The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Game

With Pandemic behind the reins, will The Lord of the Rings: Conquest just be Star Wars: Battlefront with different uniforms?
5/27/2008 7:29 PM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

Crispy Gamer: So will anyone from the film be doing their character's voice in the game?

Soucy: We have a recognizable actor from the films as the narrator for our campaigns. Can't say much more than that at this time....

Crispy Gamer: You mention that this has a better single-player mode than the Battlefront games. How so?

Soucy: There are two campaigns in the game: A Good campaign that closely follows the story from the books and films, and an Evil one where we let players explore their darker fantasies in a fictional campaign that assumes that Frodo fails in his task to destroy the One Ring. The campaign missions are objective-based, where players fight against their enemies to complete their objectives to win the missions. The campaign can be played solo or with up to four players in online co-op or split-screen co-op.

Crispy Gamer: Are there any plans to also include more typical multiplayer modes, such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch or Capture the Ring?

Soucy: Yes. We have Team Deathmatch, which can be played with the normal units or all heroes. We also have Capture the Ring, where both teams fight to capture the One Ring for their side.

Crispy Gamer: And how many people can each match accommodate?

Soucy: We have a max of 16 players online.

Crispy Gamer: With Pandemic becoming members of the EA family, you're now related to the guys at Dice, which designed the Battlefield games that inspired the Battlefront games. Has this led to any awkward moments during family dinners?

Soucy: Nope. We've actually got a couple of guys that came over from Dice, which has been great. We've been big fans of those guys for a long time. It's nice to finally be in the same family.

Crispy Gamer: The game is set for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and DS. I assume the first three versions will be largely the same, right?

Soucy: Yes, they're all being developed in parallel together, though the PC version obviously needs a little special attention in order to make sure the experience with a keyboard and mouse is up to par.

Crispy Gamer: Will there be any cross-platform play between the PC and 360 versions?

Soucy: Unfortunately, there won't. There are technical issues there that have prevented us from being able to do this.

Crispy Gamer: So what then will the DS version be like?

Soucy: The DS version is great. It takes full advantage of the stylus and touch-screen and is a really cool experience on the DS. Multiplayer should be a blast.

Crispy Gamer: Finally, do you have a release date yet?

Soucy: We hit store shelves this fall.