Most gamers will probably find that the default view is plenty good though.  The rest of the game’s production values are also quite good as the voice acting isn’t half bad and the music does quite a good job of setting the mood.

The mission objectives essentially call for you to gather resources, build up a force, and then take out the enemy’s forces.  Each mission may mask this greater objective with more minor detailed objectives such as controlling certain waypoints on the map, but each mission essentially plays out in the same way.  This is disappointing as early in the game some promise is shown in the dwarf campaign.  In one of the dwarf missions, you have the option of reaching certain areas of the map where you can push boulders over the edges of cliffs on to the orc encampments below.  There is another mission where you must take control of a huge catapult in order to rain down huge flaming boulders onto the orc camp on the other side of the map.  This mission concept does offer an interesting option in the multiplayer game as there is a scenario where you try and take control of such a catapult so that you can decimate your opponents’ structures very quickly.

Alas, the rest of the missions do not offer as much creativity or variety as these two and gamers will probably still find themselves finishing the campaigns fairly quickly as they aren’t very long or very difficult. The tech trees do not offer a lot of depth either for each of the races.  Rather, over time, as the different forces of evil and the different forces of good start to join with their respective sides, the units available to each side increases.  However, the overall tech tree remains fairly shallow with most upgrades reaching no higher than three levels. While this simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the single player campaign, in the multiplayer game, the lack of a tech tree reduces the strategic levels that gamers will have to work with. 

One thing that the game does sport is the inclusion of hero units.  Much like in Warcraft III, your hero units have special powers and are generally more powerful attackers. This does add some variety to your garden variety orcs, and gondor swordsmen but it is very easy to finish the various mission without using your hero units at all.  One feature that does add to the Lord of the Rings experience is the use of fate points. These points are received for slaying the other side’s units and these points are used to perform different actions such as summoning a giant Ent or a Balrog (large powerful units for those two of you not familiar with the series).  More actions are made available as you progress through the campaigns and these points can become more valuable in turning the tide of a battle in the higher difficulty setting.  

As a whole, War of the Ring offers a solid if not original effort through the much trodden RTS genre. The short technology tree doesn’t offer the gamer a whole lot to look forward to, and the missions aren’t very challenging either.  The single player campaigns offer an entertaining story though, and fans of the books will likely want to play through them just for that. Overall, War of the Ring is a very vanilla offering, but will still likely hold the attention of most RTS gamers who want a quick Lord of the Rings fix after watching the movies.

- Mark Leung

(January 19, 2004)