War of the Ring (video game)

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring is a 2003 real-time strategy game (RTS) developed by Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the previous Battle Realms and its expansion, Winter of the Wolf, and published by Sierra Entertainment. Set in Middle-earth, it expands upon the events of the War of the Ring as told in The Lord of the Rings. Unlike the later The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth by Electronic Arts, War of the Ring is based solely on the books, not the films by Peter Jackson. Thus, units like Frodo and Aragorn look and sound different from their counterparts as depicted in the films and the game.

The game features a horde of different warriors that can be employed by one of the two available faction, Free Peoples and Minions of Sauron, referred to as Good and Evil in the game. Environments range from Mirkwood to the barren stretches of Mordor, and each contain numerous settings, including ruins, Elvish castles and Dwarven mines. Despite its mystical appearance, and fairly diverse three dimensional environments and buildings, the game has been the subject of some criticism, due to the fact that its style of play is highly similar to that of Warcraft III. Its production being received by fans as mediocre, The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth, which was considered a major hit, followed closely in its footsteps.

Gameplay
The game plays much like Warcraft III with added features, some previously used in Battle Realms. A similar layout and control system is used, and the player gets to control hero units with special abilities. Most regular units also have abilities of their own. The game also follows standard RTS conventions by having rally points, unit creation and purchase of upgrades at certain buildings, etc.

Some features from Battle Realms that were carried over include toggleable walking and running for units and the ability to set buildings on fire. The game also emulates Battle Realms’ yin and yang system, where combat experience (or special actions) would provide a special resource that could be used to buy upgrades or units. This resource is called Yin or Yang in the previous game, depending on the faction being used, and is called Fate here. The player can use Fate Points (gained in combat) to summon heroes, purchase their special abilities, and activate special faction-specific Fate Powers that will aid him or her in gameplay (such as summoning an Ent or a Balrog). Also, some influence from Warcraft III can be seen, with the Minions of Sauron corrupting land with "war posts" before they can build upon it — very similar to Warcraft's blight.

Unique to the game are the Places of Power, monuments that award bonuses (like increased armor or attack) if controlled by the player. The player takes control of one by either finding on the map (by having a unit go near it) or wresting it from the foe (killing guards, if any, or else taking it when left unguarded).

The game features two factions to choose from: The Free Peoples of Middle-earth (the good side) and the Minions of Sauron (the evil). The Free Peoples include Men – such as those of Gondor and Rohan, the Dúnedain of the North, and the Beornings – as well as the Elves and the Dwarves. Playable heroes on this side include the Fellowship of the Ring, as well as leaders such as Faramir and Erkenbrand. The Minions of Sauron include the various kinds of Orcs and Goblins, Wargs (ridden by the Orcs), Trolls, the Haradrim, and the Giant Spiders of Mirkwood. Playable Evil heroes include Gollum, Saruman, and the Witch-king of Angmar.

The game features a Good and an Evil campaign, in which one fights the War of the Ring from opposing sides. The game does not actually dwell on prominent battles such as the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (the Battle of the Hornburg is featured in the Good campaign, though) but rather presents scenarios based upon Tolkien’s writings (with varying degrees of license taken). For example, the Good campaign starts with Gimli and the Dwarves fighting the Orcs in the Iron Hills, and one Evil mission has Grishnákh destroying the warning beacons of Gondor. A relatively more faithful scenario is the defense of Osgiliath with Boromir and Faramir.

The game also features a multiplayer mode of gameplay, where players fight against either the computer (skirmish) and/or other humans (via network) on preset or user-created maps. Like Battle Realms, this mode includes several variations like Razing and Survival.

The entire game is divided into several playable categories. Players have the power to chose from playing a single skirmish game as either Good or Evil, a campaign game as either Good or Evil, or an online game with other players as Good or Evil. In addition to these, the player may also take the tutorial, a preset game that explains the way to move, attack, and order aroung your troops. Playing the skirmish game is the simplest of the three main options, as no storyline is involved, and thus the player can utilise the full array of soldiers, spells and building available. Playing a campaign game is very different, as a storyline is involved, and the player must follow that predetermined storyline in order to advance to the next stage of the campaign. Online play is the same as the skirmish, with the exception that you play against another player rather than a computer.

Whilst playing, you will order a variety of troops around using the mouse, these troops will vary depending on your faction, and use them to fulfill the predetermined victory condition, usually the destruction of your enemy faction. Occasionally, troops you control will come into contact with enemies, and battle will be optional. During battle, troops health will be reduced with each blow from the enemy, although this can be altered with healing or protecting spells. When a units health is fully reduced, it dies, or in the case of heroes, vanishes in a beam of light. Heroes that have been killed may be regenerated at the camp, though losing one in a campaign may be a losing condition. At the camp, troops are created from a number of buildings, provided there are sufficient resources with which to do so, which range from barracks to stables, and, as with troops, are destroyed when under prolonged attack from enemies. Spells and sorceries also come into play, and can boost the effieciency of your troops, or cause damage to enemies.



