Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth battles onto iPhone and iPad

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'Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth' hits iPhone and iPad in May
Grab your axe, sword or bow and get ready to do battle.
Photo: Electronic Arts

Unite a team of elves, dwarfs, wizards, men and hobbits to battle in Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth. It’s tactical, turn-based strategy combat for iPhone and iPad set in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously).

The game was created by EA and Capital Games, who previously teamed up on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.

Grab your sword and join Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth

The last Tolkien book was published in 1955, and the most recent movie premiered in 2014, but the adventures in this fantasy realm don’t have to end. That’s where Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth comes in. It just hit the App Store, and it’s free to play.

The launch trailer that premiered Wednesday is heavy on storytelling but light on details of the actual game.

So be sure to watch the gameplay trailer as well. It shows that Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is heavily focused on combat. Of course, that’s a very popular genre of games. It’s giving players what they want most.

Players will build a team of characters from the three Lord of the Rings books to battle for possession of a new Ring of Power. Options include Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Éowyn and many more. And the choices aren’t limited — orcs and trolls can be added to teams, as well.

The App Store has advice on playing.

EA calls the look of the game styled realism, and says it “highlights the animated, fantastical and magical elements of our characters and world while remaining grounded in reality.”

Start battling!

Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is available now from the App Store. There are versions for iPhone and iPad.

It’s a free-to-play game, so naturally there are many in-app purchases available. The cheapest of these is a $4.99 Gems Pack, but the options go up to $99.99.

Find it on Apple Arcade

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