‘The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War’ is an Epic Battle for Control of the One Ring

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is a strategy game that puts you in the boots of your favorite heroes from the franchise and has you leading armies to victory. Along the way, you’ll meet many other Factions, forge alliances, and work together to take down your adversaries. Most of The Lord of the Rings titles from the past were set up as action RPGs, with the exception of the LEGO titles, but Rise to War brings the excitement of a large-scale battle to mobile, so you can take the lore and legacy with you on the go.

New story, but the same world you love and remember fondly

Taking in place the same backdrop as the trilogy of books, the One Ring, which is yet to be destroyed by Samwise and Frodo, is resting in the deserted castle of Dol Guldur; a location that you might recall is where the White Council drove out Sauron. Your task will be to forge an army in a race against rival factions to claim the prized Ring. Since the One Ring is such a powerful relic, all of the Factions of Middle-earth scramble to claim it before it falls into the wrong hands. Taking on the entirety of Middle-earth seems like a tall task, but if you’re vigilant and work together to form a strong Fellowship or Warband, then maybe such a power might be within your reach.

Take command of your favorite characters

One of the greatest allures to The Lord of the Rings video games is the ability to take on the persona of some of the coolest characters ever written in fiction. The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is no different, as you’ll have the option to command your troops to victory with Gandalf the Grey or the King of Gondor, Aragorn himself, and many others. The game also includes some of the lesser-known characters from the books, but either way, you’ll be able to find a recognizable face and help them claim victory. With each Commander having their own pros and cons, you can experiment with them and find out which works best for you.

The interactive map available to you in The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is expansive and highly detailed, and you can tell they spent a lot of time ensuring that it was meticulously sculpted to match the original locations. As you zoom all the way in, you can see the individual tiles, but if you zoom out, you can easily spot famous locations that you’ll easily recognize, such as the capital of Gondor, Minas Tirith, and the lava-covered home to Mount Doom, Mordor.

The aforementioned tiles are resource areas that you can capture to recover essential resources for your army as they represent the only way to earn resources in the game. Other tiles will also present important points in the geography of the land, such as crossing points over rivers, or tunnels beneath mountains. These will play a vital role in how you maneuver your army and expand your territory.

It stands to reason then that when it comes to tiles, the more you own, the stronger you become, and this strength will benefit not only your army but those in your Fellowship or Warband, requiring teamwork to conquer more efficiently.

“… And my Axe!” – Teaming Up

Assembling a power legion may seem trivial at first, but you can work with others to strengthen your chances in this war, which may offer you an opportunity to tell your own epic story if you claim victory. Seasons are split up to allow a fresh start and maybe provide you a better chance if you joined in the fun later in the previous one.

Working together is a great opportunity to take advantage of The Lord of the Ring: Rise to War’s unique social interaction system, and may land you a friend in the process as you focus on enemy territories and expand your forces to arise victoriously. Every battle you fight will either result in you expanding your influence or detracting from it, but ultimately, it’s about the amount you control that determines your power and resources which feed into the next skirmish.

As the entirety of Middle-earth assembles their strongest to help them claim the One Ring, The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War puts you in the center of the action, filling in the details of a new chapter in the saga that you help write. What could be simply another strategy game becomes something more, thanks to the epic scenery and scale of the battles that ensue. While the game explores a new opportunity to take the fight to mobile, a first for the franchise, a strategic look at the characters and locations within The Lord of the Rings is a welcome opportunity. The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is set to release on September 23rd, and you can pre-register now for an exclusive in-game reward after release via Google Play and the App Store.