The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

 Xbox 360
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 58
  3. Negative: 15 out of 58
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  1. Game Informer
    48
    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.
  2. Kombo
    45
    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.
  3. HellBored
    42
    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.
  5. Official Xbox Magazine
    40
    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.
  6. Computer and Video Games
    40
    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.
  7. Total Video Games
    40
    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.
  8. Giant Bomb
    40
    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.
  9. Metro GameCentral
    40
    To add to its problems the game is also surprisingly ugly, often looking much more like an original Xbox game.
  10. DarkZero
    40
    How the developer of Star Wars: Battlefront and the publishers of the Battlefield series let this one out the door in this state I will never understand.
  11. GameCritics
    35
    With nothing to recommend it, I say toss this disc into the cracks of Mount Doom and be done with it.
  12. X-ONE Magazine UK
    30
    A pointless, unfinished, unpolished, joyless, broken experience.
  13. games(TM)
    30
    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]
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  14. Telegraph
    30
    It’s uglier than Gollum and twice as annoying as that whiny Frodo chap. Even brutalising fat hobbitses as Sauron himself can do little to alleviate the feeling that Conquest is a cheap, lazy and regressive game that is the very worst kind of franchise cash-in.
  15. The A.V. Club
    25
    EA's glitchy multiplayer servers place you in a one-on-one match of capture the flag.
  16. Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
    20
    Everything about LOTR: Conquest is bad. [Mar 2009, p.80]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2009
28
#28 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2009

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 120 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 120
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 120
  3. Negative: 25 out of 120
  1. NickM.
    Jan 31, 2009
    6
    Ignore Tess A. After having played the game for about six hours, it is indeed a button masher of the highest caliber. There are some majorIgnore Tess A. After having played the game for about six hours, it is indeed a button masher of the highest caliber. There are some major balancing issues, at least several major bugs and various glitches, among other things. The levels are too short, it's just not that fun, and at times it can be frustratingly difficult.

    There are several announcers in the game; each more excitable and petulant than the last. They just will NOT shut up. They shout the same order to you every five seconds or so, just in case you forgot, I guess.

    I'm trying to think of positives... Oh, the character models are a little ugly, but could be worse. The overall presentation isn't too bad. The sound (besides the voice acting) is pretty good. I'm sure there's more.

    This isn't the worst game in the world, but it's not very good, either.    … Full Review »
  2. etb444
    Dec 28, 2013
    4
    The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a great example of why you definitely shouldn't get your hopes up for a game based off a movie/book. ThisThe Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a great example of why you definitely shouldn't get your hopes up for a game based off a movie/book. This game is a complete button-masher and the story should have been good because it is LOTR, but the characters had absolutely no emotion. The graphics were OK enough, but the game suffered from minor bugs and glitches and the levels in the story mode were sometimes frustrating and too short. The online multiplayer is imaginative and pretty fun. This game is for people who want a LOTR game and don't care too much about quality.… Full Review »
  3. SuperRater52
    Feb 2, 2012
    8
    I agree with NickM. ...... to some extent. This game is a button masher, but not like you would typically think. You button mash, but it hasI agree with NickM. ...... to some extent. This game is a button masher, but not like you would typically think. You button mash, but it has to be done strategically and at certain times. You can't always use one attack all the time, some of the enemies are to strong for that. You have to mix up your button combinations to kill certain enemies. I love the evil story mode, and if it's to easy for you, Turn Up The Difficulty Level!! There are some bugs with the game, but overall the game is fun to play. Now that this game has been out for a while it is well worth it's price, I bought mine for cheap. Definitely recommend this game to whoever wants a fun LOTR game!!!… Full Review »
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