Spells can only be cast once sufficient Fate has been gathered, and depending on the strength of the spell, the amount of Fate required increases. Fate is gathered by performing acts of great damage on enemies, and the destruction of something such as an enemy camp will provide a fair deal of it.

Available Units
Units from both factions vary, some possessing powers that help troops around them, or themselves, and fit into a number of different categories, infantry, archers, cavalry and monsters.

Listed below are the available units for the game and their respective powers and abilities.

Heroes

 * The Fellowship
 * Frodo - costs no Fate, can become invisible by wearing the One Ring.
 * Sam (campaign-only, appears only in Lothlorien)
 * Merry (campaign-only, appears only in Lothlorien)
 * Pippin (campaign-only, appears only in Lothlorien)
 * Gandalf - The most powerful Good hero. He appears as Gandalf the White throughout campaign mode but starts off as Gandalf the Grey in non-campaign mode and respawns as Gandalf the White after dying.
 * Aragorn - has the highest attack power, can heal friendly units
 * Legolas - ranged attacker, has booster abilities
 * Gimli - can stun enemies and capture enemy towers
 * Boromir (campaign-only, appears in Osgiliath and Lothlorien) - can knock back enemies by blowing his horn
 * Faramir (campaign-only, appears only in Osgiliath) - ranged attacker, similar to Legolas but has less abilities
 * Théoden (campaign-only, non-playable character, appears only in Helm's Deep)
 * Erkenbrand (campaign-only, appears only in Upbourn and Helm's Deep) - mounted attacker, can boost Riders' attack power

Regular units

 * Man Worker - collects resources and builds structures
 * Elf Worker (campaign-only) - collects resources and builds structures
 * Dwarf Worker (campaign-only) - collects resources and builds structures
 * Gondor Swordsman - basic melee fighter
 * Ranger (of the North) – detects invisible units
 * Rider of Rohan - mounted attacker
 * Rohan Archer (campaign-only) - ranged attacker
 * Beorning – can heal friendly units in human form, powerful attacker in bear form
 * Elven Archer – ranged attacker, can become invisible when upgraded
 * Elven Lightbearer – ranged attacker, spellcaster wielding the Light of Eärendil
 * Elf-warden (campaign-only), Elf melee fighter
 * Dwarf Axethrower – ranged attacker, can throw flaming axes
 * Dwarf Shieldbreaker – melee fighter, temporarily decreases armor of units it is fighting
 * Huorn – can become rooted to the ground to entangle enemies around it and use the chance to heal
 * Ent (summoned by using 7 Fate points, can summon only 1 at a time) - throws rocks at enemies and their buildings

Heroes

 * Gollum (costs no Fate) - can become invisible and sneak up on enemies
 * Saruman - The most powerful Evil hero. He make an enemy unit join his side.
 * Grishnákh - can plant bombs and set enemy buildings on fire
 * Saleme (an original character, a Haradrim huntress) - ranged attacker, can heal friendly units and set poison gas traps
 * Witch-king of Angmar - can reduce armor of enemies around him and teleport from war-post to war-post
 * Nazgûl (the Witch-king can summon up to 8 of them, each costing 1 Fate Point) - can poison enemies with their Morgul-blades
 * Shelob (campaign-only, non-playable character, appears only in Cirith Ungol) - attacks any units (regardless of Good or Evil) around her after she is drawn out of her cave, will retreat after sustaining moderate damage

Regular units

 * Goblin Worker - collects resources and builds structures
 * Goblin Slavemaster – increases population capacity by 12 per Slavemaster, like Zerg Overlords in StarCraft
 * Goblin Spearman - weak melee fighter, but moves and attacks fast when upgraded
 * Orc Slasher - basic melee fighter
 * Orc Bowman – ranged attacker, can shoot flaming arrows when upgraded
 * Warg Rider - mounted attacker
 * Troll Bonecleaver - strongest melee fighter, has a sweeping attack which damages all enemies around him
 * Troll Stonethrower - ranged attacker, can throw rocks at enemies from a distance
 * Haradrim Slayer – melee fighter, can become invisible and can shoot poison darts when upgraded
 * Uruk-hai – ranged attacker, shoots arrows that knock back all enemies except mounted units and heroes
 * Giant Spider - stuns enemies with poison when upgraded
 * Wraith – detects invisible units and temporarily blinds enemies around it
 * Barrow-wight (campaign-only) - similar to Wraith but cannot be upgraded
 * Balrog (summoned by using 7 Fate Points, can summon only 1 at a time), uses a flaming sword to attack enemies and set buildings on fire, also has a ground slam attack which knocks back enemies in front of it

