOneRing.net believes that our strongest allegiance is to you, the Lord of the Ring fans. Therefore, we will continue to strive to keep you up to date with all of the latest information on the making — or breaking — of The Hobbit.
The best way for us to do that is to give you the information you need to express your feelings, especially after reading Peter Jackson’s letter to our community. Tell the people who can change the future of this film what you think about the recent developments in the possible production of The Hobbit, and how you hope they proceed.
NEW LINE CINEMA:
Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Robert K. Shaye and Michael Lynne
New Line Cinema Corp.
888 7th Ave., Fl. 19
New York, NY 10106
Phone: 212-649-4900
Fax: 2112-649-4966
Please be as professional and courteous as possible in your correspondence with these entities – and take into account how they are responsible for bringing The Hobbit to the big screen!
Talk to other fans about how you feel! Share your thoughts on The Hobbit with other Ringers by joining us through our java chat using your browser. Alternatively, point your favorite IRC client to our server:irc.theonering.net and join #theonering.net. Come along and vent and discuss. All we request is that you do so politely!
Moments ago we received this email from Peter Jackson and his crew down in New Zealand, take a look…
Dear One Ringers,
As you know, there’s been a lot of speculation about The Hobbit. We are often asked about when or if this film will ever be made. We have always responded that we would be very interested in making the film – if it were offered to us to make.
You may also be aware that Wingnut Films has bought a lawsuit against New Line, which resulted from an audit we undertook on part of the income of The Fellowship of the Ring. Our attitude with the lawsuit has always been that since it’s largely based on differences of opinion about certain accounting practices, we would like an independent body – whether it be a judge, a jury, or a mediator, to look at the issues and make an unbiased ruling. We are happy to accept whatever that ruling is. In our minds, it’s not much more complex than that and that’s exactly why film contracts include right-to-audit clauses.
However, we have always said that we do not want to discuss The Hobbit with New Line until the lawsuit over New Line’s accounting practices is resolved. This is simple common sense – you cannot be in a relationship with a film studio, making a complex, expensive movie and dealing with all the pressures and responsibilities that come with the job, while an unresolved lawsuit exists.
We have also said that we do not want to tie settlement of the lawsuit to making a film of The Hobbit. In other words, we would have to agree to make The Hobbit as a condition of New Line settling our lawsuit. In our minds this is not the right reason to make a film and if a film of The Hobbit went ahead on this basis, it would be doomed. Deciding to make a movie should come from the heart – it’s not a matter of business convenience. When you agree to make a film, you’re taking on a massive commitment and you need to be driven by an absolute passion to want to get the story on screen. It’s that passion, and passion alone, that gives the movie its imagination and heart. To us it is not a cold-blooded business decision.
A couple of months ago there was a flurry of Hobbit news in the media. MGM, who own a portion of the film rights in The Hobbit, publicly stated they wanted to make the film with us. It was a little weird at the time because nobody from New Line had ever spoken to us about making a film of The Hobbit and the media had some fun with that. Within a week or two of those stories, our Manager Ken Kamins got a call from the co-president of New Line Cinema, Michael Lynne, who in essence told Ken that the way to settle the lawsuit was to get a commitment from us to make the Hobbit, because “that’s how these things are done”. Michael Lynne said we would stand to make much more money if we tied the lawsuit and the movie deal together and this may well be true, but it’s still the worst reason in the world to agree to make a film.
Several years ago, Mark Ordesky told us that New Line have rights to make not just The Hobbit but a second “LOTR prequel”, covering the events leading up to those depicted in LOTR. Since then, we’ve always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film, back to back, as we did the original movies. We assumed that our lawsuit with the studio would come to a natural conclusion and we would then be free to discuss our ideas with the studio, get excited and jump on board. We’ve assumed that we would possibly get started on development and design next year, whilst filming The Lovely Bones. We even had a meeting planned with MGM executives to talk through our schedule.
However last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on the Hobbit and the LOTR ‘prequel’. This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects.
Ordesky said that New Line has a limited time option on the film rights they have obtained from Saul Zaentz (this has never been conveyed to us before), and because we won’t discuss making the movies until the lawsuit is resolved, the studio is going to have to hire another director.
Given that New Line are committed to this course of action, we felt at the very least, we owed you, the fans, a straightforward account of events as they have unfolded for us.
We have always had the greatest support from The Ringers and we are very sorry our involvement with The Hobbit has been ended in this way. Our journey into Tolkien’s world started with a phone call from Ken Kamins to Harvey Weinstein in Nov 1995 and ended with a phone call from Mark Ordesky to Ken in Nov 2006. It has been a great 11 years.
This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness and rancor. We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects.
We send our very best wishes to whomever has the privilege of making The Hobbit and look forward to seeing the film on the big screen.
Warmest regards to you all, and thanks for your incredible support over the years.
We got to go there – but not back again …
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh
Xoanon here, this is a big blow to the LOTR community. I feel like there has been a death in the family…there are a LOT of questions that will remain unanswered for the time being. Why couldn’t New Line come to an agreement with PJ? Is there really a time option on the film rights for New Line? Who will they get to direct? Those are some massive shoes to fill if you ask me. I hope that whoever they get to direct will not try something ‘new’ with the look and feel of PJ’s Middle-earth…and what is this LOTR ‘prequel’ project?
There have been rumors about The Hobbit being split into two films, will this prequel project then become the third film in another trilogy? Who knows…
I’m sure Peter and Fran aren’t going to want to talk more about this, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be begging for a sitdown and chat! Stay tuned for more…
Update: Demosthenes here. Like yourselves, many of us here have been getting more and more excited by the news that the Hobbit, whether via one or two movies, seems to be gradually drawing closer to production. The news that Jackson and MGM studios were in close talks and that production could begin as soon as 2008 or 2009 was particularly promising.
The news of New Line’s apparent veto is quite cutting. What does it mean for the viability of the production? Will anyone back two films if Jackson is not directing? Who are the alternatives anyway? Will WETA still do the FX, and will the production be based in New Zealand? And will actors such as Ian McKellen still want to come on board? A few of us are discussing these things in TheOneRing.net’s IRC channel. If you to care to join us, simply drop in and join us through our java chat using your browser. Alternatively, point your favourite IRC client to our server:irc.theonering.net and join #theonering.net. Come along and vent and discuss. All we request is that you do so politely!
For beginners, the concept puts a gamer as a 3rd person all-powerful controller of a race from Middle-earth. You can play Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Isengard, Men of the West, and Mordor. You will be pitted against the computer or other players who also control a group (called factions) and you square off to wipe each other off the map. Players must manage resources that are harvested by mechanisms such as mines for Dwarves, Mallorn trees for Elves, farms for Men and so on. Resources allow players to build various fighting units which can be used to take out the opponent’s army or his structures.
So the expansion of the game takes the player out of the familiar movie and book world of LOTR. EA has a license from both New Line Cinema but with Tolkien Enterprises, allowing them to delve deep into the lore and legend of the greater Middle-earth, not just for the War of the Ring. (Look for more details in a pod-cast interview soon!)
So the pleasures of the game for me come on several different levels. I love the play, just the fun and strategy of the game. It seems to me, from talking with community members who know the game inside and out and from playing it myself, that of the versions of ‘Battle fore Middle-earth’ the Witch King expansion, features the best game play. Now again, I can’t know this for certain until I play the game and previous versions a lot more but that is definitely a strong impression I left the summit with.
