Now we know why EA is asking everybody about what they want from a video game console...

As you all know, The Lord of the Rings series of video games on consoles is being handled by Electronic Arts (EA). If you happen to like those games, you might be delighted to know that the publisher just signed a new license with the film company New Line Cinema, thereby assuring the extension of the partnership.

EA's Executive VP and general manager of North American publishing Frank Gibeau is quite excited as he quipped, "The Lord of the Rings is an incredible canvas to create epic games. We look forward to our next project with New Line Cinema and Tolkien Enterprises scheduled to ship in 2008."

Furthermore, EA slipped in an exciting development saying that an all new LOTR title is coming up. The publisher wouldn't divulge any information on what platform it will be released on (or platforms, for that matter), or when the new title will be released. "We have a long history of making great games with EA and are thrilled to extend our longstanding relationship," remarked David Imhoff, New Line's Senior Exec. VP of Worldwide Licensing and Merchandising.

The list of current LOTR video games from EA includes:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II (PC, 360)
• The Lord of the Rings: The White Council (360, PS3)
• The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (PSP)

Could we blame skeptics from saying that "console RTS" won't work? Real-time strategy (RTS) and its close cousin, real-time tactics (RTT), have always been the domain of the personal computer, with its mouse and keyboard. The traditional console controller is ill-suited for the rigors of battle strategy. And with some disappointing attempts to port PC RTS titles to consoles - including the early Command & Conquer titles to PSOne and StarCraft on the N64 - somehow the cry went up from both sides of the gaming world: stick to the status quo.

This is where Electronic Arts, stubborn EA, comes in. Criticized as they are for a number of gaffes in the past year (alone), we'd always held that sometimes, even they can get some things right, or at least good enough. Backing EALA's bold attempts to put RTS into console gaming (starting with The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II) might be one of them. And now a bolt from the blue dev, Tiki Games, plans to craft a real-time strategy title for, among others, the handheld PSP.

A crazy effort - ludicrous, even? Or is it finally time some boundaries are breached, some lines blurred? Is the core idea of real-time strategy breaking free (because there's not a star in heaven that they can't reach)? Short of beating the 360 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars out of EALA right now for a review, we try instead to deconstruct the idea behind strategy games, and see where they fit in the matrix of the gaming console.

Short version of the verdict: it can, and it will - if you're willing to be as wily as Sun Tzu on a coffee high, that is.

Sun Tzu says: Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Intelligence analysis of strategy gaming on consoles after the jump, Commander.

We earlier reported about the availability Aragorn's Journey Map Pack in the Marketplace. The first ever content pack for The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II sells for 700 Microsoft Points and some of you expressed through your comments that the price is just too darn steep. Well, it seems that some EA honchos is listening to your qualms.

EA recently announced through their official site that the map pack will be available for only 350 MS points or roughly $4.50 which is almost a 50% price cut. Just to refresh your memory, the package gives you three maps- Weathertop, Argonath and Umber. All of them are good for single player skirmishes as well as online multiplayer.

Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II has received its first content pack in the form of Aragorn's Journey Map Pack 1 available now in the Marketplace. For those of you out there that can't get enough of BFME II the map pack gives you three new maps: Weathertop, Argonath and Umber, which you can play to your RTS heart's content.

The maps are for single player skirmishes as well as online multiplayer. The map pack comes in at 700 Microsoft Points so it might seem expensive for some. So if you want to add even more game time to your copy of LoTR: BFME II, go ahead and check out the map pack on the Marketplace.

Electronic Arts announced the expansion of The Lord of the Rings universe with The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king. In the The Rise of the Witch-king, players will cross to the dark side of Middle-earth as the evil Witch-king rises to power, rules over Angmar and launches an invasion of Arnor, home of Aragorn’s ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar faction in the skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes.

