All conquering, or conqued out?
Pandemic Studios have given us some really good titles over
the years, including Mercenaries 1&2 and Star Wars Battlefront
2. So to hear that they would be helming a Lord of the Rings
game based around the Battlefront concept was an exciting
prospect.
There are two campaigns in Lord of the Rings: Conquest, each
comprised of eight levels. The first, War of the Ring, puts you
in the shoes of the elves and heroes from the film, fighting
some of the key battles from the trilogy, as well as some
all-new battles. The second campaign, The Rise of Sauron, alters
the ending to the last film; showing the outcome had Frodo not
thrown the ring into Mount Doom. As a result this campaign sees
you fighting as the Orcs and their so-called heroes like the
Witch King.
Class act
Lord of the Rings: Conquest presents four classes to choose
from, each possessing different attacking and defensive skills.
Archers are ranged attackers; Mages are defensive using magic,
Warriors use close ranged attacks and the Scouts are quick and
best used to get behind the enemy. The Hero characters are also
in these categories, although their moves are marginally more
powerful. There are slight overlaps between each though; for
example the Warrior is equipped with a throwing axe in case his
target is a little out of his reach and the Archer can kick
those who get a little close.
The second campaign, The Rise of Sauron, alters the
ending to the last film; seeing you fighting as the Orcs and
their so-called heroes like the Witch King.
The controls in Lord of the Rings: Conquest are nicely set up
with everything in a sensible place. The face buttons are your
standard attacks, while your block, zoom and modifier are on the
shoulders. Some may find the controls slow to begin with, and
there’s a very slight delay between pressing the button and the
attack happening. At first this is slightly annoying, but as the
game progresses you’ll find that it makes hitting combos easier,
with well-timed strikes ensuring blows continue to reign down
fluidly.
Online, Lord of the Rings: Conquest is not that different to
the singleplayer. While the multiplayer modes can be can be
played on your own with AI players, it really comes to life when
you’re placed in the middle of huge 16-person battles. Having
said that, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest does only have half
the players of the Battlefront games, and can lack the epic feel
you’d expect from Lord of the Rings battles. Moreover, lag seems
to be more of an issue than on current online standard-setters
like Call of Duty.
Capture the Ring!
Even so, find a good online match and Lord of the Rings:
Conquest is lots of fun. The four multiplayer modes are Capture
the Ring, Deathmatch, Conquest and Online Campaign Story. The
first two are standard in most online games. Conquest is an
eight vs eight mode where you score points by taking key
objectives, and Online Campaign is the single player campaign
mode, playable with a friend.
he White City shines in the background of battle,
with its narrow corridors and high vantage points giving some
great strategic advantages.
Graphically Lord of the Rings Conquest is solid. Character
models look like their movie counterparts, with the Orcs and
Uraki looking suitably ugly. Yet battlegrounds themselves vary
in appearance. Minas Tirith looks amazing; The White City shines
in the background of battle, with its narrow corridors and high
vantage points giving some great strategic advantages. Other
levels though seem a bit bland in both detail and scale. All in
all, a bit of a mixed bag.
The music is a very different matter. Lord of the Rings:
Conquest features a score taken directly from the films, so it’s
a joy to listen to as you’re hacking your way through Orcs and
Elves alike. Hugo Weaving also reprises his role as Elrond to
provide the narrative. Throughout the battles you’ll be reminded
of your objectives as Elves and Orcs shout over the clashing of
swords and the crackle of lightning. It’s a nice touch, though
we could live without the Orcs bad East End Cockney accent.
Good fun
In the end, Lord of the Rings: Conquest proves a good, fun
game; but in places it just doesn’t feel entirely complete. The
biggest omission is a levelling system, while on the whole,
Pandemic haven’t quite nailed the sense of scale we’d hoped for.
Not a bad start to this years new releases, then, but instead of
rising up like a fiery Balrog, Lord of the Rings: Conquest limps
in more like an angry wet Hobbit.
GAME's Verdict
- The first game to let you become a single character in large-scale LoTR battles.
- Some of the maps look truly amazing.
- The soundtrack is stonking stuff, taken straight from the films. Narration is a nice touch.
- The two Campaigns are both actually quite short.
- Lacks the sense of scale we'd hoped for in every battle.
- Lag can be a rather large issue.
Review by: Tom 'Underhill' Daly
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 23.01.09