The Battle for Middle-earth 2: The Rise of the Witch-king review

Everything a great expansion should be, doing both the series and Tolkien's source material proud.

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    The look

  • +

    the feel

  • +

    the accuracy

  • +

    The Angmar faction

  • +

    Literally everything's been improved

Cons

  • -

    Splayed

  • -

    dynamic resource management

  • -

    Witchy-boy being afraid of girls

  • -

    Fighting against Angmars in multiplayer

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

A glut of real-time strategy. A surfeit. A plethora even. That’s what 2006 feels like: one crispy, creamy confectionary after another. Well brace yourselves, here comes another, shining the light of Elendil onto an original that hardly needed it. Rise of the Witch-king is such an all-around quality follow-up to this spring’s The Battle for Middle-earth II that if you missed the original release, the expansion is all the reason you’ll need to pick up both.

More info

GenreStrategy
DescriptionWant more and bigger real-time strategy battles in Middle-earth? Add this to your buy pile post-haste and thank us (but mostly EA LA) in the morning.
Franchise nameLord of the Rings
UK franchise nameLord Of The Rings
Platform"PC"
US censor rating"Teen"
UK censor rating""
Alternative names"LotR: The Battle for Middle-earth II The Rise of the Witch-king"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
Less