Bored of the Rings yet? We certainly hope not, as it's mandatory for the 'one ring' to travel in trilogies and EA will almost certainly pump out another Middle Earth RTS after this sequel. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Number two in the series brings us back to Middle Earth for another take on the epic conflict. With the main battles - like the defence of Minas Tirith - already covered in the first outing, the focus is switched to other areas, such as the dwarves and elves allying in the war of the North.

There are two main campaigns, good and evil, spanning eight missions apiece. But here's where it gets weird (as if dwarves and elves working in harmony wasn't weird enough). The mission design is standard RTS fare, with basic 'smash the enemy here' and 'defend this city here' scenarios. This should make the campaigns rather bland, yet they're largely enjoyable. Why?

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First of all, you can't underestimate the Lord of the Rings atmosphere. Screeching fell-beasts circle menacingly above the battlefield. Giant dwarven machines of destruction pound into fortress walls. Hulking cave trolls lumber up and smash your elven guardians with giant spiked clubs, sending clumps of troops tumbling through the air. The graphics in general are excellent, with particularly impressive character animations.

As with the original game, the focus is on large scale battles which look and feel epic. There's no faffing about with individual units: your forces are marshalled in battalions. The interface is as slick as a greased and shaven hobbit, with the standard RTS basics in place plus frills like auto-formation and planning mode.

Holding down both mouse buttons during a movement order invokes auto-formation, which is an easy method of moving an entire army in a locked formation. The clever bit is that the game automatically arranges your battalions, with shock troops at the front, cavalry on the flanks and archers to the rear. Planning mode lets you plot movement and attack orders in advance, including patrol routes.

Strategic thinking is compulsory. If you can wheel your pikemen around to face an enemy cavalry charge, you'll skewer them like roast suckling pigs. If they should get around your lines and mow into the side of your archers, complete with a flanking attack bonus, then you're going to have some very dead bowmen, very quickly.

The campaigns are peppered with quality presentation, sporting classy cut-scenes and in-mission intricacies. In one conflict where you're defending against an incoming evil horde, they don't just pile willy-nilly onto the map. The troops actually form up and a Nazgul rides along in front of them, as if checking the ranks over, before turning, gathering itself and giving the charge order.

There's definitely plenty here to get your average Ring fan excited, so to speak. Lest we get carried away with the praise, it's worth noting that the campaigns do feel short at eight missions, and to reiterate that the scenarios really aren't original, not in the slightest. We have seen it all before, but there's an undeniably creative gloss to the implementation nonetheless.

On top of the campaigns, there's a War of the Ring mode. This is a turn-based strategy affair which bears some similarity to the classic board game, Risk. The idea is to build up armies, capturing and fortifying territories, and when forces clash you can have the computer simulate the results or fight it out in real-time.

This adds a welcome dollop of longevity, although the war can drag on as the real-time battles are full base-building affairs (we'd have preferred a straightforward fight between set forces). Both the War of the Ring and standard skirmishes can be played online, with EA providing official ladders for adept multiplayer commanders to climb.

Battle for Middle-Earth II's rather brief and standard campaigns are livened up considerably by the sheer scale, implementation and atmosphere of the battles. The War of the Ring mode and online options help to extend the game's shelf-life. It's not going to set the RTS world ablaze, but it lobs a good few flaming arrows in its general direction.