To open, I strongly urge you to load up your Xbox 360 Gold Live account, or your PS3 PSN ID, and download the Lord of the Rings: Conquest multi-player demo. This game is EAs latest attempt to let you know that they don't put out 100% garbage games anymore. In my eyes, Dead Space and Mirrors Edge have given EA a bit of credibility as of late, and LOTR Conquest seeks to continue this upward trend. From a pure authenticity standpoint, the game captures the movie perfect. With Hugo Weaving (Elrond) narrating, the original score from Howard Shore, and authentic characters/locales this looks to be the most Lord of the Ringiest game yet. This game comes from the developers of Star Wars Battle Front, so take that as you will.

The demo build has one mode; conquest. Essentially the same as the modes found in various games such as Battle Front, World of Warcraft Arathi Basin, or Savage 2, you have to capture certain vantage points (usually 5 total), to prevent the other team from spawning. If an enemy has a point captured, you must go inside a ring around the vantage point, and each team member inside hurries the capture timer. Each vantage point your team has in possession, you get points per second added to your total. The first team to 1000 points wins. The final build will host this game type, in addition to a simple death match mode, a "Ring Bearer mode", where one player is Frodo and the others are the Ring Wraiths in pursuit, and Capture the Ring [Flag]. The final build will also have a comprehensive offline single player/split screen campaign for both evil and good sides, with the minions of Sauron's story entailing what would have happened if Frodo died, and the One Ring was never destroyed (cool).

Now, onto the meat and potatoes of the demo

The Classes

Warrior - Very strong melee, lots of health, with very little defense against ranged attacks. Has a ranged throwing axe that can stop a close Ranger or Mage in their tracks, due to the knockdown effect, allowing them to use their sword rush attack for an easy kill. Gains energy by attacking others in combat. Can mount Ent and Troll vehicle units and do half damage with a back attack and a simple QTE (Read: Quick Time Event; where you have a few seconds to push a certain highlighted button, found in the God of War series).

Rogue - Stealth. Simply put. Played similar to a Rogue in Arathi Basin in World of Warcraft, this unit gains energy gradually while not cloaked. Maximum cloaking time is around 30 seconds, and you can run at full speed with this on. You are not 100% invisible; the keen eye can spot you, but not likely in a heated battle. If you get behind a target, you can use a special back-stab attack, one hit killing your foe; even heroes. This back-stab is very effective on stationary Mages and Archers. Like the warrior, can mount Ent and Troll vehicle units and do half damage with a back attack and a simple QTE. Has limited close combat ability, and a mediocre limited ranged satchel explosive charge ability.

Archer - Hard to use, but very rewarding. Are capable of head-shots, which can one hit kill a Mage or Rogue. Has multi shot, which is very good at killing imposing Mages or Warriors, and uncovering stealthy Rogues. Has a Fire Arrow, capable of knockdown and massive damage, especially on vehicle units. Also has a Poison Arrow, which slows units down, and works very well on advancing units, setting them up for another Fire Arrow. All these abilities are on a short cool down timer. The highest risk-reward class.

Mage - Overall workhorse of the game. Healer, ranged damage dealer, and defensive mechanism extraordinaire. Has an aoe heal spell, which is essential to master if you want to be a respected Mage in a multiplayer game. Also has an aoe attack that pounds the ground, which is used primarily for stunning Warriors that miss their combos, or uncovering a stealthy Rogue. Has a ranged fireball, that leaves a trail of fire on the ground, which is useful for trapping some enemies in hallways, or defending a rushing enemy. Has a ranged lightning bolt attack, which can be charged up (but not that often due to the time it takes) to attack multiple targets. Lastly, has a dome shield that can be used to stop ranged attacks from coming in.

Vehicles - Ent and Troll. As noted earlier, the denizens of Sauron get the Troll to start off on the Minas Tirith map. If the Alliance takes this spawn spot, an Ent will immediately spawn. They both have the same attacks. A swing attack, a ground slam attack, a grab (instant kill but hard to pull off), an ally heal roar, and a heal ability that forces them to stand still. While it seems as if they are overpowered at first, try playing as one. 2-3 Archers fire arrowing it can down it in no time, and you have to stand still to heal, leaving you vulnerable. Also, both Warriors and Rogues can take half your life instantly with a QTE event from behind, if they simply press R1 or RB at your backside.

