Lord of the Rings: Conquest Preview

From the darkest depths of Mordor.

Welcome back to the magical realm of Middle-Earth and all its Hobbity glory. In the upcoming Lord of the Rings: Conquest, you will get to see and experience this world’s most epic battles in an entirely new light. Not only will you assume the roles of the well-known heroes of Tolkien lore, but also the soldiers fighting in the fields as well.

If the concept sounds familiar, there may be a reason. Conquest has a lot in common with Star Wars: Battlefield and not just conceptually. Pandemic Studios is behind both titles, and they wave their geek flag high when it comes to making games that stay true to their source material.

Playing as either the fellowship or the hordes of Sauron grunts, you will fight for the one to-rule-them-all ring again. And there are so many ways to do it: Be a fighter and slash your way through your snarling foes; pick the archer and snipe your enemies from a distance; choose a mage and take down ogres with lightning from your hands; or, select a scout and cloak yourself to get the drop on a pack of elves.

Along with the basic classes, all the heroes of legend are thrown in here and there and even get some sick battles of their own. Ever wanted to take on Mount Doom as Gandalf? Well, here’s your chance to do just that, and battle the Balrog too.

You can take on the task alone or work with a friend in co-op play, or beat the crap out of each other in deathmatch. Suffice it to say, there are going to be a lot of different ways to play LOTR: Conquest. Will you save the Shire or burn it to the ground and make some hairy midget pie? Choose your side this November.