LOTR: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king

Even cooler- or at least creepier- is the Sorceror, a potent spell caster who draws all of his power from the harvested souls of his "acolytes," a replenishing but limited group of loyal followers. Say he wants to cause a refreshing shower of corpses to rain down from the sky... that'll cost him the lives of at least three acolytes. Moreover, you can combine units like the Sorceror and Thrall Master to your advantage. When Angmar's outskirt forces were ambushed at one point during our demo, a simple freeze spell by the Sorceror held the invading army in check until the Thrall Master could arrive and summon some defenders. Disaster averted.

Other units new to the Witch-king expansion include Rogash, a stereotype-busting troll who is not only smart and agile, but can apparently sword fight as well, and the Shade of Wolf, a lumbering lupine summon that likes to snack on tasty man flesh or call in a pack of his brethren to do it for him.

Above: Yes, the big fella in the front actually knows how to use that sword. Though he's not above simply smashing stuff indiscriminately either.

CATEGORIES
Charlie Barratt
I enjoy sunshine, the company of kittens and turning frowns upside down. I am also a fan of sarcasm. Let's be friends!
Latest in Strategy
A big mech's lost its limbs in a screenshot from Mecharashi.
After Square Enix cancelled the first new Front Mission in years, it’s suing the developer behind it for releasing another very similar mech game
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
Kingmakers appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Remember that bonkers Kingmakers trailer where an attack helicopter blew up some knights? It's back with a deep dive of its simulated attackers and destructible buildings
Mount and Blade 2 appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Strategy RPG Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord heads to the seas for a Viking-inspired expansion
Rise of Industry 2 appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Go big or go home in Rise of Industry 2 as you claw your way to the top in this complex 1980s business management sim
The Deadly Path appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Strategy roguelike game The Deadly Path poses an uncomfortable question: "Am I actually any good at strategy games?"
Latest in Features
Thor and Loki in Thor: Ragnarok
After 15 years in the making, Thor and Loki's reunion in Avengers: Doomsday could be the perfect MCU conclusion for the characters
Soft Rains logo with frog drawing
"There is an expectation we're gonna make a little Skyrim": Ubisoft and Bethesda veterans form new studio headed by Skyrim and Fallout designer, debuting with first-person sci-fi and "crunchy mechanics"
Witchbrook screenshot of a library in the magical college with witches flying on brooms
Witchbrook: Everything we know so far about Chucklefish's magical new life sim
The village green in Atomfall
My first 3 hours in Atomfall feel playing Fallout 3 for the first time, and if you don't check it out I'm legally obliged to bash you with a cricket bat
The Demon's Hand
League of Legends' take on Balatro is one of its best mini-games yet – and it's also exactly what's wrong with this era of League of Legends
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Here are the 23 biggest omissions in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list announcement – and why they might be missing