Good Campaign

 * 1) The Grey Ledge (TA 3018) - Gimli leads the Dwarves to destroy some Orc camps in the Iron Hills with the aid of giant boulders.
 * 2) The Siege of the Iron Hills (TA 3018) - Gimli leads the Dwarves to defend Thorin's Gate, which is being besieged by Orcs. They find a partially built ancient catapult, complete its construction, and use it to destroy the Orc camp near the Gate.
 * 3) The Pursuit of Gollum (TA 3018) - Legolas leads a group of Elves into Mirkwood in pursuit of Gollum. They encounter Giant Spiders and discover an Orc camp deep in the woods.
 * 4) The Bridge of Osgiliath (TA 3018) - Boromir and Faramir lead the Men of Gondor and Rohan to defend Osgiliath from Sauron's forces. They destroy the eastern bridge to prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold in the ruined city.
 * 5) Orcs in Mirkwood (TA 3018) - Legolas leads the Elves to attack and destroy an Orc camp in Mirkwood.
 * 6) Assault on Dol Guldur (TA 3018) - Legolas discovers the source of the Orc presence in Mirkwood: Sauron's fortress of Dol Guldur. He leads the Elves to attack Dol Guldur and drive away dark forces commanded by a Nazgul.
 * 7) Lothlorien (TA 3019) - The Fellowship (excluding Gandalf) takes refuge in Lothlorien after escaping from Moria but the Moria Orcs track them down. The Fellowship teams up with the Elves of Lothlorien to repel the enemy by using the power of Galadriel's Mallorn trees.
 * 8) The Liberation of Upbourn (TA 3019) - Erkenbrand rallies an army to liberate Upbourn, which has been overtaken by Orcs. He is assisted by Gandalf.
 * 9) Helm's Deep (TA 3019) - The Battle of the Hornburg.
 * 10) Minas Morgul (TA 3019) - Aragorn leads the Free Peoples to attack Minas Morgul and cleanse it of Sauron's forces.
 * 11) The Pass of Cirith Gorgor (TA 3019) - Aragorn leads the Free Peoples to attack Sauron's forces and destroy the final Orc camp. Before that, they defeat a Balrog, whose powers are enhanced by three Claws of Gorgoroth.

Evil Campaign

 * 1) The Mouths of Entwash (TA 3018) - Grishnakh orders a group of Orcs to escort some Goblin workers through the Wetwang maze to the frontline in Rohan. They encounter some enemies along the way.
 * 2) The Beacons of Gondor (TA 3018) - Grishnakh leads his troops to destroy an enemy outpost in the Anorien Valley. The warning beacons of Gondor are alerted to their presence and start calling for help. Grishnakh and his army hold off the reinforcements from Gondor.
 * 3) Clearing the Way (TA 1050) - The Witch-king leads an army through Mirkwood and destroys an Elven camp along the way.
 * 4) Darkness Returns (TA 1050) - The Witch-king and his forces take control of five Ancient Temples near Dol Guldur before seizing the fortress from the Elves.
 * 5) Sweep of the Trollshaws (TA 1999) - Sauron sends four Ringwraiths to 'persuade' the Trolls in Eriador to join his forces. The Ringwraiths and their army destroy the Trolls' dens to force them into submission. Later they team up with the Trolls to destroy a Dwarf camp and a Men camp.
 * 6) Saruman's Uruk-Hai (TA ?) - Saruman gets the Haradrim to help him slay the Wild Men in the forest and then creates Uruk-Hais by combining Orcs and Barrow-wights (ghosts of the Wild Men) in a pit inside the forest. After that he and his army destroy an Elven camp and a Men camp.
 * 7) The Pass of Cirith Ungol (TA 2000) - The Witch-king leads Sauron's forces to destroy a Gondor camp and capture the Tower of Cirith Ungol. They encounter Shelob along the way.
 * 8) A Hidden Plan (TA 3018) - Saleme leads Sauron's forces to attack Upbourn. They destroy a camp outside the town and send Haradrim assassins to kill Wulfhelm, who leads the Upbourn defenders.
 * 9) The Morgul-Road (TA 2000) - After capturing Cirith Ungol, the Witch-king leads Sauron's forces along the Morgul-Road towards Minas Ithil. With the aid of another Orc army ahead, they trap and eliminate the Gondor soldiers who are fleeing west.
 * 10) The Sacking of Minas Ithil (TA 2002) - The Witch-king and the Nazgul lead Sauron's army to conquer Minas Ithil and claim the Palantir on the tower for their master.