CHUDTIP- Ent shambling your way? “Beat them or burn them. They go up pretty easy”

When we played this at the Community Day we noted the cheap hits
enemies would perform on you- how you can get knocked off your feet so
easily and then beaten on without mercy. There is also the issues of
ledges in levels such as the Mines of Moria. It’s ridiculously easy to
fall off them to your death, and it can even happen in the middle of a
combo or a backstab as the Scout, which is just ridiculous. There
should have been a system in place to make you stop at the ledge, and
then only if you pushed further will you fall off. Every friggin’
platform game does it, why not this?

There was recently a debate on the boards about the merits of QTEs (Quick Time Events, the God of War-style
cinematic button press moments). I’m of the view that, when implemented
correctly, they’re fun as hell and add a lot to the experience. This
wouldn’t be the game for me to present as evidence. Every big creature
in the game (Trolls and Ents and Oliphaunts) can be taken out easily
with a QTE. It’s silly and frustrating for the person playing as them,
but most maddeningly of all they don’t do anything with the camera
during those bits. Part of the fun of God of War
is seeing close up views of your character dishing out death and
destruction. Here, when you kill an Olyphaunt with Legolas- it LOOKS
like he shot him in the head with arrows, but I can’t tell because it’s
so damn far away. Wasted potential.

For such an epic story, the
game feels decidedly un-epic. The levels feel cramped and small, and
even the boards that are set on massive open areas (like Pellenor
Fields) have invisible boundaries that force you into a small area,
while you look at the intense background battle raging just beyond your
reach and wish you could be on that side.

It doesn’t help that
your teammates are absolute idiots, as well. They’ll just mindlessly
walk off ledges, or stare at you stupidly when you need healing or
protection from arrows. It makes the campaign doubly hard.
 

CHUDTIP-
If you jump in an Oliphaunt, please make sure you’re careful when you
swing your tusks around. There’s nothing more irritating than when a
noob manages to kill his entire team with one swipe..

But throw everything I’ve said out the window if you’re playing online
with a good team. The multiplayer is fantastic, a compelling, addictive
time that shows you that the gameplay is sound, it’s just the stupid
computer that messes it all up. There are plenty of different modes to
play in and the battles are fast and keeps you on your toes.

It’s so damn good that I had to reconsider the score I’d given the game, which was initially lower.

THE PRESENTATION

The
character models are pretty fantastically detailed. I would have taken
a little less detail if it could have meant more characters on screen,
but such is life. The game looks great.

As far as the music, well it uses Shore’s stuff from the movie, so how do you think it sounds?

CHUDTIP-
When you have a choice to play as a Hero class, take it. They’re super
powerful and you’ll rack up an insane body count in no time. Even the
lamer characters (like The Mouth, here) are badass.

Hugo
Weaving’s the only actor that lends his voice and he narrates all the
cutscenes, even the reconstituted ones that make for the evil campaign.
(Lord of the Rings
buffs might get a little annoyed at those, actually, because we’re able
to place where all the film footage comes from.) The rest of the voice
actors range from tolerable to terrible, although of course this ain’t
exactly a dialogue-driven game.
 
THE REPLAY

The replay’s all in the multiplayer. There are multiple modes- from the Battlefront standard
of Conquest, to Capture the Ring (CTF), and of course, Team
Deathmatches. Even more fun are the Hero Deathmatches which allow the
use of every hero or villain in the game in an all-out brawl. It’s just
amusing to see Wormtounge backstab Gimli.

All the games are 8 on
8, which really isn’t enough for a full-on battle feel, but plenty
enough that you’ll always have enemies to face. The games get downright
hectic on some of the boards, and you’ll soon learn how to use each
class to your advantage.

The achievements and trophies are
actually pretty fun, and really the only reason to redo missions from
the campaign. A lot of them force you to use certain characters to kill
certain foes- such as Gandalf vs. the Balrog, or Éowyn vs the
Witch-king. The best way to do this, of course, is by playing through
with a friend in co-op (either 4-player splitscreen or 2 players
online.) The co-op adds a lot to the campaign experience since you
won’t have to rely on your absolutely idiotic computer teammates, but
effectively dumbs down the difficulty to nothing. I breezed through the
few levels I played on co-op.

