The number of Lord of the Rings games being made is rapidly increasing. Movies, too. We’re verging on the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:MCU-ification of Tolkien’s work, and frankly, I hate it. There are still good Rings games, but we’re getting to the point where quantity is taking p🍰recedence over quality.
Recent years haven’t been kind to Rings adaptations. The Shadow of Mordor duology are hit-and-miss in their execution, often brutalising the lore as often as Talion brutalised Orc bosses while he murdered his way up the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:innovative Nemesis System. The jury’s still out on Gollum, too. Our previewers 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:liked the simplicity of what they saw, but 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:I’m less certain.
They don’t make ‘em like they used to. I spent hours fighting waves of Orcs in The Return of the King without ever knowing it was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:based on a Tiger Woods golf game, and I doubt I’m alone in spending hundreds ღof hours on the battlefields of Battle for Middle-earth and its sequel. In fact, the latter captured the hearts of so many that a group of die-hard fans are remaking it for modern audiences.
The Battle for Middle-earth: Reforged is a mammoth project that’s starting with reskins. As you can see in the video above, the volunteer develop🌜ers have awakened the Balrog, with fresh fire and smoke graphics to bring the iconic monster up to date with modern graphical expectations. You can see the team’s Elves, Wights, and locations documented on🦄 the website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page, although things have been quiet for a while now. But this revival goes far deeper than reskins.
The models themselves have been updated with far more detail than 2006 technology allowed, and Unreal Engine 4 has granted the developers the opportunity to improve on nearly every aspect of the game. There are lofty promises of higher framerates, wandering wildlife, realistic collisions and effects, and 4K resolution. Considering that the game is being made entirely by a voluntary workforce – tღhe fact that there is no profit involved is what the devs hope will stave off the EA lawyers – this is a lot of work. And that’s before you get to the new content they’re planning to add in.
You want a new campaign? They’re making one. Better multiplayer, including ranked ladders, less lag, and tournament play? It’ll be there. Why not add in a new upgrade system too, while you’re at it? Sure, it’s on the list. The developers say that th👍ey will be faithful to the original games, but with all the additions, it’s a little hard to believe. With new units, upgrade systems, and maps, how faithful can it really be? At the end of the day, faithfulness to the original doesn’t really matter, as long as Reforged captures the heart and soul that made Battle for Middle-earth so special.
Battle for Middle-earth 2 is an iconic game, believed by many to be the best in a long line of Tolkien video game adaptations. It’s certainly up there for me, and despite having ⭕long given up on hopes of a sequel, a fan-made project looking to revive the series could scratch that RTS itch. With such passionate developers behind the wheel, it’s hard to see how they won’t harness the spirit of the classic Tolkien game to create something exciting and new. Let’s just hope the lawyers don’t get to them first.