Pandemic Studios launched The Lord of the Rings: Conquest in 2009, and it is still unlike any other Lord of the Rings game on the market. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest took the mechanics of Pandemic's Star Wars Battlefront series and put them into the world of Middle-earth. Players got to control soldiers on both sides across multiple levels during the events of the trilogy, and this class-based Middle-earth game concept needs to be revisited.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest was far from a critical darling, as critics felt like the story was too brief, and the multiplayer did not have much to offer. On top of that, the combat and the maps felt pretty lackluster. That all sounds pretty bad, but the core idea behind Conquest was fun and unique. With the rise in popularity for Middle-earth properties thanks to Rings of Power, there is no better time to revisit the idea.

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Lord of the Rings: Conquest Was a Cool Concept

Lord of the Rings Conquest Gandalf Mage

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest brought players through the War of the Ring, putting them in the shoes of simple soldiers in the various armies of Middle-earth. They could take control of soldiers from Rohan, Gondor, Rivendell, Harad, Mordor, or even Isengard depending on the battle. They would fight to hold objectives or kill a certain amount of enemies to win, and there was a single-player story that loosely depicted the major battles from Lord of the Rings.

The game shared many similarities to Pandemic's Battlefront series, with players able to select one of four playable classes that each brought something different to the table. They could become a master swordsman through the Warrior, shoot their enemy from afar using the Archer, sneak across the battlefield as a Scout, and cast powerful magic spells as a Mage. Each class had benefits and required a new strategy to master.

Just like Star Wars Battlefront, players could gain control of various heroes and villains from the Lord of the Rings books and films. They represented the most iconic characters on Middle-earth like Gandalf and Legolas. Players could also utilize mounts to traverse the battlefield, and sometimes gain control of powerful units like Trolls or Ents.

It was very much Star Wars Battlefront set in Middle-earth, and provided a decent amount of fun. However, the game was severely lacking in many areas. Players got to play both sides of The War of the Ring, but it was way too brief, and the multiplayer felt lackluster. The game felt repetitive and did not have the same level of polish as the Battlefront games, and as a result the game's servers were shut down a year after release, which may point to its failure to capture an audience.

The Conquest Concept Needs to Be Revisited

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest gameplay footage using a wizard.

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest was not a great game, but it was a concept that has not been repeated since. Lord of the Rings is known for large battles against Sauron's evil, and Conquest gave them the chance to be engrossed in these scenarios, and it came the closest to making players feel like a soldier in grand armies. With a bit of polish and the help of today's hardware, a new Conquest title could be really cool.

Middle-earth is once again in the public eye thanks to Rings of Power, and that makes it a great time to release more titles set in Tolkein's universe. EA was able to revive the Star Wars Battlefront series after Disney bought Lucasfilm, and now it could do the same thing with Lord of the Rings: Conquest. If it spent some time to fully flesh out the concept and provide more variety in the gameplay, it could be the next big thing. If anything, it would surely be a treat for fans of Middle-earth.

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