I played just the training mode, which was rather too hand-holdy that I’d hoped for. The camera angle irritated me too, with it being too much “from the side” and not enough “from above” to make it actually useful like in other RTS games. The screen scrolls far too quickly as well, meaning you constantly pan past where you want to get to. In addition, the map in the corner is nigh on useless, the control scheme is irritating and you’re constantly redirecting troops by accident as a result, and the unit voices are laughable at best.
I used to like RTS games, like Dune II (the best I’ve played), Command and Conquer, and Total Annihilation (with this game being like a cross between the latter two), but the combination of no mouse and keyboard, and counter-intuitive controls and commands make Battle for Middle Earth II less than great.
Hurrah for EA, eh?
