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The Lord of The Rings: Conquest

Towering oliphants loom over the battlefield, raging toward the Rohirrim. Orcs swarm around, brandishing rusty blades and thirsting for blood. Yes indeed, developer Pandemic Studios seems to be taking great pains to create a hack-and-slash game that stays true to its source material. Expect to see these sights and many others in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Two famed settings, Pelennor Fields and Minas Tirith, are home to some levels that we recently explored, and we're here to report on the experience.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

First, we should mention that in each of the campaign missions that we played, we could choose from four total character classes, both at the outset and within the missions: scout, warrior, archer, and mage. The warrior's broadsword may be the most obviously authoritative, but the other three classes have obvious advantages. Scouts wield daggers and are swift to attack, so if you like quick, stylish moves, you'll gravitate to this class. Archers, of course, are equipped with a bow and arrows, and you may find their triple-shot and poison-arrow skills particularly handy. Or if you're a fan of Gandalf, perhaps you'd rather test out the mage class, which uses lightning bolts as its main attack.

The first mission that we tackled was Pelennor Fields. The initial goal was to destroy some siege towers. There were a few ways of doing so, but we took the sneaky route: sabotaging them by setting them on fire. However, even as a warrior, we found that slicing our way through the hordes to get to the towers was harder than it looked. The field was simply swarming with angry orcs, and we were able to dispatch a good number of them with our sword, using both standard attacks and a variety of violent-looking combo moves. Trolls, on the other hand, were a much greater threat, and just getting near one could mean instant death. The best solution was simply to avoid the fight altogether, leaving plenty of elbow room for the hulking trolls. Eventually we were able to maneuver into position and set the towers aflame, though in each case, we had to lure a nearby troll away from our destination. The sequence was challenging and surprisingly strategic.

The next portion of the level involved getting close to enough to some oliphants to climb them and take them down. Getting into position was a bit of challenge, considering that the stomping heel of a pillaging pachyderm generally means instant death in almost any scenario. Once we were in the right spot, a flip of the trigger initiated a short climbing sequence that was vaguely reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus, and once we'd climbed far enough, a God of War-style button-mashing sequence felled the behemoth once and for all.

The Minas Tirith level that we checked out was more straightforward, and we got to see multiple classes in action. Here, the main goal was simply to fend off a stream of invading enemies as they spilled into the stronghold. Seeing the mage in action was probably the most interesting sequence. Flashes of lightning and fire filled the screen, and orcs and trolls alike fell at the power of such commanding magic. Playing a scout during this section was rather fun too, given that the steady rush of foes was complemented by the quick dagger play. The controls seemed fluid, so it was easy to pull off impressive-looking combos and slice up familiar, menacing meanies in the process.

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