With The Rings Of Power streaming on Amazon Prime, now is the time for fans to go back and play the plethora of Middle-Earth games made during the Warner Bros. era of this franchise. In that time, many games with various styles took on Tolkien's beloved high-fantasy world.
Each and every Middle-Earth game has characters both familiar and original to play as; some are better than others. From Elves such as Legolas and the forgotten Glorfindel to newer characters such as Talion of the Black Gate, each of these now-iconic game characters deliver fans what they need when it comes to gameplay, story, and personality.
Glorfindel
The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth II (2006)
A character from the book that was sadly missing from The Fellowship Of The Ring, Glorfindel is skilled and cunning warrior. He became the main character of one of the more stand-out RTS games known as The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth II.
Even though the gamer is not really playing as him but commanding him to fight, it's still fun to control the Elf warrior and plot out strategies to defeat enemy forces. He had a solid voice-acting performance and proved intriguing enough to carry the game's story.
Berethor
The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age (2004)
Like Glorfindel, the characters in The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age are indirectly controlled by the player since the game is a turned-based RPG akin to Final Fantasy games at the time. With that said, Berethor still has his own unique skills and abilities that are engaging and satisfying to chain together as the generic warrior archetype.
Sadly, Berethor and all the other original characters in The Third Age suffer from a lack of character development. For the most part, they end the same way that they begin and Berethor is no different, coming off as a derivative of Aragorn or Boromir.
Idrial
The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age (2004)
If Berethor is the warrior archetype, Idrial is the archer/rogue archetype that is meant to be The Third Age-equivalent to Legolas. That's far from a bad thing since she has the range and mystical attacks that make her into a mix of Legolas and Gandalf.
Idrial has far more flourish and spectacle to her attacks, which makes her far more fun to level up and unlock. Sadly, she suffers from the same lack of depth to her character that Berethor does when the story could have developed these characters so much more.
Custom Character
The Lord Of The Rings Online (2007)
If the player is looking for a character that suits their play style, there is no one better than a character that is literally tailored to the style of the player. In The Lord Of The Rings Online, players can play as a Human, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Stout-Axe, High Elf, or Beorning.
From there, the player can customize their looks and gameplay to whatever fits them. To a degree, it makes it the perfect character for fans of Middle-Earth, that is if they enjoy the MMORPG gameplay of games such as World Of WarCraft.
Aragorn
EA's The Lord Of The Rings Duology (2002-2003)
Typically, direct movie-to-video game translations are not that great, but EA became known for these games back in the early 2000s with both The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. With The Two Towers and The Return Of The King, EA delivered linear but fight hack-and-slash games.
Aragorn is playable in both games, and he is exactly what gamers would expect: a warrior wielding a powerful sword. Of all the characters in EA's duology, Aragorn is the easiest to grasp which is often the case with warrior classes, but that doesn't stop him from being fun, especially when he's actually voiced by Viggo Mortensen.
Legolas
EA's The Lord Of The Rings Duology (2002-2003)
The elf prince Legolas is exactly what most people expect him to be; he's fast, agile, and excels with ranged attacks thanks to his bow. One of his defining attacks is actually the ability to fire multiple arrows at once more attacks.
Like with Aragorn, the film's actor returned to voice the character and as always, Orlando Bloom nails the character. The only problem with Legolas and nearly all the characters in the EA duology is that the hack and slash gameplay can get tiresome after a good while.
Gandalf The White
EA's The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
Ian McKellan's now-iconic wizard is not all magic-based like most video game mages and wizards are usually depicted. In EA's The Return Of The King, Gandalf fights with his staff and a sword, allowing him to act more like a battle mage in terms of combat.
In one attack string, Gandalf can deal out high damage with his sword and then fight incoming enemies from afar using the magic of his staff. Whenever chapters featuring Gandalf appear or when the player can freely pick a character, Gandalf is always going to have a fun time.
Andriel
The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North (2011)
Though quickly forgotten, The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North showed the potential for RPG games set in Middle-Earth. Andriel is a fresh departure from the usual archer with limitless arrows archetype that Elves are depicted as in this franchise. She's actually closer to Gandalf, wielding a staff that she uses for magic and melee.
On top of that, with the gear and RPG elements, the player is able to customize Andriel from head to toe to suit their style. Andriel may not be the most well-written character in the franchise, but she and all the War In The North cast have enough to keep the player interested.
Farin
The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North (2011)
Many Dwarf characters in video games tend to fall under the category of being watered-down clones of the ever-iconic Gimli. That was finally changed with Farin who can wield multiple types of weapons, including a crossbow.
Farin has the most diversity in his gameplay which can allow players to experiment with the different weapons and abilities. He also acts different from other Dwarves: he's not crude and boisterous but rather a more stern and level-headed character. It also helps that the player can pick dialogue choices to advance the story and take different paths.
Talion
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor Duology (2014-2017)
At first glance, Talion of the Black Gate comes off as wannabe Aragorn, but that quickly changes. If anything, he has more in common with Eric Draven from The Crow since he is an undead warrior bonded to a wraith trying to avenge his dead wife and child.
The talented Troy Baker plays Talion, and he portrays the haunted hero well across Shadow Of Mordor and Shadow Of War. However, when it comes to the gameplay, no other character can match since he fused with Celebrimbor's wraith turns him into a godlike being with controls that feel like a perfect mix of Assassin's Creed and the Batman: Arkham games.
Source:gamerant.com