Nonchalant LANs

I got my dad to find Slaget om Midgård(tm) upstairs and then bring it down.
When I started installing just for a laugh I decided to choose a non-english language.

After the install I received this message:

---------------------------
Brandvägg detekterad
---------------------------
Din dator har Windoes brandvägg aktiverad. För att spela Slaget om Midgård online måste vi lägga till detta program i brandväggens undantagslista. Är det okej?
---------------------------
Yes No
---------------------------

I chose "Yes" and I guess it worked because my install is finished now.

I can now choose to:
Lasa Readme-fieln
Starta Slaget om Midgård(tm)
Avsluta

I chose "Avsluta" due to it containing the word "slut" :)

My install completed without any errors (amazingly!)

I suggest you stick to English while installing Slaget om Midgård(tm).

After installing Slaget om Midgård(tm) and starting it up for the first time I was presented with a very strange main menu which I couldn't understand. This made me regret installing the game in Swedish. I then went to Multiplayer and joined Justin's game (Not sure how I managed to pull this off!) and we started to play. We played a really bad map which I lagged out of so I quit the game, cleaned my ram up and closed Azureus (SYSTEM HOG!!!) and then copied the registry from Justin's computer (Well actually my Sis's but Justin was using it at the time).

After importing the registry (After a few screwups) I managed to get Slaget om Midgård(tm) to start up as Battle For Middle Earth. This was a much better title and we managed to get a game going on.

The map we started on was one I had downloaded previously and it had unlimited ammounts of respawning units and lagged like a bitch. We then decided to change map and we got a game going on for 4 hours Me & Justin VS 2 "Hard" Computers. I managed to take out one computer (barely) before getting annihilated. Justin kept playing and got pwned by the remaining computer. This was the first time i've actually seen him back someone up in a strategy game. Bravo! Let's see more of this in future! We've all gotta die sometime, right?

The game is pretty good, they have done a great job with the Rome Total War engine and have made it so you can actually move the camera properly. In Rome Total War the camera is actually an object in the game which can get stuck on mountains and various other 3D elements of the terrain and it then blocks you from moving it. Anyway this problem is fixed in Battle For Middle earth and the game turns out quite enjoyable.

The main problem in the game is the Ent's, they are majorly overpowered and can be built in great quanities in short ammounts of time. They are definately match throwers and were one of the main reasons my base fell. Like most strategy games these days Battle For Middle earth features heroes which actually help in the battle field. Gandolf was my most expensive hero coming in at $6000!! Can you believe that? It took me ages to get him! Speaking of cash to earn money in this game you have to build farms on the points upon which you can build buildings. There are usually about 6 of these to a base so they really hurt to build them. They should've made it that your citadel gained you money and there were lots more building points.

Certain building points can only build defense items which adds a certain layer of strategy. Also in the game are "Power Points" which allow you to buy various magic spells and summons with the last being the army of the dead which totally wipes out anyone in it's path but only lasts a short ammount of time and takes forever to recharge. While I was dead in spectator I saw the computer cast this spell and create a big ghost army with a hero at the front of it only to just sit it outside the fog of war until the ghost army ran out. Pathetic. Ovbiously the AI needs a bit of work as it seems to forget what it's doing and just leave armies idling around for no reason while it contemplates it's next move.

Although a challenging game it was a pretty good experience with music from the movies (No locations afaik, maybe look for user maps?) with a good map building community which should increase as word of mouth spreads.

Worth a look if you are a strategy game fan. This is definately a title you should hire before you buy. Justin say's the campaign is rubbish and I haven't bothered to check so be sure to play the multiplayer before making a purchase decision.

I rate Slaget om Midgård(tm) 8/10 for Great.