Of course, the main aspect of this demo is the multiplayer part. You could only play on EA’s official servers for this one, but the options promise some options for players to host their own matches. It features two levels: Minas Tirith and the Shire. Coming from the campaign, we couldn’t help but notice that the graphics seemed to have been turned a notch or two down. The trees in the Shire looked like they were made out of cardboard, and the smooth edges we saw near the Black Gate were replaced with memories from a pre-AntiAlias era.
Good vs Evil
Right at the start of the mission you can pick either the good or Evil side – you can’t pick your own race. Apart from the obvious difference in appearance, the only real difference is the vehicle selection you get. Vehicles here are for example wargs and trolls for the evil guys. Playing around the Shire quickly revealed a nicely placed hill that was great for sniping enemies from far off. Our range was pretty good, we could hit most enemies that entered our sight. I even managed to get off a few “critical hits” or headshots, if you will. After congratulating myself with discovering this great spot, I decided to pick up a mage and join the fun down below.
However, my team wasn’t doing so well, and it wasn’t before long that a Balrog appeared close to our last remaining spawn point. I saw a bunch of Warriors getting up close, only to end up being knocked down, thrown away or die in some other horrific way. Meanwhile, I was shooting some lightning and firebolts at the big thing. Eventually, it did come down – only to be followed by a bunch of enemy archers which now had a clear shot at myself and my teammates. This shows that multiplayer can be a lot of fun, but battles tend to get very one-sided since the better team always gets the hero first.
Capturing the CP
The City of Gondor
Minas Tirith is a very different baby. The streets and alleyways are much more close quarters, and this changes gameplay around. If you’re a mage or an archer, chances are you’ll get plenty of easy shots here. Those small streets can get crowded with enemies, especially for those spawnpoints which only have one street leading up to them. The level itself was tons of fun, but perhaps a bit small. It wasn’t smaller then the Shire, but since most of it was covered with buildings (which cannot be entered) the same streets started feeling repetitive soon. Since there are no AI grunts to be found online though, this makes sense. Huge maps would be fun if we had 64 players to toy around with, but with only 16, the map sizes really feel like they’re optimized for this number. You’re never far away from the action.
We only had a short time to play online, so we can’t tell you much about balance yet. We did see all classes being used, although the mage appeared to be the most popular. Scouts, Warriors and Archers are useful in their own right and are surely not off any worse. Heroes are merely more powerful versions of their class – so Gandalf is basically an über mage with a lot better melee abilities (since he has a sword)
At this point, all players are rookies, so we can’t wait to see some crazy combos and tactics developing in the next few weeks and onward. Playing online was a very fun experience for us, and we can’t wait to return for more!
Verdict
The demo for the Lord of the Rings: Conquest gives us just a glimpse of what’s to come. All in all the training mission was a lot of fun, and promises a lot to be discovered in other parts of the game. Multiplayer offers a really fun challenge, although the balance between teams seems somewhat off (autobalance, please!) and the graphics aren’t very convincing. The presentation and pure fun make up for its shortcomings in the end, and the demo does what it’s supposed to do: increase the hype and tension to get our hands on the full version.
Up next: Screengrabs and video
Poll
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Comments:
Argetlam:
Still waiting for the pc demo.
roytjuh:
He's really cool, but the graphics are not on GTA-niveau xD.
Argetlam:
Now that I see some of the combat buttons I think I will get a PC game controller. And good job with the video.
Cheeky Hobbit:
The downgrade in graphics when playing online doesn't bother me in the slightest. Basiclaly all games with an online component do that - have you seen GTA IV's graphics online? Yuck.
I'd rather the game looked slightly worse online but played lag-free than the other way around. :)
Lotr Lover:
does anyone know exactly when conquest demo is coming to xbox 360
Illuminatio:
Can't wait for the PC-demo... still waiting Pandemic... still...
TokyoBlade:
Samus1111111:
It would be cool if they released it tomorrow as a Christmas gift to all of us loyal fans :D
Warrior123:
I wait demo for pc.I love this game but i cant wait more
Freek:
There probably won't be a PC demo, so please stop asking for it in every demo related thread.
Rayman:
"Hope for the best ,prepare for the worst" they say ,let's keep the first sentence...
