I’m going to be completely honest here: I am not a Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fan. Peter Jackson was not able to romance me with his cinematography or the length of his films — size does not always matter! I’ve played LOTR The Battle for Middle-Earth and was a bit overwhelmed by all the functions and consequently not enticed to pick it back up. When I learned of LOTR: Conquest, memories of frustration and confusion came to mind and was not too interested. Thankfully, after giving it a try at PAX this past Summer and again last week and I was quite pleased.

For those not familiar with the game, LOTR: Conquest it is an upcoming game developed by Pandemic Studios picking up at the end of the Lord of the Ring movies. Now you can continue your epic battle in the campaign mode or if you are feeling a bit rogue, the evil campaign offers a story picking up on a failed Frodo scenario. Both campaigns offer maps and missions with tons of enemies to slay in what I felt was a “smart” hack and slash in a open world setting. There are four classes you can pick, which are divided into two melee and two ranged. They all offer different types of attacks and combos, so play around to find who fits you! However, keep in mind that a certain class might better deal with a mission than others , so change it up if you are feeling stuck. Insider Tip: The classes Pandemic Recommends will be the first classes displayed in the class selector.

There will be instances in the game where you will be offered to control a hero so you can mix it up. Why not? Conquest has an extensive cast of Heroes, Wargs, Ents, Oliphaunts, Cave-trolls, the Balrog, Nazgul, and ballistae. As in anything made in Hollywood, we have an all-star cast of heroes such as Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, or Gimli. With great heroes come great maps to kill them in. Death or victory might find you in Mt. Doom, Helms Deep, Moria, Pelennor Fields, Isengard or The Shire! These are just a few of the locations in the game I remember. How? Victory found me in them, of course! The point is to re-spawn a lot…right?

Controls? So easy a cavemen can do it! The pick up and play aspect is very inviting and will allow anyone to start playing instantly. For the more tactical folks, there are tons of combos and types of attacks for each class and hero for those in need to show-off to your Miley Cyrus poster. If you don’t want to look bad, difficulty settings are Casual, heroic and legendary. But be warned, it’s not stupid easy. You are given 5 lives in where you can respawn and continue. Ones they run out, you will have to start the mission from the beginning. Getting around seemed easy enough from task to task and the giant yellow arrows will guide the way around, so you won’t feel lost, little one. You can gain your epic mount and ride a Warg when tired of walking. Yes, you can attack while mounted. Drive-by, anyone?

What’s better than drive-by’s on a Warg? To do it online. Conquest has tons of online capabilities for us to “jump in” to — Sorry if I leave out the PSN folks ;]. Co-op is a huge part of games now and it’s a no brainer this was included, as well as for the DS version which includes a 4-player co-op via wi-fi. Online modes include Capture the Ring, Conquest (capturing control points), Deathmatch, and Hero Deathmatch in 16 player matches. These modes are all very standard to online gaming, but are a lot of fun. On modes like capture the ring and conquest, lots of team work is needed to succeed, so don’t try to be the hero. You never know when a mage is lurking in the corners. PC details are on the works as well as a demo and other goodies for Xbox LIVE such as maps, heroes and game modes.

LOTR: Conquest was a fun hack and slash to pick up when I need to release some frustration. There is not a whole lot of customization and what you start with is what you get. Missions are what you would expect from any of these type of games and are all about destroying the enemy. This is not a story driven game, so don’t expect to get sucked in by a story line. However, easy and fun game play might be what keeps you playing for a while. I just don’t expect the divorce rate to rise due to spouses playing the game excessively. I see myself doing tons of co-op with Jon and enjoying the use of fire arrows with my archer. The hardcore fans might find this to be a watered down version of their beloved SWBF series, but keep in mind, it’s not the same game. Embrace change.

For the hardcore fans, I’ve collected questions from the community and made an Q & A post so don’t forget to check that out! http://beetstro.com/games/lord-of-the-rings-conquest-q-a