Look at the Xbox 360’s catalog of games and two genres are well represented: Shooters and Racing games. While sales data does point towards these being the more popular genres, it does leave out a whole category of gamers who have no interest in one, or both, of these genres. It is surprising then that EA, a company that is usually ridiculed for not taking chances, decided to put out a game that is not in the sales “safe zone”. Not only that, but it is part of a genre that it was thought impossible to correctly do on a console – an RTS.

From a purely visual standpoint, Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II is comparable to the game running on a high-spec PC. The main visual focus here is, of course, massive battles. At any given time, you can have upwards of 100 characters on screen at once, all battling it out for control of a section. Generally the animation is smooth and battles run without a hitch, though every so often the camera will get caught up on something or the framerate will quickly drop for a few seconds.

The movie’s score is heard throughout the game. New pieces seem to run every few minutes, so there’s never a truly silent moment. As action picks up, so does the music – though the selection does feel a bit random at times. Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond in the movies, provides the game’s narration. Overall, he does an excellent job of conveying the story. Other major characters are also voiced, and while most sound okay, some of the acting seems a bit over the top.

It is impossible to talk about Battle for Middle-Earth II without mentioning its control scheme. For many years, this proved to be the major issue keeping the genre off consoles, and it appears as those EA has managed to actually pull together a system that isn’t perfect, but works really well.

The biggest innovation to the control system is the cursor. Past attempts used either the D-pad or left analog stick to move the cursor. It worked – at least until the player had to scroll across the map quickly. In response, EA married the camera control to cursor movement. As a result, your cursor remains in the middle of the screen, leaving you to pan the camera in order to move it around the battlefield. The right analog stick also comes into play, allowing you to quickly pull in on action or pan out for a wider view.

All control options are mapped to the A button. Highlight a unit and press A to select it. Highlight an enemy unit, press A and your forces will attack it. It doesn’t take a White Wizard to figure it all out. The system doesn’t allow for fine unit control, but it works well enough and gameplay is more about amassing large armies and sending them into battle.

All other functions are accessed with the right trigger, which opens up an in-game menu system. Here you can quickly build new units, access units or use powers. The system isn’t as easy to use as other functions and many times, it is easier to select units or buildings and control things from their respective menus rather than the quick access one.

Battle for Middle-Earth II offers all of the play modes found in the PC version except for the Risk-like War of the Ring mode. Story mode offers both Good or Evil campaigns. Making use of their extended licensing, EA was able to bring in elements that appeared in the books, but not seen in the movies. Both campaigns serve as a side-story to the main plot, so don’t expect to relive the Battle at Helm’s Deep or other battles involving the Fellowship. Instead you’ll play scenarios like the defense of Dale or the conquering of the Shire.

Throughout each mission, you have access to factional heroes and special powers. Heroes lend special abilities to your forces such as passive attribute boosts or powerful attacks. Like all of your units, the more battles a hero sees, the more experience he’ll gain, unlocking new abilities. Winning battles also nets points that can be spent on powers that can turn the tide of battle. Some alter the battlefield and grant special boosts while others allow you to summon powerful beasts like the Balrog or Tom Bombadil. The power system is well balanced between the two factions, though there isn’t a clear indicator as to when you’ve earned a point or when they can be used again, leading to some confusion.

If the single-player campaigns become tiresome, you can take your battle online and battle in five multiplayer modes. These include a Hero versus Hero skirmish and Capture and Hold, where players are required to hold points on a map.

Each mission has three difficulty settings: Easy for the novices, Hard for the veterans and Normal for everyone else. Generally speaking, missions aren’t all that tough if you keep a level head and plan your moves. There isn’t a whole lot to strategy other than a basic paper-rock-scissors configuration. Calvary destroys swordsman and pike men destroy cavalry. Before you head into battle you want to make sure that you have a well-balanced army, otherwise you’ll find yourself on the losing side.

Also, make sure you accomplish both tutorials before jumping into either campaign.

If there was such a thing as an arcade-like RTS, Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II would probably fit the mold. Many of the smaller elements of the genre, like resource gathering and troop layouts, have been removed. Instead, the focus is more on large-scale battles. Resource gathering requires placing structures in your base that automatically collect command points.

No matter what I say, Battle for Middle-Earth II is a game that needs to be experienced before you actually understand it. While it by no means challenges the PC as being the platform of choice for the RTS genre, it does a damn good job of proving that it can be done and proves that the 360 can successfully play host to more than two types of game.