As you may or may not know, the Lord of the Rings: Conquest is also heading for Nintendo’s handheld system. Pandemic has kept the lid on this version of the game, but MeC has been able to snag a Nintendo DS themed interview with the developers. Find out what’s in store for handheld gamers!

Pandemic has been keeping the lid on the DS version of the game for a very long time now. When will it release?

The NDS version of LOTR will ship 01-13-2009, along with its Xbox 360, PS3 and PC counterparts.

Does the game follow the same basic gameplay principles as the PC/360/PS3 version?

LOTR for the NDS does follow the basic principles of its next gen counterparts, but it is not an exact copy that has been scaled down to run on the NDS. Conquest for the DS is a custom built version of the game to fully take advantage of the new input features available on the NDS. Aside from the differences between the console and handheld versions of the game, the core mechanics of the game follow the same “Star Wars Battlefront” blueprint that Pandemic Studios has become famous for developing. This is the same core blueprint that the console version of the game used.

The DS has some unique features like a touch-screen and a secondary screen. How will Conquest utilize these features?

LOTR for the NDS has a unique control system using the touch-screen and stylus as well as the option to simply press the “Select” button to alternatively use the gamepad as a method of controlling the game. The game also uses the secondary screen on the NDS as a “map-tracking” radar system which is updated in real-time while playing the game. This system enables the user to view important information relating to the map you are playing on, where you are as well as where various friend or foe NPC’s are on the map and the location of objectives and capture points.

Will the DS version have the same campaign missions as the console version?

The campaign missions in the console version of the game are directly based off of content featured in “The Lord of the Rings” films. Like it’s console counterpart, the NDS version of LOTR also closely follows the content of “The Lord of the Rings”, although it is a completely different game engine.

What gameplay modes are available on the NDS?

The game features a single player mode and a two player multiplayer modes. In cooperative mode the player can connect with a friend and play through both the good and evil campaigns. Through instant action, the user can select any of the ten missions, five maps for good and five maps for evil. The player can play several modes with or against another person. There are six total different game play modes for The Lord of the Rings Conquest, three for wireless game play and three for single player game play. These are Campaign Mode, Instant Action and Conquest modes. Game play closely follows the same functionality that was found in the “Star Wars Battlefront” games from which the core design of The Lord of the Rings for the console is based off.

Will the Conquest support multiplayer modes?

Conquest in the NDS version of LOTR contains both single and two player multiplayer modes where two people can pair up to battle cooperatively alongside each other or directly against one another using the wireless technology built into the NDS handheld.

From which perspective is the game played, third person – like the other editions of Conquest?

LOTR: Conquest for the NDS is a 3rd person, action, fighting and strategy game.

Will the DS version have any unique features?

LOTR for the NDS will feature many unique and exclusive features. Aside from the touch-screen stylus input system mentioned earlier, the NDS version of LOTR also features unique power-ups that drop when an enemy has been disposed of, custom rewards that are awarded to the player for performing various feats on the battleground displayed as medals at the end of each map, and many more features that we want to keep a surprise at this time.

How large will the battles be on the handheld console?

Although The Lord of the Rings Conquest is a fighting game, the game cannot be won by simply hacking and slashing, and killing as many enemies as possible. The player will have to use strategic decisions to become successful at The Lord of the Rings Conquest, and ultimately win the game. These decisions which include taking over key command points, capturing strategic spawn points and containing specific choke points on the map are a very important feature of this game. This does not mean that the battles are on a small scale, we have pushed the NDS to its limits with the scale of the battles in the NDS version of the game.

Why did Pandemic choose the Nintendo DS as the fourth platform for this game?

Pandemic chose the NDS as the fourth platform for LOTR for many reasons. These include the fact that the NDS hardware supported the core mechanics of our game play system, although we have pushed that hardware to its limits in this title. Another top reason that we went with the NDS as a platform for LOTR is the fact that in the realm of NDS games, there is a serious lack of games that feature game play similar to our game. The player experiences the epic battles from all three “The Lord of the Rings” films from a unique perspective only available on the NDS that is a fun and exciting way to enjoy the world of 3rd person handheld video games.

MeC: Thanks very much for your time.