Scouting RTS on Xbox 360

The Lord of the Rings ™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ II takes Xbox 360™ into a whole new world, the world of real-time strategy (RTS) games. It's a first for Xbox 360, but it's not a first for Electronic Arts, the game's developer. They're the folks responsible for one of the most popular RTS games out there: Command and Conquer.

Originally, Battle for Middle-earth II came out on PC, but the Xbox 360 version isn't just a straight port from one platform to the other. The developers at EA have taken great pains to maintain all the things you love about playing a console game, including adding some elements that you won't find in the PC version. They dedicated two years to the project to make sure they did it right.

According to Louis Castle, vice president of Creative Development at Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio, "We have redesigned the interface entirely and approached this project as an adaptation rather than a strict port."

To the rescue!

Command Crosshairs
The console control scheme uses a look-and-select system. You aim the crosshairs in the center of the screen at whatever you'd like to control. Basically, you look at it. Regular console gamers will find this intuitive. The analog sticks guide your viewpoint. With the left stick, you move around. With the right stick, you zoom in and out on the map. This makes it fast and easy to access the assets you wish to command.

The actions available change depending on what you rest your crosshairs upon. Tapping the A button once selects an asset and readies it for your command. The right trigger pulls up a menu that allows you to choose actions for the selected asset. These basic commands give you everything you need to order your troops to attack, move troops to a new location, build a structure, command a building to produce more assets, etc. Beyond the basics, you can learn other combinations to gain even greater efficiency.

The assault begins.

Selecting Assets
Longtime RTS fans won't find much to confuse them about the game's commands. The command interface is logical and follows the same principles established in PC RTS games. You can do everything you could on your keyboard, but now you use combinations of trigger pulls, bumper pushes, and button taps to make things happen.

For example, point your crosshairs at a single unit or building. Hold down the A button and move the crosshairs over other units or buildings to add them together as a group. Once you've "moused" over all those you want to add to your group, you can command them as a single entity rather than having to give each individual asset its own command. This saves you time and eliminates the potential for overlooking something.

You can tag units, group them, and then bookmark
them for easy selection. Your strategy can then vary
based on what units you place in particular groups.

Here are a few examples of the selection commands you can use:

• D-pad up: Auto-selects all heroes.
• D-pad down: Auto-selects all builders.
• D-pad right: Auto-selects all spells.
• D-pad left: Calls up the bookmark menu (see Shortcuts below).
• Left trigger + A: Auto-selects everything on-screen (except builders).
• Left bumper + A: Adds asset to or removes asset from current selection.
• Right bumper + A: Auto-selects all assets of the same type as the one in your crosshairs.

Shortcuts
To further increase your control over your own armies, the game offers a special bookmarking function. You can tag units, group them, and then bookmark them for easy selection. Your strategy can then vary based on which units you place in particular groups. For example, you can have a group of all foot soldiers, or mix and match ballista with archers, or make whatever combination you choose. Once you have bookmarked a group, you select it with a single click on the bookmark menu.

In addition to the bookmark shortcuts, you can also use the X and Y buttons as shortcuts. If you've selected a group, then moved your crosshairs around the map to check things out, you can leap right back to the selected group with a touch of the X button. So long as you don't select another asset, the current one serves as an anchor to which you can return once you've completed your look around.

The Y button takes you to current events as they unfold. For example, if one of your camps has come under attack, you can press Y to go see what's happening there. So long as you do nothing more than watch, you can press the Y button again to return to your previous location and activities.

No retreat. No defeat.

Faster Than Real
Although they're called real-time strategy games, there's nothing realistic about how fast things happen in RTS games. But, as any good RTS fan knows, that's half the fun. The pacing becomes more than a science, it's an art form. All great RTS players find their own rhythm, and that rhythm allows them to build great armies and conquer evil (or good, as the case may be).

EA Los Angeles has taken the extra step necessary to build this rhythm into The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II. You may even find the pace slightly smoother and faster than the PC version once you get the hang of the dual analog movement controls and the shortcut buttons. Even those new to RTS games have the basics to fall back on, and can build up their skills as they play.

In the end, Xbox® and Xbox 360 aficionados finally have an RTS game adapted especially for them, and that's the kind of victory that makes heroes cheer.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy