The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an action video game published by Electronic Arts, and developed by Pandemic Studios based upon the fantasy book The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and its live-action film trilogy adaptation, directed by Peter Jackson and released by New Line Cinema. It is the spiritual successor to the Star Wars Battlefront series. The game uses several models taken directly from the movies and uses these in its in-game engine. It was released on January 13, 2009. The creators also released two content expansion packs that added maps, heroes, and a whole new game mode, although they are no longer available for purchase on Playstation.



Story setting
The game's campaign and battles mostly portray those seen in the live-action film trilogy, but also feature several battles that are not seen in the films, like the attempt to recapture Minas Morgul by the Free Peoples prior to the assault on the Black Gate. The good campaign closely follows the events as depicted in the movies and books. Finishing this campaign in turn will unlock the evil campaign, which follows a what if scenario if the Nazgûl had killed the Ringbearer at Mount Doom and reclaimed the ring for Sauron, unleashing his wrath upon Middle-earth, to which Middle-earth would fall to Sauron and the enslavement of all of the Good Races would follow.

Levels
At many points in the game, the player has to conquer or defend so called command points, this is depicted by a circle, mostly around a flag or other recognizable object. To conquer a command point, the player has to kill all the enemies residing within it and then stay in it, without being killed, free of enemies for a certain amount of time. To defend a command point, the player must avoid being overrun, which means there may not be more than a certain amount of enemies within the command point for a certain amount of time.

Good Campaign (War of The Ring)
The Good Campaign is meant to follow to events in the film and books. It follows the film series, but adds some locations from the books, and some maps are inspired from parts of the books and are sometimes altered to fit in.


 * Last Alliance of Elves and Men: The training level in which all classes and their powers are explained. The level takes the player through various places of the battle, finally ending at a plain where a charge is made. As a boss-fight, the player has to kill The Dark Lord himself playing as Isildur.


 * Battle of Helm's Deep: The player takes the position of a warrior or an archer and must prevent hordes of Uruk-Hai from capturing the Deeping Wall (two command points). After this, the player must hunt and kill various torch-bearing orcs before they can light the bomb and breach the wall. The player is called back to the main gate where they must prevent the orcs from gaining control of the main gate (command point). The wall is then breached and the player must rush to the keep and help Théoden to drive the orc officers off. After this, the player may have the chance to play as Aragorn depending on their score, but either way must recapture the wall from the oncoming orcs.


 * Battle of Isengard: The first objective is to conquer the command point of Isengard. Then, an orc captain has to be killed, which is a special unit far stronger than a regular warrior. The Fire Machine is the next target, this is a wooden contraption which has to be destroyed. When the player has accomplished this, he will have to kill Wormtongue and take his key to Treebeard. At this point the player gets the chance of controlling an ent to destroy the archer towers. As a boss-fight, the player has to kill Saruman, and he can choose to do this as Gandalf.


 * Mines of Moria: First the player has to reach Balin's Tomb and he will be offered to play as Gimli. Next the Tomb (command point) has to be defended of various orcs and some cave trolls. The trolls then have to be stopped at their spawning point. After defeating the trolls, a command point has to be overtaken at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm . As a boss-fight, the Balrog known as Durin's Bane has to be defeated, the player can choose to play as Gandalf.


 * Battle of Osgiliath: Huge hordes of orcs have to be defeated as the player is in a Gondorian skin in this more open game. After the defending the wall of Osgiliath, the player gets the chance of riding a horse to the command point that has to be captured. After completing this, the player will get the chance of playing as Faramir, who has to escort Frodo out of Osgiliath. After escorting Frodo across the city two trolls will have to be defeated to make sure Frodo can pass safely.


 * Battle of Minas Tirith: Again, huge amounts of enemies have to be defeated. First the main gate (command point) has to be defended from orcs and trolls. Then the wooden siege towers of Mordor have to be destroyed. After destroying those, the player has to defend the third ring of Minas Tirith from waves of enemies. The player will again get the chance to play as Gandalf to defend the final gate.


 * Battle of the Pelennor Fields: The player may play as a Rohirrim of Rohan in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Then, the player must kill oliphants and destroy seigetowers. The player gets the chance to do this as Legolas. As a boss-fight, the player will be given the choice of playing as Éowyn to kill the Witch-king.


 * Battle of Minas Morgul: First the command point of the bridge has to be taken. Then the player has to escort the Battering Ram to the gates an take the keep of Minas Morgul. Next the gate has to be opened and the captured soldiers have to be freed, with the choice of playing as Aragorn. As last the power sources (three crystals) of Minas Morgul have to be destroyed as the player is attacked by hordes of orcs and a few Nazgûl.
 * Battle at the Black Gate: The player gets the chance of playing as one of the four classes, but all heroes: Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas or Gimli (acting as a scout here, although he is far more warrior-like in terms of game-play). The first few minutes of the fight the player has to defend his position against ever harder waves of enemies. When this is accomplished, the player has to take the Black Gate and kill the four orc captains residing within. As a boss-fight, the Mouth of Sauron has to be killed and the final base, which is attacked by huge amounts of all kinds of enemies, has to be captured.


 * Battle of Amon Hen (downloadable pack): The player can choose play as Arwen or Boromir. The player can play as Númenórean Warriors.
 * Battle at Mordor (downloadable pack): The player can again play as Arwen or Boromir. This downloadable level takes place in Mordor, near the base of the tower of Barad-dûr.

Evil Campaign (Rise of Sauron)
The Evil Campaign is available only after finishing the Good Campaign, and depicts what would have happened if Frodo had taken the Ring of Power for himself.


 * Mount Doom: Frodo has taken the One Ring for himself and many of the orc chieftains seek to take it for their own. The player controls a Nazgûl who needs to retrieve the helm of the Witch-King and take it to a forge. Then its magic must be activated by killing an amount of orcs in a short amount of time. Now the Witch-King has been restored two orc captains (an archer and a mage) have to be killed. As a boss-fight, the player must kill Frodo and retrieve the One Ring at the Cracks of Doom playing as The Witch-king.


 * Osgiliath: The first objective is to take the torch to the other side of the level. Then the base has to be defended until the captains arrive. Then the player gets the chance of playing as the Mouth of Sauron and has to bash the gates down. As a boss-fight, the player must kill Faramir.


 * Minas Tirith: First the player must conquer a command point in which he is helped by a troll. Next the player has to steal the crown of Gondor and take it to the waiting Nazgûl at the other side of the level. Like the previous level the next thing is bashing the gates down, to accomplish this, the player has to clear a path. The player will the be given the chance to play as Saruman and has to burn the White Tree of Gondor . As a last objective the Throne Room (command point) has to be taken and defended from various enemies including several captains.


 * Mines of Moria: The first objective is to conquer a base in the mines and defend it from waves of enemies. Then the first Balrog Stone has to be captured, which is held by an enemy captain, and 'feed' its power with killing twenty enemies. Next Balin's tomb has to be destroyed and the second Balrog Stone has to be captured and 'fed' exactly as the first one and so the Balrog of Morgoth is awoken by the two stones. As a boss-fight, the player gets the chance to play as Durin's Bane to kill Gimli.


 * Weathertop: The player can control an oliphant in this mission to destroy the various encampments and barracks of the Gondorians. After this the final camp (command point) has to be taken which triggers a large host of captains to appear, who have to be killed. As a boss-fight, the player gets the chance of again playing as Saruman, this time to kill Aragorn, last king of the Free Peoples.


 * Rivendell: First the courtyard of Rivendell (command point) has to be conquered. Then the player has to take the terrace (command point), in which he can use a troll to destroy the enemies. Next the Signal Flare has to be planted at the base of a tower on the other side of the field. Once this is accomplished four of the Elven Records have to be destroyed, and again a troll can be used. Elrond will now make his stand and once he is defeated, his Ring must be taken. Now the Boathouse (command point) has to be captured. As a boss-fight, both Legolas and Elrond have to be killed as Sauron.


 * The Shire: The player must first burn the houses of the Shire. Then Treebeard comes to make his final stand, and the player will be given the choice to defeat him as the Balrog he has revived in Moria. Now the leader of the ents is defeated, fifty hobbits have to be killed to lure out Gandalf. As the final boss-fight, Gandalf has to be killed, with the Great Eagles coming to help him, and the player gets the chance of playing as Sauron.

Gameplay
Lord of the Rings: Conquest will allow you to play as one class in a larger battle. Players will be able to pick one of four classes: The Mage, Archer, Scout or Warrior. By earning points during the battle, players will be able to take on the mantle of one of the heroes from the films, which are more powerful versions of the basic classes. For example: a high-scoring player can unlock Gandalf as a hero to play as on Minas Trith, who has abilities similar to a mage, yet more powerful. Heroes are playable for an unlimited time, as their health does not gradually decrease as it did in the similar game, Star Wars: Battlefront II.

The game will have a total of twelve locations or maps, with two downloadable maps for the Good Campaign. These maps have been mentioned as being much larger than those in Battlefront. For players who wish to get straight into the game the game features instant action like the previous battlefront games you will get to play any army you want straight away. The game's multiplayer modes will allow up to 16 players, but battles may feature as many as 150 additional AI-controlled troops.

There will also be an enormous number of playable factions: some of the good factions include the defenders of Gondor, the Men of Rohan, the Elves, but you can only play as one dwarf and that is Gimli. Some of the evil armies are the Easterlings, the Haradrim, the Orcs of Mordor, and the Uruk-Hai of Isengard....however, these factions all share the same classes, just with different skins. The skins of each class in each faction may vary. For example, Uruk-Hai may have different helmets and Gondorian archers may wear ranger clothes or armor.

On March 16, 2010, the online multiplayer modes of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest were shut down for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ("Online Play Shut Down". EA 2010-02-16). On August 16, 2010 a group of fans launched the non-profit CNQReboot servers, allowing users of the PC version to play online using tunnelling software that allows network play via the local area network option.

