Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas, commonly known as MOBAs, are a dime-a-dozen. The genre has players battle each other out to grow in strength and destroy the opposing team's base. Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) did it first, and Riot Games' League of Legends brought it to the world stage.
However, almost all MOBAs are played on the PC thanks to the genre's focus on accurate clicks and hotkeys - a feat that could be difficult to do on a video game console like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Fortunately, there was a game that got the formula right, and it features J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth to boot.
This is how Guardians of Middle Earth started.
Guardians of Middle Earth History, Gameplay
Guardians of Middle Earth is a MOBA developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Dec. 4, 2012, per the Guardians of Middle Earth Wiki.
As with many MOBAs, the goal is to get strong by defeating the enemy team in the field and eventually destroying the enemy's base. However, instead of using the keyboard and mouse, like its contemporaries, it uses a video game console's controller to get you and your character around.
While it may seem unusual, the game worked rather well on the console platform. Instead of precise clicks, the heroes of the game, called Guardians, mostly use a cone or column of attack range with their abilities to target enemies with, per IGN.
Speaking of the Guardians, the game features many notables on its roster, such as Gandalf, Frodo, Saruman, and the Lord of the Rings himself, Sauron.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy Watch Brings Support For Nest And Ring Camera Video Live Streams And More
There are also characters that don't appear in Peter Jackson's movies but appear in Tolkien's books, such as Felgrom, Unglob, Wulfrun, and Hiildifons.
There are a few single-target special attacks, which could be a bummer if you prefer to target a specific Guardian to hit.
Instead of getting three lanes to do battle in, Guardians of Middle Earth only has one, probably to make the game simpler to pick up and play since getting used to using a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse is difficult enough for the average MOBA gamer.
To make the game as exciting as the traditional PC MOBAs, Guardians of Middle Earth added unique shrines that provide buffs to the team that captures them, giving an edge to the losing team if they are successful in doing so, per Gamespot.
The game's minions and towers are also upgradeable, allowing them to take down each other on their own without much help from the Guardians.
Guardians of Middle Earth Reception
Guardians of Middle Earth received average to negative reviews from critics and players alike. Although the innovations it brings to the console platform make it playable and fun to play, its technical issues marred the overall experience extensively.
Online matchmaking can take a long time - as much as five minutes, but getting one doesn't mean the fun's about to start. Players can experience huge lag spikes with fairly regular disconnects; just look at the user reviews of the game's IMDb and Steam page.
Bar the technical issues, Guardians of Middle Earth is a solid MOBA for consoles; it proves that MOBAs can be played on ta video game console and still be enjoyable.
Related Article: [RETRO GAMING] Do You Remember the PC-9821 Game Policenauts?
