A fantastic expansion for a great game. The Rise of the Witch-King is truly the Battle for Middle-Earth. Don't miss it!!
The Rise of the Witch-King is based in a time roughly a thousand years after the One Ring was lost. During those thousand years Middle-earth was in peace, but a new and evil force was slowly, but surely building up. The Dark Lord Sauron, banished from Mordor was again beginning to regain some of his lost power and under the leadership of his fierce general, the Witch-King of Angmar, the leader of the Nazgul, was getting ready to wreak havoc again on the realm of Men. Corrupted by greed and power, the kingdom of the North was constantly deteriorating. It was in this time that the Witch-King released his cruelty and malice upon them, and ended the Realm of the North. This game recreates the huge battles and final stand of the Men of the North.
The expansion has added a lot of new content to the original. The most prominent among them is, of course, the new faction of Angmar. Though it does consist of men, it is not a corrupted form of the Men of the West faction. It is a totally unique faction with its own unique units, powers and gameplay. Angmar is very light on cavalry, relying mostly on slow, but hard-hitting infantry, sort of like the dwarves. However, the presence of Sorcerors among their foray provides a magical boost to their army.
Among the new units Thrall Masters deserve special attention. They come quite cheap but prove to be invaluable. The reason is that they can instantly summon additional units into the battle-scene. The additional units can be spearmen, axe-throwers, wolf riders or simple warriors. This allows for a lot of flexibility as you can form an army based on what your opponent has. The thrall masters are however weak and as the summoned units die if the thrall master is killed, they must be kept at the back for protection. Still, proper use of these units can give you a big advantage over your enemy. Only one thrall master can be trained at a time, unlike most of the other units which come in battalions.
Sorcerors can be taught magic spells. Though the spells alone can not win the battle for you, they do give your army a big boost for a certain duration of time. A Sorcerer battalion consists of a single Sorcerer and his Acolytes. Each spell a Sorcerer casts consumes the souls of one or more of his Acolytes. Other new units include Dark Rangers, Black Numenorians, Trolls and Wolves. There’s even a troll-powered catapult for you to lay siege on fortifications with.
The Witch-King is your main hero unit. He can deal a lot of damage to enemy units but may also hurt your own units in the process as well, and so must be used with a certain amount of caution. There are quite a lot of sub-hero units as well. These are a lot stronger than the regular units but not as much as your main hero, the Witch-King himself. These include Rogash who is a troll hero, Morgomir who’s also a Nazgul, Hwaldar who’s a hill chieftain, and finally Kharsh, the most mysterious of the lot.
Angmar also has its own unique Ring powers. They range from the simple blight to reduce the enemy’s resource income, to strong gusts of icy-winds to scatter enemy troops, to summoning a giant Werewolf. The latter is highest-level power and can seriously turn the game in your favour. Comparable to the Balrog in size and power, the Werewolf can literally eat the enemy alive and at the same time is fantastic to look at.
Apart from adding a new faction, the old factions have also been improved and their bugs and shortcomings have been most effectively removed. Sub-hero units have been added to all the factions as well. Apart from factions, other features of the game have also been spruced up. More maps have also been added. The biggest improvement in the expansion over the original is the War of the Ring mode. What looked like a rushed and incomplete feature of the base game comes out brilliantly in the expansion. A lot of strategic planning is now required to effectively conquer it. There are strategic points on the map which give you added bonuses if captured and there is a lot more army movement and control involved this time around. Custom heroes now play a bigger par in this mode.
Create-a-Hero has also been hauled up. A new cost system has been implemented under which more powerful abilities cost more than the average ones. While you had to fill all the open power-slots for custom heroes earlier, you can now choose to let some remain unused if the cost of your hero is more on the higher side. This makes the multiplayer mode all the more interesting as well. A lot more strategic planning is now involved which makes the gameplay all the more intense. The graphics of the game are superb. Rise of the Witch-King successfully manages to capture the Middle-earth feel. The landscapes look a bit darker in accordance with the overall theme of the game. The building and units are also a bit somber. However the effects for the use of Ring powers are a treat to watch, in particular the Werewolf. Battles look more of less the same as they did in the base game.
Sound in the game is also top-notch. Clashing of armies and the general battle sounds are all first-grade. The normal background music has a slight dark tone to it, primarily because you control the evil side in the game, but it blends in nicely and isn’t all that noticeable. Battle music is fast and goes well with the clashes.
The Rise of the Witch-King is a great expansion for a great game. Not only does it add a lot of new content to the original game, it also hauls up its shortcomings. The improved War of the Ring mode and Create-a-Hero feature add a lot of strategic depth and longevity to the game. With its great graphic and sound effects, this game offers a complete and truly satisfying gaming experience. Such quality and precision is hard to come by in an expansion and should not be missed. The Rise of the Witch-King is truly the Battle for Middle-earth!