The expansion pack provides a new depth of strategy and upgraded War of the Ring and Create-A-Hero features. Create-A-Hero’s Troll class has additional weapons and armor for even greater freedom in customizing game play. War of the Ring offers upgraded army persistence, a new siege dynamic on the Living World Map, and unified territories.
 
"The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king will transport players to a new time and place in Middle-earth while adding strategic depth to the innovative gameplay gamers loved in The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II," said Mike EALA. "Fans will love exploring the evil side of Middle-earth as described in Tolkien's fiction and brought to life in the visual style of the New Line Cinema films. This game is set to deliver the ultimate RTS Middle-earth experience."

 

The weekly list of the most played games over Xbox Live went out today thanks to Major Nelson and the list seems to be maintaining the top 3 with Call of Duty 2, being played most of the Xbox 360 games, followed by G.R.A.W. and then Chromehounds. NCAA 07 overtook Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The announcement that Final Fantasy XI  has finally received achievements might have helped it overcome both BFMC and LoTR: BFME II. Once again Halo 2 is still the top game played over Xbox Live altogether but below is the full list of the top ten Xbox 360 games played over Live this week.

Xbox 360 Top Live Games

1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Chromehounds
4 NCAA 07
5 Oblivion
6 Final Fantasy XI
7 BFMC
8 Lord of the Rings: BFME2
9 PGR3
10 EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3

Gamespot opened its online recruitment office for 48 warriors who are not afraid to die! Not literally, of course. It's The Battle for Middle-earth II (Xbox 360) tournament. In King of the Hill, 48 players compete for the top prize and walk off as the King of Kings.

Each round will pit three players against each other in a tug-of-war battle until the top three players emerge from the dust and ashes of the battlefield. Only the top three players get the spoils of the the war which happens to total a $1,000 prize package! Winners will receive gift certificates from Best Buy - 1st place winner will receive a gift certificate worth $600, 2nd place player $300, and 3rd place player $100.

If you think you have what it takes to rule Middle Earth, sign up now! Tournament registration starts Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 3 pm PT. Sign up now to make sure you get one of the limited player slots. The championship battle will broadcast live on GameSpot Tournament TV.

Sequel to the highly successful RTS game The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth II allows you to delve deeper into the fantasy than ever before.

You can wage war in the North and assume command of the most storied civilizations in all of Middle-earth history - the Elven and Dwarven armies - or fight on the side of Evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. Defend or overtake never before seen lands such as Dol Guldur, The Misty Mountains, and Mirkwood as you unleash powerful new weapons and abilities - summon dragons, cause volcanoes to erupt, or bring down a cataclysmic lightning strike.

AXE and iGames will bring Middle Earth to the XBox 360 by hosting a next-generation launch party for the release of the game. The premiere will be on July 22, held at 10 select iGames member centers across North America, including Canada and Mexico, followed by a 2-week showcase (July 24 - August 6, 2006) in over 40 additional iGames member centers.

For those of you out there that weren't sure if EA did justice to the RTS genre with the new Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II, a demo has hit the Marketplace, so you can try before you buy. The demo weighs in at a staggering 848.84MB, so go ahead and put it in your active downloading list to get it out of the way.

In the demo you'll be able to build your armies and conquer Middle Earth as Elves and Goblins on two maps as well as having the option to challenge a friend and play as the Elves and Goblins in Evil Lorien or Buckland. So go ahead and check out the Marketplace if you want to try out LOTR: BFME II.

Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II has received quite an amount of themes and picture packs. The barrage doesn't look to be stopping any time soon; another set has hit the Marketplace in the form of an Arwen, Dwarves + more! Theme and Picture Pack as well as a Demo walk-through Trailer too. The theme costs the usual amount - 150 Microsoft Points - and the picture pack cost 80 Microsoft points. The Demo walk-trough Trailer comes in the usual 480p (58.50Mb) and 720p (370.23MB) formats. So if you have a LOTR addiction, head on over to the Marketplace and check the goodies out.