LegolasGreenleaf:
Anyone Know when the Pc's demo will be released?????^^
Freek:
No.
/10char
Illuminatio:
It would be really odd if there wasn't going to be a PC demo, first to test your system, so you can see if you can handle the game. And second to look if the game is good and fun, so worthy to buy. I miss the old days where demo was a PC-only thing :(
TokyoBlade:
Like Freek said: Please stop asking about the PC demo. Just wait until it gets confirmed (if there even will be a pc demo for it), constantly begging for it will not make it arrive any sooner :P
Warrior123:
But a x360 demo?
TokyoBlade:
lexx82:
can som1 plz tell me if there are any good videos on lord of the rings conquest multiplayer??plz:S
TokyoBlade:
There are a load of videos on youtube :) type in "lord of the rings conquest multiplayer demo" into the search.
BalrogOfMorogoth:
There will be no conquest demo on the 360 so stop asking!!!
krapyl:
Yes xbox360 demo is confirmed. I am not sure but i beleve that it will come out today :P Idk...don't really care either sience i have a PS3
Freek:
BalrogOfMorogoth:
Idk issue your dumb warnings this is just a website for people who like lotr conquest not some important ****. There will not be a demo i just found out freek shut up now because you have no idea what the **** you are talking about you dumb *******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BalrogOfMorogoth:
And if i get banned over this i could care less because im on 10 different websites contributed to lotr conquest.your all fools to think there will be a conquest demo. Now stfu and go play hello kitty island adventures nubs.
Thorgaz:
Ahahah... what a happy discussion. Patience people, the game soon enough... just make one of your friends buy it so you can see how you like it before you spend your own money.
krapyl:
Sledgehammer and ComposerRyan have conformed that the xbox360 demo will be aveble today or tomorrow ;)
FraserGT:
Quick first impressions:
Bad - Trolls are annoying (if you are good) and trolls get in the way (if you are bad)
Scouts backstabbing is annoying, not very lord of the ringsy
Good - You need to work as a team in multiplayer
- Mage, Archer and Warrior seem to be well balanced
Great game (demo) in my opinion, definitely going to get the game
FaceCake:
Wow. This was supposed to be a thread about playing the demo, not a "when will the demo be released" Thread. You should have gave warnings to people who asked about it.
Anyways, I thought the game was pretty balanced. I however found that its pretty hard to kill people. Also i absolutely hate when I'm Gandalf, and a scout comes up behind me and kills me in one hit. There should be a class that can see the scout while he is invisable.
erm,
I also like how the troll has alot of health, making it both challenging and rewarding to kill him, altho you should get about 200 pts instead of 10 when you finally kill one.
I also like how teamwork is very important in large scale battles, with the mage deploying sheilds around archers and what not.
Freek:
The best way to avoid the scout is to "hop" or walk around like you're drunk (left to right and frequently change directions)
krapyl:
Anyways, I thought the game was pretty balanced. I however found that its pretty hard to kill people. Also i absolutely hate when I'm Gandalf, and a scout comes up behind me and kills me in one hit. There should be a class that can see the scout while he is invisable.
erm,
I also like how the troll has alot of health, making it both challenging and rewarding to kill him, altho you should get about 200 pts instead of 10 when you finally kill one.
I also like how teamwork is very important in large scale battles, with the mage deploying sheilds around archers and what not.
FaceCake:
yea i agree. Im by myself in the shire, wondering around, exploring it while there is battles happening north of the map in the orc camp. Im by that bridge where the good team starts out, and a balrog just spawns right infront of me. I was like "HOLY SH*T" but i killed it somehow, and yea only 10 points. I also found that when playing as the balrog, when you press "A" on the xbox controller, his little bar goes up making his speacial abilities avaliable.
After i got the hang of it, i was going 19 for 4 on each map. I use mostly the mage and the scout. Being the scout is fun when you start using his nasty combos. Hes a lot more useful then just going invisible. Being an archer balances out well. Unlimited ammo, but it is difficult to shoot at people if they keep moving around. And if you are a troll, its easy for archers to hit you, but you can heal, and you have ALOT of health.
I love this game, so, so much. All those years of playing battlefront, wishing it was lotr, finally came true.
OiXerxes:
Almost one week for all of us in the US of A...and I have it during finals week...thank somebody for giving us a four-day weekend...