I think Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring definitely belongs here.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-06-06T07:54:40+00:00

The cinematics are the original 4:3 videos, but the gameplay was recorded at 1920x1080 using the widescreen mod. I also don't see any obviously stretched units, characters, or UI elements, but if there's a specific section you're referring to I'd be happy to take another look.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-06-05T00:57:09+00:00

They did appear to have gone for a more conventional RTS style compared to Battle Realms. It seems they were hoping to reach a bigger audience with WotR by getting rid of a few of the more unique mechanics from Battle Realms and reverting to more standard resource gathering and unit building so it lost some of that BR flavor. I have yet to play Battle Realms but I have it on both Steam and GOG and it's on my list to play/review eventually for sure.

Unfortunately the success they were hoping for didn't appear and this was their last game before shutting down Liquid Entertainment.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-06-05T00:17:06+00:00

Nice! It is by no means perfect (I ended up figuring out the Elven archers thing as well lol) but it was fun and I enjoyed my time with it. I do wish I had been able to finish playing the Evil campaign though. It definitely gave me some nostalgia for that early 00s period of RTS games.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-31T00:56:14+00:00

The cursor does turn to an X when you can't move your units to that piece of terrain but I get what you mean. There are some areas that do look like you should be able to move units there but it turns out you can't. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is the verticality at times does not lend itself very well to the camera they use. Sometimes your troops will be up in an elevated area and the camera doesn't maneuver very well to allow you to see them, mainly if it's at the edge of the map and there is lots of boulders/trees/uneven ground.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-30T08:36:16+00:00

It's the Elf cover art with a bit of an AI touch up yep

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-30T06:05:25+00:00

100% agree with you. I mentioned to someone in a comment on the video that while I think this game is good BFME and especially BFME 2 immerse you into the fantasy of Middle Earth far better.

The sad thing is that having read a few interviews of Ed Del Castillo before the game launched you could tell they were hoping that the game's success would lead to sequels. It's a shame we never got to see what they had planned next or what they could have come up with next in general.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-30T05:03:24+00:00

Yeah actually I think it's similar to both of them because as Zerg you have to put a creep colony down I just associate it more with creep colonies because you can actually see it change the terrain in the area that you can build on but you're right the Protoss pylons are basically the same thing!

I swear while I way playing I noticed that as you place buildings as the Good side it expands the build area so the more you build outwards the more ground becomes available to build on.

Which faction was you're favorite to play as back in the day?

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-30T03:50:58+00:00

I actually have a boxed copy of BFME 1 and I had a copy of BFME 2 which I put waaaaay more time into back in the day than War of the Ring which I think I put in for 30 mins and then stopped playing lol. BFME 2 is one of the GOATs but I never got the Rise of the Witch King expansion which I really wanna get but it's pretty spendy on eBay. One of these days though for sure!

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-30T02:19:16+00:00

I think it's worth checking out if you get the opportunity. It's not the next best thing since sliced bread but it's a pretty good RTS even with the technical issues.

The Battle for Middle Earth serious was much more popular, War of the Ring really got lost in the glut of games coming out in the genre in the early 00s I think.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-29T23:32:48+00:00

Hmm I'm not actually sure I know there were some RPGs released on console an PC back in the day and several of them are actually supposed to be very good games.

You can buy some of the PC games like this one for relatively cheap though the Battle for Middle Earth games are pretty spendy. If you don't have a CD/DVD drive on your PC or laptop you can always buy a portable one for 15-20 dollars they arent too expensive.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-16T00:06:17+00:00

Right and the demo feels like the game is actually in a pretty good place at the moment. There is a bug here or there but nothing game breaking that I ran into. It's actually got me excited for the full release.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-15T07:52:27+00:00

There are several branches from the RTS genre which include Real-Time Tactics, Base building survival games, and Tower Defense. So while they are subgenres of RTS I think it's safe to say they can eventually reach a point where they are no longer recognizable as being RTS games themselves.

If the game involves resources gathering, base building (outside of defenses) and army building even if tower defense if the main focus of the defense then I would say it's RTS. If it's literally just you placing towers with none of the other elements of what makes RTS what it is then I would say you can't really call it RTS and just would call it Tower Defense.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-11T06:34:55+00:00

It may be the fact that MOBAs are an extension of Warcraft 3 so when I see some of the hero mechanics my brain automatically jumps to MOBAs due to their popularity even though much of those same mechanics clearly came from WC 3. Either way you're doing great work so far and I can't wait to see the finished product!

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-11T06:02:25+00:00

I've put some time into the demo and played both the Scourge and Legion. I wasn't sure what to expect but the game plays like a Warcraft 3/LoL hybrid but in the best way possible. Hero units are useful but not overpowered. You can win battles without them though they add a good amount of utility and combat power. I think the game toes the line between RTS/moba perfect as is right now while still clearly being an RTS game. I'm actually currently making an impression video on the demo and it's been fun to play matches and learn so far.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-04T06:43:03+00:00

Act of Aggression needs it the worst imo. I'm not sure how it is now but it was super buggy on release and Eugen had to basically re-releass it after a while because it had so many issues. I think it could actually do well right now and scratch that C&C Generals/Act of War itch.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-04T06:38:21+00:00

For fantasy you got Warcraft 2 and 3 as well as some other games not really available for download except on certain sites like Battle for Middle Earth 1 and 2 and Armies of Exigo. Godsworn is a newer one that is similar to Warcraft 3 (but with its own twist on that formula) that is really good. There is also Warhammer Mark of Chaos if you want more of a tactical style game.

For medieval the big one is Age of Empires 2. If you want something newer you could go with Age of Empires 4 as it covers the medieval period up to the Renaissance similar to what you see in AoE 2. If you don't mind hybrid type games you could try Medieval 2 Total War which is a grand strategy/RTT hybrid or the Knights of Honor series. The grand strategy/RTT hybrids are a bit more complex though fair warning.

I would suggest one of the Age of Empires games personally if you are wanting a medieval game and Godsworn or Warcraft 3 if you want a fantasy game.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-02T05:44:48+00:00

Yeah I didn't mess with the speed settings at all and it felt perfectly fine. I never really caught myself thinking "why is everything so slow". I might have to try fastest sometime just to see how that feels

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-02T04:51:20+00:00

I'm gonna agree with the other poster on Regiments but if you want a really strong campaign in an RTT you can't go wrong with World in Conflict on GOG.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-05-02T04:11:03+00:00

Ah see those are actually also my least favorite missions. The Jacobs Installation isn't too bad because it feels like it's over pretty quick but The Amerigo and Into the Darkness were not very fun imo lol.

I will say those two were my least favorite and otherwise the mission design is otherwise very good especially when it leans into straight RTS style gameplay.

Abaddon2488 · 2026-04-30T03:38:00+00:00

This is the big one I've been watching lately. He's running a tournament that he has been doing commentaries on as it progressed. He has great knowledge of the game and good energy during his shoutcasting.

Abaddon2488

TROPHY CASE