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The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War - What to expect from this massive strategy game set in Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War - What to expect from this massive strategy game set in Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War looks to be a smart and fulfilling strategy game for the fans of the series. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a proper The Lords of the Rings game, with the last one being Middle-earth: Shadow of War in 2017, so it’s great to see such a beloved franchise back in the spotlight. Instead of being an RPG, however, this title is a mobile game that focuses on strategic play and has a unique social interaction aspect to it that allows you to work together each season to reclaim and conquer.

An epic story to rule them all

The story is a bit of a departure from the standard fare, as well. Even though it was once thought destroyed, the One Ring has been found again and is waiting to be claimed in the deserted castle of Dol Guldur. As the war breaks out after the news spreads that it has returned, all the Factions of Middle-earth are assembling to fight for the right to wield its immense power. As you battle to claim victory, there will be many foes standing in your way, and you’ll need a sharp strategy and smart tactics to keep your adversaries beneath you.

All your favorites are here

One of the great aspects of a The Lord of the Rings game is being able to play as your favorite characters and there’s no shortage of them here. If you’re wanting to lead your Fellowship to victory with Gandalf as your Commander, that’s something you can do. The assortment of misfit heroes from Frodo and Sam’s adventures are also available, including some of the less-known characters like Elves and Dwarves that featured in the trilogy. Each Commander has their own skill or ability that will offer you specific advantages in your conquering of land and foes, so you’ll need to choose wisely.

In The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, each famous location from the franchise has been painstakingly recreated in majestic 3D, and you’ll be able to revisit your favorite kingdoms and strongholds, ranging from the beautiful Elven realm of Lothlórien to the twisted, volcanic land of Mordor. Between them is a heap of tiles called ‘resource territories’. These territories are essential as, unlike in traditional strategy games, resources are only generated through the resource tiles, and not through building farms or factories. Making these tiles more vital still is that in The Lord of The Rings: Rise to War, the rewards received for plundering opposing cities will seldom outweigh the costs, so you’ll have to think tactically when expanding your territory instead of continually waging war. Players will also need to pay attention to tiles which represent essential control points, such as river crossing and mountain tunnels. By controlling these tiles you’ll be presented with new strategic possibilities for expanding your territory and marching your armies into battle.

Tiles owned by your own Faction and either your Fellowship or Warband will benefit you, so you must work with others to accomplish your conquest more efficiently.

Working together

Forging a Fellowship or Warband seems like a tall task, but if you are able to convince other players to join your plight, you might just have a legendary story to tell at the end of it, and each season will claim a new victor. You’ll need to work together and associate your likened focus on your enemies’ territories and then bolster your army in order to achieve victory. Each battle will result in either winning or losing another piece of land and the more land you have at the end, the stronger your Faction will become.

With a constant struggle between the Factions and a fantasy world teeming with discovery and intrigue surrounding these battles, The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War seems like it will be both an innovative strategy game and a great tribute to the iconic world Tolkien envisioned. The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is set to release on September 23rd, and you can pre-register now for an exclusive in-game reward after release via Galaxy Store,  Google Play and the App Store.