When comparing The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II vs StarCraft: Brood War, the Slant community recommends The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II for most people. In the question“What are the best RTS games for PC?” The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II is ranked 5th while StarCraft: Brood War is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II is:
Everything about the game has been improved over the original including the gameplay. With improved base building it now easier to keep the flow of the game going. There has also been 3 factions added to the game making for more choice for the player in how their game will play due to each having different skills and weaknesses.
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Pros
Pro Refined gameplay
Everything about the game has been improved over the original including the gameplay. With improved base building it now easier to keep the flow of the game going. There has also been 3 factions added to the game making for more choice for the player in how their game will play due to each having different skills and weaknesses.
Pro Six different factions to pick from
There are six different factions you can play as: Goblins, Dwarves, Elvis, Men of the West (Rohan and Gondor), Mordor, and Isengard. Each faction has their own unique units and specializations allowing for different play styles across each chosen race.
Pro Great soundtrack
With a great soundtrack as well as realistic battle sounds the game has a high polished sound that fits right in with the movies.
Pro Well balanced
The game is fairly well balanced, so nobody gets an advantage by choosing a certain race.
Pro Remastered Version!
The Remastered version brings updated graphics and widescreen support to the best RTS game ever!
Pro Very balanced
Cons
Con Hub building lacks the logistics of other titles
Battle for Middle Earth II features a main construction building with different hubs branching outward from it. These hubs are the sole areas where you can add on to your base and, with a limited number on your first construction building, expanding to another base is essential if you want to build all of the units available to you and keep up your economy.
Con Actually a 4X game with a touch of RTS
This game is in the 4X genre and should not appear in the top RTS games list, it incorporates good parts from RTS like base building but is not an actual RTS.
Con Micromanagement a necessary skill for success
Like many other high-skill intensive Real-Time Strategy titles, this game is far from simple. Players will suffer a unit capacity limit, meaning you will have to do more with a few units rather than rely on a horde. Unfortunately, micromanagement is not for everyone, and some may see the skill requirement as an unfortunate addition to and otherwise great RTS game.
Con Large focus on micromanagement
Do not get this game if you are more interested in building massive armies and fighting wars of attrition.
Con Old
With the original release dating back to 1998 the game is quite old now and graphics are not at par with current game offerings.
Con No widescreen support
Starcraft is only available in a 4:3 resolution. A hack to make it work in widescreen can be found here.