When it comes to large-scale melee battles, there are no strategy games that come close to Total War. Combining tech that can render thousands of units in real time with over two decades of experience in the strategy genre, Creative Assembly's flagship series has covered historic periods ranging from Ancient Rome, Shogunate Japan, and the Napoleonic Wars, even branching out into fantasy in its recent collaboration with Games Workshop.
Sure, Total Warhammer 3 is coming and it looks great, but there's another fantasy franchise that seems tailor-made for Total War in concept and spirit: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Its epic tale of companionship, loyalty, and the brave struggle of good versus evil was captured brilliantly in Peter Jackson's early 2000's movie trilogy, spawning several game adaptations, mostly in the action-adventure genre. Strategy gamers were only blessed with a couple of offerings: 2003's forgettable War of the Ring and 2004's Battle for Middle-Earth, a competent large-scale RTS that spawned a sequel two years later. None of those games are currently available on digital storefronts, but that shouldn't matter. After nearly 20 years, it's time for SEGA and Creative Assembly to get their hands on those Weta Workshop 3D models, and create the ultimate Lord of the Rings game.
RELATED LINKS:
No new Total Warhammer 2 DLC news expected "for a couple of months"
The best Total War games
Dig deep into Dwarves with this Total War: Warhammer 2 mod