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How Metascores Are Calculated
68
3 on 3 NHL Arcade
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
For the first time, play as Evil characters in a brand new, 'Evil' campaign. Battle through scenarios after Frodo failed to destroy the One Ring; it’s good to be bad. Acclaimed Battlefront gameplay in a fantasy setting allows players to choose the way they fight, as Warrior, Archer, Mage or Scout in melee and ranged combat. Online multiplayer - pick your allegiance then battle in 16-player online clashes, or in 4-player co-op campaigns. Local multiplayer - split-screen with up to 4 players competitively or 2 player co-op. A massive cast of characters & weapons adds great depth to the gameplay: Heroes, Wargs, Ents, Oliphaunts, Cave-trolls, the Balrog, Nazgul, ballistae, and more. [Electronic Arts]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 75
MEGamers
We are going to go ahead and declare The Lord of the Rings: Conquest as a great game concept.
 72
Cheat Code Central
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a fun title that should keep many diehard fans, especially younger players, engaged. However, if you're looking for something with a bit more depth than button-mashing your way to glory, you will likely find the game shallow and frustrating.
70
IGN
Diehard fans of both online, class-based games and The Lord of the Rings might want to invest the sixty bucks, but if redundant and unimaginative gameplay are things you despise, you'll want to steer clear.
70
GameDaily
The graphics look decent (despite some broken animations), and the game allows players to smash both Orcs and Hobbits. That said, the mindless button mashing grows redundant and some enemies are mind-numbingly difficult.
70
3DJuegos
Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a videogame too far from excellence to be recommendable without making some kind of warning marks before. Those who don't like the senseless button smashing will not enjoy this game, but if you are a fan of both the Tolkien universe and the online battles you will find here an honest but reiterative entertainment.
70
Planet Xbox 360
It passes out achievements like their cheap candy and there is a certain charm when playing as your favorite characters. It also draws heavily from the movies and, like it did to me, might reignite your desire to watch them. Yet, none of these traits make for great gameplay. With short campaigns, frustrating combat, and chaotic multiplayer LotR: Conquest feels like a $60 reminder that Peter Jackson makes awesome movies.
70
Da Gameboyz
While there are some great elements to multiplayer game, Conquest comes across as a somewhat rushed game that falls into the realm of pretty average.
70
GameFocus
A weekend rental at best due to the game being wildly unbalanced and not a fun game but just a mediocre title. If it is patched and it’s balancing and multiplayer issues are addressed it might be worth a second look. Hopefully EA will return to the fold and give us another great game like Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, an awesome Role Playing Game that I would love to see a similar game released this generation.
67
Team Xbox
Fans of LotR or team-oriented multiplayer masters should pick this one up—sooner than later if possible. But for those thinking that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest’s core gameplay is like Ninja Gaiden with chain mail…this ain’t your “precious.�
67
Console Monster
Star Wars: Battlefront stood ahead in a long list of rubbish Star Wars licenses games, and it seems that this time around Pandemic have fallen on the wrong side of the fence, sitting amongst many poor Lord of the Rings licensed games.
65
GameZone
Using the fun Star Wars: Battlefront style, Conquest has all the right elements but they’re not implemented as smoothly or as it should have been on the Xbox 360. The controls make for some frustrating button-mashing battles even with some fun match types or the various heroes you can use on the many battlefields.
65
Gameplanet
Whilst often frustrating and lacking in complexity, Lord of the Rings: Conquest still has a limited appeal for die-hard fans. For everyone else, it's a real disappointment.
65
GameSpot
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an exciting and action-packed way to experience Middle-earth, provided that you have the patience and fortitude to shoulder a few frustrating burdens.
60
IGN UK
Conquest offers much sound and fury but little substance.
60
VideoGamer
Unless you fall in love with the deathmatch modes, the main draw here is the two campaigns - and most gamers will be able to cut their way through both in under five hours. Even if you're a massive fan of the series, we'd advise you to approach this game with caution.
60
MS Xbox World
Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an average game at best, which could have been improved in so many ways – better graphics, more refined combat, decent camera etc.
60
Meristation
Lord of the Rings: Conquest offers the player the same gameplay from the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise, but located in the Middle Earth. Pandemic had a great idea including two different campaigns; we love being the bad guys. But the game is a bit repetitive and offers little variety along the 16 different levels and the graphic are far from the finest examples of this generation. Although LOTR isn't a AAA game, you'll have a good time with it thanks to a great multiplayer mode.
