The story highlights some of the lesser-known events of the book - as EA had acquired a license from Tolkien Enterprises as well as one for the movies, they used the battles in the north as the focal point, which are only briefly hinted at in the Extended Edition of The Return of the King DVD, and noted in the Appendices in the novels: in the books it is explained that while the front of the war that the Fellowship characters are experiencing (and which is directly shown by the movies) is the primary one, it is in fact a war fought on many fronts across Middle-earth. For the Evil campaign, it begins with the siege of Lórien from Mordor's stronghold of Dol Guldur.

For the Good campaign, the story starts in Rivendell where the Goblins from the Misty Mountains are poised to attack, while the Fellowship of the Ring journey south. Factions include the Elves, Dwarves, Men of the West ( Gondor and Rohan combined) and the Goblins, along with Mordor and Isengard.

Unlike its predecessor, the game is set mainly in the northern regions of Middle-earth, and focuses on the war there.