Heroes - If your team reaches 500 points, the top player can choose to immediately become a Hero. If you are the second team to reach 500 points, your team still gets a Hero. The Hero depends on the map. For Minas Tirith; Gandalf and the Witch King for the Alliance and Evil side, respectively. For The Shire; Gandalf and a Balrog. Gandalf is essentially a souped up Wizard with better melee capabilities, the Witch King is essentially a souped up Warrior with a scream ability that stuns enemy units, and the Balrog is incredibly fun to play with. It works like a mix between a warrior and a vehicle Ent or Troll, but you can't mount attack it with the QTE attack. Gandalf is very good, the Witch King is ok, and the Balrog is also very good.

Highlights of the Demo

The demo has two multiplayer maps - The Shire, and a portion of the battle of Minas Tirith set in twilight.
The Shire is quite large, and the Minas Tirith map is enclosed.

The PS3 version is an earlier demo build. If you have a 360 Gold Account available, try that demo instead if you are frustrated at the framerate/quality.

Spawn as Evil on the Minas Tirith Map and race for the Troll. Race to the middle of the Shire map, and capture the middle point as either side to spawn either 2 Trolls or 2 Ents. Press R1 or RB to go into them and become them, similar to vehicles in Battle Front 2.

Try hard and gain the ability to play as a Hero. It is especially fun to be Evil on the Shire map and become the Balrog.



Problems

The tutorial is silly - The announcer for the tutorial is worse than Jerry the King Lawler on a bad day. "YESSS! CHARGE THE ENEMY WITH YOUR FIRE POWER!" I have no idea why they did this, but the tutorial level was fun enough for me to ignore it; I even got some laughs while I was playing.

The graphics are ok - No, the graphics will not turn any heads. While both the 360 and PS3 final build will be identical, the 360 Demo still has better graphics at the moment. They aren't terrible either, and get the job done.

After an hour or two of play, I'll get booted off the EA servers, but I am able to get right back into the game. Obviously it seems like this is just an issue because once again, it is a demo.

Contentions with unfair Criticism towards the demo

"The demo is buggy" - Sure, it's buggy, it's a demo. It is an earlier build of the game, and many of the glitches/problems you find are already fixed.

"[insert class here] is overpowered' - The only class I have, in my extensive play time, found to be a bit overpowered is the Mage. The cooldowns for his spells are lower than one would think, and the heal spell simultaneously heals yourself, and all your squad mates in an AOE range. The Mage can always be countered by a good player. An experienced Warrior who times his attacks; a thrifty Ranger who fire arrow headshots the Mage down for an easy kill, and they are ripe for the picking for any Rogue, due to the fact that Mages are incredibly slow when casting anything. But this is the point of a team based game; you need all classes to succeed. Rogues can be countered by everything, you can even see their stealth if you look, and I have even seen claims of Warriors to be overpowered. From my experience, good playing can counter everything.

"Stepping in a stream can kill you" - Ok, so this may seem like an over-the-top example of bad programming, but it has a point. As much as people follow Penny Arcade's sarcasm as gospel, the stream adds a very strategic element to the Shire Map. Warriors/Tanks much charge the bridge leading to the Alliance spawn point, while Alliance Archers have a vantage point on a nearby hill. Silly yes, but practical.

"The levels are small/blocked off" - You can clearly see, especially in the Minas Tirith level, that some sections are boarded off for the demo. How many full on free multi-player demos are there with more than one level to play online? Not too many. Don't fret, the full version will increase the breadth of the levels.

"It sucks to log on EA Servers" - It took me 30 seconds to register and it auto-logs in now. Not really a problem for me.

Conclusion

The final build boasts 150 total AI units to accompany you in your online battles (75 per side). I think this will be especially cool for the outside Minas Tirith battle (in which you can slay Olyphants), and for Helms Deep.

As I said when I opened, I strongly urge you to try the demo on your 360. If you only have a PS3, play it with an open mind. Try out all the classes before you dismiss the game as being unbalanced. Try to work on your skillset and be allowed to become a Hero for a game. If you don't have fun at all, don't sweat; that's all it really comes down to. I just hope to see some of you readers online after you rent the game and enjoy it. Admittedly, I am a Lord of the Rings fan, but the game to me is a comprehensive skill based multi-player experience. And now you know…the rest of the story.