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Translating a real time strategy title to a home console, without the support of mouse and keyboard, has been a chore for developers. So much that in fact there are very few that come to mind, which makes you wonder if they will ever get it right to the point where it's worth the time and effort to bring the genre to the console market. Well EA is definitely on the right track with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II on the Xbox 360. Not only, due to the immense power of the 360 does the game's visuals translate well from the PC (Click Here for a review of the PC original), but the developers have honed the controller in such a way that building, fighting, and maneuvering seem second nature. Of course, nothing is a substitute for a good mouse and keyboard option, but if we were ever to live in a world that submitted us to only using controllers, then we may have found the solution to such a dilemma. Thanks to HDTV technology, the resolution on your TV finally draws ever closer to what can be displayed on a computer monitor. Everything from the high quality cinematic cut scenes to the very detailed characters and environments, the PC version of the same title has been faithfully, if not flawlessly, translated to your living room. This too goes for the game's sound, brought to you in glorious 5.1 Dolby surround. Now you can feel the Battle for Middle Earth as if you were there right beside the dwarfs, hobbits, and elves.
Of course translating the visuals and sounds is easy, the translation of RTS game play to a controller has been the real burden. In a surprising move, EA may have found the perfect control set up. Your button setup includes actions, cancels, cycling through menus, opening command hubs, moving the camera, zooming with the camera, selecting units, giving commands, selecting formations and much more! After only a short time with the game, the controls will become second nature whether you are a full time console player or playing on one for the first time. This useful control scheme allows for gamers to have full controls over strategies, building, and attacks on land and sea. BFMEII supports online play as well. Choose from Versus, King of the Hill, Capture and Hold, Resource Race, and Hero vs. Hero modes. Word to the wise though; make sure you are playing with or against people of your own skill group, as newbies will be decimated very quickly. Not being a huge fan of the genre, I found that out very quickly and decisively. It a shame it took developers this long to come up with a console RTS control scheme, but alas it is here and it is glorious. If you are a proud owner of and Xbox 360 and you enjoy this genre on your PC, you will feel right at home with the translation, as it is near flawless.  | Finally a RTS on a console! | | And it works! | | And it's gorgeous |  | It may not be for everyone. |
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