CHUDTIP- Dogpiling on Gandalf- never a good idea. .

THE VERDICT

Consider
the campaign an (extended) tutorial for the real, multiplayer game, and
you’ll have a ton of fun here. Playing through with a friend improves
things but it’s not compelling enough to truly be memorable. Even the
evil portion of the campaign just feels like the good one all over
again.

But get a good group of friends together for online
matches, and you’ll find all the fun to be had. There’s no excuse for
the weak single player game, but you could do a helluva lot worse for a
multiplayer experience.

BUY IT FROM AMAZON: RIGHT HERE!

ESRB RATING: Teen
DEVELOPER: Pandemic Studios
PUBLISHER: EA

Lord of the Rings: Conquest has made me more torn than any game I’ve played in months. On one hand, the combat is fantastic, the multiple classes varied and fun, and the multiplayer is addicting. On the other hand, the single player game is atrocious, a frustrating and buggy mess that frustrates more than it entertains.

This review is a week late because while I got an early review copy and beat it before release date I felt the need to really dive into some full online matches to give the multiplayer its full chance, and I’m thankful I did.

It’s a completely different experience.
 
THE PITCH

“Let’s take Lord of the Rings and stick it in Star Wars: Battlefront!“

The story is actually the most interesting thing about this game. Gamers have all played through the surprisingly decent Lord of the Rings movie adaptations and we all know how the story goes, so it’s no surprise to see all of the big battles from the trilogy displayed here. It’s when it all ends (in a battle at The Black Gates) that things change, and you’re allowed to play the evil campaign. From here the story takes a decidedly non-canon turn, and the forces of evil amass once more to negate all the progress the humans made.

It all ends with a fantastic battle against the hobbits at the Shire, who prove to be more formidable (and annoying) than previously imagined. Strength in numbers, indeed.

CHUDTIP- It’s hard to tell which one’s Gandalf and which one’s Saruman in a heated battle, so it’s best just to stay out of their way completely when the magic starts flying.

But if you’re skilled enough you’ll burn the little hobbit holes to the ground, kill Gandalf, and generally feel good about yourself.
 

There are four different classes you can play as-

    * Warrior: The basic brute. He’s got the most health and a bunch of powerful combos and can take out groups of enemies at ease, provided he can get close to them. He’s got special fire attacks that can brutalize any foe. Long range combat is his enemy, and if you can dodge his attacks and stay a swords length away you can easily take them out.

    * Archer: The shooter. He’s got fire arrows (to burn down Ents and knock down enemies), poison arrows (which slow down enemies and damage them slowly) and a triple shot attack. He can zoom in for headshots, which do massive damage. Taking archers out is easy, provided you can catch them.

    * Scout: The sneaky guy. He’s got a move that cloaks himself predator style, which allows for one hit kill backstabs if you sneak up on people. He’s pretty fast and does a bit of damage in melee combat, and also has a satchet bomb that he can throw. Keep an eye out for enemies trying to sneak around you and throw some fire around to make him uncloak, and he’ll be dead in no time.
  
    * Mage: The support unit, and my favorite. He’s got a lighting attack that can be charged up and chained through multiple enemies. He can heal anyone around him in a small radius, and his other attacks are a fireball (that stays on the ground to do lots of damage) and a ground smash move that’s performed with his staff. Along with all this he also has a shield that he can raise to shield yourself and others against archer and mage attacks. Taking him out first is key, because his healing move’s a bitch.

It’s important to use the right man for the job, and a team without any variety is a losing one. They all make up for each other’s weaknesses, and you’ll soon find out that a team of people that work together will easily trounce anyone else…. in multiplayer, at least.

If you’re thinking about getting this game but have no one to play it with- reconsider. The single player campaign is fun at parts, but more often it’s frustrating because of incredibly cheap opponents and stupid friendly AI.

CHUDTIP-
You don’t have to worry too much about Eagles or Nasguls grabbing you off the ground, but it might be worth it for you to go for a ride…

Head to page 2 for more impressions and the score!