It has been a while, but EA has released another title for fans of Tolkien's fantasy series. In Lord of the Rings: Conquest, players assume the role of various soldiers in the armies of Middle Earth and wage war in locations ranging from the fires of Mt. Doom to the idyllic countryside of Hobbiton. All of this is nice, but this simulation does not really distinguish itself from other games that accomplish the same thing. When the dust of combat settles, Conquest looks a bit like a soldier after a victory in a war that has been fought many times before: dirty and beat up, but still triumphant in accomplishing the prescribed goal.

The plot moves through two inherently opposed campaign modes. The first, War of the Ring, will carry you through the main plot of the movies, while allowing you to fight the battles for yourself. This is undoubtedly enjoyable, but the best storytelling comes when the game asks, "What would have happened if Frodo was unsuccessful at his task?" Playing as Sauron's minions has a certain appeal. The sinister delight begins with a fight against the ring bearer himself. Once the first of the hobbits is defeated, the slaughter is unfurled over all the land. The one common denominator in the narrative of both modes is the medium through which the events are revealed. Clips from the various cinematic entries in Lord of the Rings cannon are shown, while Lord Elrond provides explanation in the background. The voice work is well done, carrying one smoothly through to the conclusion.

Playing as heroes diversifies the combat and makes you feel intensely powerful.

Most of your time will be spent on the battlefield hacking through enemies as an ordinary soldier. Each army in the game is split into four distinct, RPG-like classes. Warriors provide the brute force and defense necessary to face the never ending onslaught of foes. Archers will allow for powerful ranged strikes from a safe distance such as the walls of Helms Deep. Mages lend a staff with healing, elemental and shielding magic. Scouts are provisioned with grenade-like satchel bombs, two daggers, and a cloak that allows them to disappear.

Battle is more diversified with heroes that run the full gamut of classes, the ability to control Ents, Oliphants, Trolls and even some use of mounts and siege weaponry. Occasionally, things feel just right. But far too often, there are moments that will jolt you out of the experience. To some military leaders, casualties are just another part of war. Apparently, the developers at Pandemic follow this slogan. There are countless ways to die, and too many of them are almost entirely outside of the player's control. This can leave an individual fighting over the same stretches of a struggle over and over again.

Furthermore, some enemies feel overpowered, and the AI that drives those enemies could be better. This is because whether you are a hero or not, all enemy forces will be drawn in as if you were a magnet. Friendly units do next to nothing to prevent this occurrence, and the onrush of foes can be rather frustrating. This makes defeat even more of an inevitability, and increases the repetitive nature of the game. In the end, battles often become an affair of button mashing and luck. While this issue badly hurts the single player experience, it is augmented by the ability to play the game cooperatively via a split screen.

Local multiplayer takes a decent gaming experience and makes it more fun. Being able to match a friend stroke by stroke brings visions of the Legolas-Gimli rivalry to one's mind, and undeniably improves things. Cooperative play gives the campaign some much needed life. By the end of the first episode, when playing alone, the gameplay can get a bit boring, while trying to work through the second has the potential to turn into an act of tedium. The ability to grab a friend and get through the story makes fighting the War of the Ring much more enjoyable. The online multiplayer, like the rest of the game, feels very much like Pandemic's previous entry, Star Wars: Battlefront. While this is by no means a bad thing, it would have been nice to see some new touches to the old system. All said, as many of sixteen players can come together to unleash their inner orc with friends in a variety of relatively standard modes. Technically, there is no lag and the experience functions precisely as it should.

Lightning anyone? Mages have some Sith-like powers.

The presentation in Conquest mirrors much of the rest of the game in quality. It's adequate, but does nothing to really separate itself from other games of the genre. Character models are well done, and the various locales all look right on. There is a certain thrill to fighting throughout Minas Tirith, but this thrill could have been made greater. Visual variety is accomplished by featuring soldiers from many of the armies in the land. Warriors could be from Gondor, Rohan, Rivendel, Mordor or Isengard, and the same goes for all other classes. While this is nice, there are too many units that you'll see all too often. Sound is at about the same level of the graphics. Voice work is done well during the cutscenes, but sounds overdone and a little annoying out in the field. The clash of battle is probably lacking a bit in intensity, and there never seems to be quite enough sound to stir one on toward victory. The soundtrack is good, but that can only do so much to affect a game of this nature. Overall, Conquest has decent production values that aren't likely to impress.

By the time Conquest has struck its final blow, you will likely have spent almost ten hours with the single player portion of the game. In that time, you will have fought in some of Tolkien's most steeped battles. The war for Middle Earth is epic to staggering proportions, and this entry by Pandemic does not fail in letting you experience the fullness of the conflict. But within that experience there are many bumps. Cheap deaths, button mashing, and repetitiveness hurt the overall experience. Indeed, rather then adding to the genre, Conquest simply gives you more of the same, albeit with a new coat of paint. If you are a fan of the series or this style of hack and slash gameplay, there is enough here to warrant your time. Otherwise, you may want to keep your distance or stick to a rental.