60
Totally360
Overall Lord of the Rings Conquest is a decent game.
60
Gamervision
Despite its many flaws, there is some fun to be had. Poor design choices, sloppy controls and a lack of any soul or polish keep it from being anything but a brief distraction, but hacking your way through the armies of Sauron to the tune of Howard Shore’s epic soundtrack is enjoyable up to a point.
60
G4 TV
Conquest hits the same beats that we’ve hit over and over again in previous titles. It’s not that they don’t hit them well, but they hit the exact beats we’ve come to expect from a Lord of the Rings title.
60
ZTGameDomain
Clunky controls and redundant gameplay all point to the guilty party: mediocre game design.
60
Game Positive
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.
59
GameTrailers
Conquest relies too much on retreading old ground in almost every way. Numerous bugs, unpolished mechanics, and average presentation are the telltale signs of a rushed game, and this one has all three. It's not quite bad enough to cast into Mount Doom, but only those who can't get enough of Tolkien's tales need apply.
50
Gamer.nl
Lord of the Rings: Conquest feels like a cut down, simplistic version of Star Wars: Battlefront. Battlefront was far from flawless, but the gampley worked more than fine in a sci-fi setting. The translation into a fantasy setting didn't.
50
InsideGamer.nl
I simply can’t recommend The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. The game is riddled with both minor and major mistakes, the camera is awful, it looks like a PlayStation 2-game, and the gameplay consists of little more than mindless hacking and slashing of countless enemies. The only positive aspect is the decent multiplayer-mode, but even that feels outdated, compared to Call of Duty 4, Gears of War 2 or anything in that direction.
50
Boomtown
If you enjoyed the Conquest demo you'll no doubt like the full game. But I just found it a bit dull. Too dull even to get annoyed about.
50
GameSpy
We were hoping for more from The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, and we're disappointed that the game didn't do more with such a powerful license. Star Wars: Battlefront hasn't aged very well, and to get essentially the same game with a different theme left us wanting more.
50
EuroGamer
While there is some enjoyment to be had here, it is hard-won and rarely fulfilling. The imprecision of the combat and its lightweight feel combined with the ropey visuals conspire to date the game considerably.
48
Game Informer
Outside of clips stolen from the motion picture, you won’t find any kind of story here, either. Pandemic worked wonders with Star Wars, but couldn’t grasp the One Ring. Conquest is a joyless trip through familiar territories, and sadly, nothing more than that.
45
Kombo
Conquest is very uncharacteristic of what Pandemic is capable of. Playing through Conquest, it was surprising to see the attention to detail in the visual department and the failure to execute in creating a smooth experience juxtaposed in the same game.
42
HellBored
Lord of the Rings: Conquest follows in the same tradition of so many other games based on Tolkien’s world: full of promise but lacking in execution.
40
Official Xbox Magazine
It’d be too easy to say that Conquest will appeal only to diehard Tolkien fans; in fact, they’re the ones most likely to hate it.
40
Computer and Video Games
The pairing of large-scale online battle game with the thrill-packed Lord of the Rings series should've been a winner, but as it's turned out, Conquest won't possibly satisfying any Battlefront fan or Lord of the Rings buff at all.
40
Total Video Games
Very much throwaway gaming, Conquest is wholly lacklustre, devoid of any real purpose, and is a real low point for Pandemic, which after Mercenaries 2 is really saying something. 'Must do better' is a gross understatement.
40
Teletext GameCentral
To add to its problems the game is also surprisingly ugly, often looking much more like an original Xbox game.
40
Giant Bomb
If Conquest is indicative of the level of quality and care the company is willing to invest in LOTR-themed games, maybe it's time for them to let someone else give it a try.
30
X360 Magazine UK
A pointless, unfinished, unpolished, joyless, broken experience.
30
games(TM)
As soon as you pass the initial novelty of feeling like Legolas, or whatever character the Scout corresponds to - though we’d argue its inspiration is the Spy class from Battlefront - half of the gameplay disappears into the ether. [Feb 2009, p.118]
25
The Onion (A.V. Club)
EA's glitchy multiplayer servers place you in a one-on-one match of capture the flag.
Tess A. gave it a10: |
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