Chances are, you’ve seen Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, released in 2001, 2002, and 2003 – even if you’re not a fan of fantasy stories involving elves and wizards.
That’s because the Lord of the Rings films have universal appeal, and the same goes for NetEase Games’ The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, a “geo-strategic seasonal wargame” that deserves to be played by mobile gamers, console gamers, PC gamers, and non-gamers alike.
The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is set set faithfully before the events of the books. The One Ring has appeared at the castle of Dol Guldur, so every faction across Middle-earth is set to claim it for themselves and therefore seize control of the entire world.
You play as one of these factions, and it’s your job to create a fortified settlement, put up buildings, and raise an army before setting out to conquer as much territory as possible and outmanoeuvre your human opponents.
Interestingly, The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War doesn’t confine you to the good side. You can choose to form a Fellowship and do noble things with Gandalf and Legolas, or you can form a Warband and hang out with gruesome orcs and other assorted monsters.
Whichever route you take, you’re in for a visual treat. NetEase Games has really gone the extra mile with The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War’s presentation, recreating a number of iconic locations and characters in breath-taking detail.
The interviews above contain a few sneak peeks at these locations, from Minas Tirith to Barad-dûr, as well as a wealth of info on how the gameplay works and how much care and effort went into the finished product.
You can download that finished product for free right now on the Google Play Store, the App Store, and the Galaxy Store.
