In this box we have a solid presentation, conventional and workable gameplay mechanics with intuitive interface, that old familiar feeling, and just about everything any other modern day RTS of any worth or credibility has: animation is smooth, graphics are technically good, and performance is acceptable (though even the mightiest of machines gets toppled after a bit of intense action). The saga of the One Ring plays out across the course of the plot as typically RTS-like as every other component, if such a thing exists. The last mention is most depressing, for if certain directions were taken during design, it could have been possible to create a new, more authentic, more grisly and epic world -- the same one Tolkien had in mind to begin with (detail, detail, detail).