Best console RTS ever, but not without its hiccups.

User Rating: 8.5 | The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II X360
General usage of the controls is very simplified. I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. The gameplay is fast and the game looks and sounds fantastic. The core gameplay has not changed. This was a near perfect port in that department. And hey, actually playing an awesome RTS on a console is just fun!

However, it can become difficult to manage anything less than an army. Selecting a single hero requires zooming in most of the time. Also, trying to fight a battle on multiple fronts or flank an enemy can be a real pain due to the fact there is no easy way to quickly switch your view from one army to the next to your base. You can do this to some extent using the "Y" button, but it is by no means as helpful as clicking on a mini-map in the PC version would be. I've also experienced some annoying lag. It hasn't affected my battles yet, but getting lag in the first two single-player missions worries me since I know that my armies will only grow.

All in all, this is a solid port and just as most of the reviews have mentioned it is truly the best RTS we've seen on a console. But despite the fact that I am a lifelong Tolkien/LotR fanatic, I cannot say this is what I'd hoped it would be. For my play style, multiplayer games are going to be extremely difficult due to lack of ability to micro-manage. If you're a rusher you should have no problem, but when it comes to tactics don't expect a lot of maneuverability.