Lord of the Rings Conquest (PS3)

...game for fans of _The Lord of the Rings_. Having said this, as a major fan myself, I can't stop feeling that this game was not worth what I paid for it. After the initial week or so of playing I haven't gone back to it. If you are willing to put the time in, the class system is surprisingly developed and has a wide scope for combat, and if you can get online to work then I think there is a game to here. However most people won't be able to stand ...
...the foundations are here for what could be a good game, but there are too many problems that stand in the way. There aren't enough stand-out moments, if there are any, that would have made the game special, and so, as much as I hate to say it, this is another game for the bargain bin.

'''Specs'''

# 1-2 Players
# 52MB Minimum Memory Required (PS3)
# Dualshock 3 Supported
# 720p HD Functions
... more

As a massive fan of both the books and the films of the Lord of the Rings series, you can understand that I was very excited by the prospect of a Lord of the Rings game in a Star Wars Battlefront style. For someone like me, the prospect of taking part in the great battles of the books was truly enticing. For anyone who is still unsure, this game plays almost exactly the same as the Battlefront games of the PS2, so if you weren't a fan of them then this is probably not the game for you, unless your feel more lenient towards Middle Earth than the Galactic Empire.

Playing the Game

In all areas of the game you fight with one of four classes, the warrior, the archer, the mage, and the scout. They each have a very unique fighting style and a wealth of abilities and moves etc... As you would expect, the warrior is a tough, close combat fighter. The archer is equally stereotypical, as in it is a long range bow and arrow fighter, but with different types of shot at its disposal. The mage, whilst casting various damage causing spells, also acts as a healer unit. Lastly the scout, which is my personal favourite, whose main attraction is the ability to turn invisible and backstab enemies, along with other combat moves.
As well as the ground troops, at some point in nearly every level you are given to chance to play as a hero from the books/films. Nearly everone I can think of is playable, which is a real bonus, including the Balrog and Sauron himself. There are a few surprising exceptions, like Boromir and Treebeard, but there are enough to keep you happy. On top of this, scattered around some levels are horses and wargs which can be used as mounts, and occasionally trolls and ents which can be taken control of for that life. The class system works extremely well; 4 may sound a little too few, but each is unique and comes with a lot of class specific abilities. Also, when you factor in the heroes, which are usually a mixture of 2 classes, there is enough scope to keep you interested.

The game is split into three main sections. Firstly there are the campaigns; The 'Good' one sees you play through the story as show in the books and the films as one would expect, pitting you in various battlefields such as Minas Tirith and The Black Gate. On completing the Good campaign you unlcock the 'Evil' campaign, which is arguably much more exciting. This one lets you play through an alternate story, one in which the forces of Evil triumph, something which will appeal to fans greatly. The game cleverly selects and uses clips from the actual films to tell the story inbetween the levels, which adds immensly to the plot. The campaign levels can be played on your own or with a friend in co-op, and instead of simply being assigned with killing as many enemies as possible, you are given objectives some as defending choke points and destroying certain targets. Despite being more varied than there quick play counterparts, the campaign levels aren't varied enough nor memorable enough to warrant a second play through - not even for the most hardcore fans.

The second section is quick play, where you and a friend (if you want) can select any of the levels to play in either the Deathmatch or Capture the Ring mode. Deathmatch is a simple Good vs. Evil battle, whilst Capture the Ring is similar to Capture the Flag, expcept that the Ring must be taken to the enemy base. Unfortunately, if you are playing with a second player there is no option to be on the same team. This section provides some longevity to the game, especially as I have two brothers with whom I can play.
Two player is certainly the way to go in this mode; as each of you strive to out-do the other, the game seems to really get going, as the AI usually provides little resistance playing another human finally makes use of the games class combat system. Some levels feature 'heroes only' game modes where you are given a selection of heroes to chose from, these are initialy fun but seeing as all the players are also heroes, the feeling of power is stripped away, and it becomes much like a normal team deathmatch. However, if you're playing with a friend you can create some match ups that you've always wanted to see, such as Gandlaf and Saruman, so there is fun to be had - if only for the series fans.
Having played the campaigns first, I was dissapointed to find that the quick play levels were much smaller there counterparts in the campaigns, which almost made me feel robbed in some way.

Playing Online

The third section is online play. Here you play in quick play matches with all human players, including Capture the Ring and Hero-only game modes. If you were hoping for two-player onlines modes then I'm afraid it's only single player. Unfortunately I can't talk much about the online mode because I found that successfully joining a game was almost impossible. I have no problems with other games online but Lord of the Rings: Conquest made my internet connection go crazy. I talked to other friends who also bought the game and they had similar problems. This is a real dissapointment, because I felt that this game could have worked really well online; the one time that I managed to join a working game it was beginning to get fun; Sneaking up on an unsuspecting archer and backstabbing him provided me with a genuine thrill, before this was crueling taken away from me with a "Connection Error" message invading the screen.

Presentation

The graphics are laregly mediocre. They do the character models justice, but the real problem is the environments, which are mostely bland and blury. They are in no way game-wrecking or terrible, but that 'next-gen' shine is missing which adds that extra flair. It's true that some of the best games are not impressive on the graphics front, but in my opinion they are essential in the overall package.
Sound-wise the game is solid, but they are as unimpressionable as the graphics. They fail to make you feel as entirely immersed in the fights as you want to be, and in a game that is lacking in other areas, this stand out worse.

Should you buy this game?

The angle that I've taken throughout this review has been that this is a game for fans of The Lord of the Rings. Having said this, as a major fan myself, I can't stop feeling that this game was not worth what I paid for it. After the initial week or so of playing I haven't gone back to it. If you are willing to put the time in, the class system is surprisingly developed and has a wide scope for combat, and if you can get online to work then I think there is a game to here. However most people won't be able to stand the bland environments for long. It is a shame, because the foundations are here for what could be a good game, but there are too many problems that stand in the way. There aren't enough stand-out moments, if there are any, that would have made the game special, and so, as much as I hate to say it, this is another game for the bargain bin.

Specs

1. 1-2 Players
2. 52MB Minimum Memory Required (PS3)
3. Dualshock 3 Supported
4. 720p HD Functions
5. Up to 16 Player Online Modes 

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