"The Last Days of the Third Age" mod for Mount and Blade v0.808
I read an online comic called "If LotR were a DnD campaign" or something like that, and it made me nostalgic to crank up TLD again.
So nostalgic I reloaded the older version of M&B necessary to play it.
I don't even like Tolkein. I tried to read The Hobbit and got bored on page 40-something, never reading another word written by the man for the rest of my life.
But this game rocks. And it's a free mod for a cheap indie FPS/RPG hybrid.
Your role begins as "peasant with command potential". Your mission is to crush the military might of the Shadow before they do the same to the Free Peoples.
Good luck.
The two biggest things that make TLD cool are the details and the urgency of time management. The details, things like names, uniforms, places, opponents, all lend to an immersive atmosphere, like you're living out a story.
Time management is the engine that drives all your decisions. There are some really powerful artifacts you can only gain by spending influence, and the best way to gain influence is by increasing your rank by performing missions, but that takes time away from chasing down the big army groups whose elimination is your main objective.
Helping the Elves has huge rewards, but getting to their territory requires a costly ride through a vast expanse of unimportant terrain, so you have to judge carefully whether you can afford the detour.
Last item: Orc dental hygiene. Saruman clearly isn't using his mighty engines of war to make toothbrushes.