Pandemic Studios, the creators of the Star Wars Battlefront games, are moving away from George Lucas' universe in favor of Peter Jackson's. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a full-blown battle game where you choose between the good side of fairies and humans or the Dark Lord Sauron's armada of deformed creatures and simply hack and slash at the enemy until there's only one team left. We recently got some hands-on time with the game and found it to be quite promising, if slightly unpolished.
The game successfully recreates the fantasy universe first brought to life in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. We fought our way through the particular stage of Minas Tirith, with its rugged wall formations and multiple levels, all grouped together through stony staircases. When you're done battling forces on the ground, you need to contend with Orcs on the second level, accessing it through shoddily built towers. The animation is excellent, particularly with the attacks. The Mage is quite a sight to see, as he can summon fire and lightning attacks that ignite across the screen. There are some minor quibbles with the in-game camera (you'll have to adjust it on occasion), frame rate (it jumps around when there are too many characters on-screen) and lagging animation, but it's still a work in progress. We're sure Pandemic will polish it up before its release in November.
Throughout this level, we were able to play with four different classes of soldiers. The classes vary depending on which side you choose, but for the Earth forces we were able to choose from Mage, Archer, Scout and Warrior. The Warrior is straight-up combat, able to run into a battle and wipe out several enemies with weak, medium and strong sword attacks before succumbing from too much damage. You can increase their attack strength by holding down the left bumper button, although that uses energy from a separate bar (although you can replenish it). The Scout is a moderately weaker soldier that's built more for stealth than strength. You can turn him invisible by pressing the left bumper button, making him ideal for sneaking up on enemies or into camps. Unfortunately, he cannot attack while invisible, and his offense is weaker than the Warrior's. The Mage, as described above, has fantastic magic attacks, and is handy when it comes to up-close melee attacks as well. The way he wipes out Orcs by summoning lightning and setting them on fire is magnificent. Finally, there's the Archer, who uses his bow and arrows (along with a weak roundhouse kick for melee combat) to take out enemies from a distance. He's very effective and precise, especially as you hold down the left trigger for a closer aiming view. He can also light his arrows on fire and burn down structures, such as the temporary towers that the Orcs hide in. No matter who you choose, however, you'll face stronger enemies the later you go into a level. Some of the stronger brute Orcs are near impossible to bring down without some strategy.
Gameplay-wise, Conquest does have a few similarities to Pandemic's Battlefront games. You play one soldier at a time, be it human or Orc, and once they're done, you simply move onto the next one. You can switch between classes with each turn if you choose, trying your luck with the more distant Archer and then shifting to the more fearless Warrior. The final game will support 16 players online through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, allowing you to take part in a number of battles across Middle-earth. We weren't able to see any stages beyond Minas Tirith, but Pandemic has promised to include many famous locales from the film.
Finally yet importantly, a Pandemic rep told us that you'd be able to rewrite the course of actions in the films if you so choose. Imagine if Frodo didn't drop the dark Ring into the volcano and Sauron's army had actually won. You can work towards that goal if you so choose. Darkness for everyone!
There's still tightening to be done, but we're excited that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is shaping up so well. It gets us all excited to kill a few Orcs – or hobbits. Look for more media and coverage soon.
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