I'm not just a huge fan of video games nowadays, but I have also been a huge fan of films as well, and coincidently, the Lord of the Rings saga is my undisputed favorite series of films. At the time of the cinemas release of The Fellowship of the Ring, I was a little too young to absorb the plot, but within a year or so I was addicted to Tolkein’s classic, seizing copies of all of the books, DVDs, and more importantly, the games. I never played the movie tie in that was launched with the release of the first movie, but I was quick in buying the tie ins that accompanied Two Towers and Return of the King, both being amazing games at the time. Also, Third Age (a turn based RPG set within the movie) also made an impact on the series on both the PS2 console version and even the Gameboy Advance version. However, since then the only Lord of the Rings games have been available on the PC, either in Real Time Strategy or MMO form. I was beginning to panic about whether there would be a new game, but was ecstatic to hear that Pandemic would be merging one of my all time favorite PS2 games, Star Wars Battlefront, with my favorite movie series of all time resulting in the birth of Lord of the Rings: Conquest.

          The game itself covers two separate campaign modes, War of the Ring and Rise of Sauron. The War of the Ring campaign basically drags you through a handful of scenarios throughout middle earth, beginning with the siege of Helm’s Deep, to the final showdown at the Black Gate. The Rise of Sauron mode will also offer a chain of missions, delving into the possibility that Frodo was killed at Mount Doom, and that Sauron reclaimed the One Ring. The story follows the Dark Lord’s army as they ravage the last strongholds of Middle Earth, hewing down many memorable heroes such as Gimli and Aragorn. The Rise of Sauron is definitely the highlight of the game, with a final mission that could rival that of any other title present, the razing of the Shire with Sauron at your command.

          Each mission varies in length and difficulty regardless of which of the three difficulty settings you have selected. However, mission layouts are very similar, most of the time you will find yourself either capturing command points, killing bosses, or defending objectives, also there are no checkpoints and a limited number of lives meaning that when your reinforcement count drops to zero you must start again. Though the objectives can be seen as repetitive and tedious, the thrill of the fight is what really balances out the game. Just like in Star Wars Battlefront, you will have a number of classes, each with specific abilities. In Conquest you have four primary classes including Solider, Archer, Scout, and Mage. Soldiers will do the bulk of the fighting, always engaged in melee combat with an array of “Fire attacks.” Scouts are also great at hand-to-hand combat, but also have the ability to cloak themselves and backstab enemies to gain an instant kill. Archers play out like a four-function third person shooter title, offering a variety of different arrows and zoom in controls to score sniping headshots from afar. The class I am most fond of, and probably the most overpowered class would have to be the Mage, they can spew out lightning bolts with high damage, cast fire walls to deal heavy damage over time, heal self and others in a close proximity, and can also deflect lightning and arrows by summoning a huge bubble shield to protect allies. Also, just like in Star Wars Battlefront, hero classes will be available as well offering heroes such as Aragorn, Legolas and Elrond, as well as villains including Saruman, The Witch King, and even the Dark Lord Sauron himself. With vehicles being a big part of Star Wars Battlefront, Conquest offers a very strange alternative, instead of tanks and jets you will gain access to Trolls and Ents, and will even encounter the odd Great Eagle or Fellbeast.

          Online modes are a must have in games if they are to be successful and this is another area in which Conquest delivers. Team Deathmatch, Conquest, and Capture the Ring modes will all be available online along with the special Hero Team Deathmatch mode, allowing every player to assume the role of one of the film’s iconic heroes and villains. Online plays out rather nicely but button bashing must be employed to play as either the scout or soldier which makes the game feel slightly unorganised and not really a test of skill, despite a small roster of special attacks. The lack of a ranking (levelling) system is also quite disappointing as well; the only recognition available is that on the leaderboards which no one will take care in topping.

          The first hands-on playthrough I got was the demo that was launched on Chirstmas Eve that consumed most of my holiday, and I could pick out the graphical flaws within the game. Character design is the only problem I have with this game, they look neat enough but some enemy types such as the Uruk Hai and Rohirrim aren’t designed as a hardcore fan like I would have anticipated. That being said, the settings and locations are fantastic, offering endless beauty, and there are enough maps to go around, and hopefully more will be available with future downloadable content. The soundtrack from the film still amazes me, without it the game would have no atmosphere whatsoever, but the audio output is let down somewhat with the inclusion of shoddy voice acting and script. I noticed the word “nasty” has been used in almost every scenario, and the elven voice actors sound dreadful. If there was one thing I really liked about the movie tie in games that game with Two Towers and Return of the King was the original voice actors from the film.

          Overall, the game was exactly what I had expected, it was loyal to the film and despite a few flaws within the gameplay and graphics, it was still a thrill to play. The online community may dwindle because of the lack of incentive to fight without a level system, but I found the offline modes still offer hours of gameplay depending on how you play the game. Here's to hoping that Pandemic can go away and make a second to accompany the possible release of Star Wars Battlefront III.