Warrior
Warriors focus on close range combat, forgoing range in place of brute strength. Warriors can use the flaming sword line of special moves, which gives each of a warrior’s basic moves extra damage and the ability to light things on fire to deal damage over time.

As a Warrior, the player can charge into a crowd of enemies and take them down using a mix of combo attacks and special moves that affect a wide area around the player. Warriors might lack the specialization of other classes, but they more than make up for it with brute strength.

Heroes

 * Isildur (good)
 * Aragorn (good)
 * Elrond (good)
 * Faramir (good)
 * Gimli (good)
 * Arwen (good - download good campaign only)
 * Boromir (good - download good campaign only)
 * Theoden (good - non playable)
 * Nazgûl (evil)
 * Witch-king (evil)
 * Durin's Bane / The Balrogs (evil)
 * Sauron (evil)
 * Gothmog (evil - downloadable pack only)

Appearance

 * Arnor (Training only): Tower Guard with high helm and long sword.
 * Gondor: Basic Gondorian soldier or Citadel Guard with long sword and Dwarven throwing axe.
 * Rivendell: Elvish warrior with a long curved blade.
 * Rohan: Rohirrim soldier with a long sword and a throwing axe.
 * Mordor: Orc with different helmets, curved blade, and throwing axe.
 * Isengard: Uruk-hai with assorted helmets and armor with basic Uruk scimitar.
 * Evil men: Haradrim with wooden sword and back pack.

​Archer
Archers are the game’s primary ranged units. An Archer’s basic attack is an arrow shot in place of any sort of combo, and an archer’s four special moves are variations on a regular arrow shot: poison arrows that damage over time, fire arrows that explode and knock people down, and a multi-shot that fires targeted arrows at nearby enemies (think shotgun).

Archers are less front line combatants than they are defenders. The best place for an archer is shortly outside the heat of battle, where they can pelt the enemy with arrows.

Heroes

 * Legolas the great (good)
 * Lurtz (evil)

Appearance

 * Arnor (Training only): Archers with big bow and plated armour.
 * Gondor: Gondorian archer or ranger with bows and arrows. Hobbit archers in the Shire.
 * Rivendell: Elvish archer.
 * Rohan: Rohirrim Archer archer. Some Levels Have an Elven Archer.
 * Mordor: Orcs with bows and arrows.
 * Isengard: Uruk-hai with assorted armor with a bow and arrows.
 * Evil men: Easterling with a bow.

​Scout
Scouts are the game’s secondary melee class, although they quite function differently from Warriors. Scouts are more focused on stealth and speed instead of brute strength, and their abilities focus on more about getting quick kills than surviving drawn out struggles.

The most notable ability of the scout is to turn invisible. When invisible, scouts can only be found by spotting the shimmer their invisibility gives off. While invisible, any enemy can be killed by executing a backstab. This makes the scout's primary choice to take out difficult to kill units.

Heroes

 * Éowyn (good)
 * Frodo Baggins (good)
 * Wormtongue (evil)

Appearance

 * Arnor (Training only): Cloaked and hooded soldier with plated armor.
 * Gondor: Cloaked and hooded soldier, two daggers and bombs.
 * Rivendell: Elvish scout with two daggers and bombs.
 * Rohan: Hooded soldier with two long knifes and bombs.
 * Mordor: Short orc with daggers and bombs.
 * Isengard: Uruk-hai with assorted armor and daggers and bombs.
 * Evil men: Easterling with two knives and bombs.

Mages
Mages are a kind of support class that has access to lots of different abilities that can useful in lots of different situations.

Mages are primarily defensive due to a few of their abilities: a Mage’s shield is a large bubble that will prevent stop all ranged attacks from damaging anyone within the shield, and they also have the ability to heal themselves and allies. This doesn’t mean the Mage isn’t offensive, as the have a great area attack fireball and lightning move. Mages are also effective at even close range, as they have a simple three-hit combo and a shockwave attack that knocks all enemies down.

Heroes

 * Gandalf (good)
 * Mouth of Sauron (evil)
 * Saruman (evil)

Appearance

 * Arnor (Training only): Robed and cloaked man with a spear-staff.
 * Gondor: Robed and hooded soldier with a staff.
 * Rivendell: Cloaked elf with a staff.
 * Rohan: Rohirrim with hood and staff.
 * Mordor: Heavy orc with red staff.
 * Isengard: Beserker with a staff.
 * Evil men: Heavy orc with red staff.

​Creatures and Giants

 * Ent (good): A tree-type creature.
 * Horse (good): Mountable horse.
 * Eagle (good - non playable): Huge eagles.
 * Troll (evil): An ugly beast.
 * Oliphant (evil): A elephant type creature with an awesome trample attack.
 * Warg (evil): A wolf /hyena like creature.
 * Fell beast (evil - non playable): Gigantic flying Pterosaur-like, or Wyrm-like creatures.