The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (BFMEII) is a real-time strategy video game by Electronic Arts. It is based on the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings live-action film trilogy. The game is the sequel to Electronic Arts' 2004 title The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. The Windows version of the game was released on March 2, 2006, and the Xbox 360 version was released on July 5, 2006. In the game, the Good Campaign focuses on Glorfindel, an Elf who, with help from the Dwarves and other Good forces, attempts to eliminate Sauron and his army to restore peace in Middle-earth. In the Evil Campaign, Sauron sends the Mouth of Sauron and the Nazgûl to muster wild Goblins as part of his plan to destroy the remaining Good forces with his army. BFMEII received generally favorable reviews from video game critics. Reviews praised the game's integration of the Lord of the Rings universe into a real-time strategy title, while criticism targeted the game's unbalanced multiplayer mode. BFMEII received numerous awards, including the Editors' Choice Award from IGN. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Battle_for_Middle-earth_II> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1484: The College of Arms, one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in Europe, was established by royal charter in London. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Arms> 1836: Texas Revolution: At a convention of delegates in Washington- on-the-Brazos, the Mexican state of Texas adopted a declaration of independence, establishing the Republic of Texas. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1836> 1919: Communist, revolutionary socialist, and syndicalist delegates met in Moscow to establish the Communist International. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Congress_of_the_Comintern> 1939: Italian Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected as Pope and took the name Pius XII. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XII> 1962: American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain (pictured), then playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, still a record in the National Basketball Association today. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: party favor: A small gift given to a guest at a party, as a souvenir. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/party_favor> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Nonsense wakes up the brain cells. And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age. Humor has a tremendous place in this sordid world. It's more than just a matter of laughing. If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack. --Dr. Seuss <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss>