LOTR + Star Wars Battlefront = awesomeness. Right? On paper it should be the greatest thing to hit the streets since the McRib sandwich. On the PS3, which is the only place you can find this demo at the moment, it is truly a mixed bag. One of the main criticisms of the SW: Battlefront series was the truly underwhelming campaign. It could be beaten in a matter of hours and if you were any good, chances are you might not even lose a round. The demo here is really two pieces. The first being a really, really satisfying tutorial where you learn all of the special moves for all the classes and their strengths and subsequent weaknesses. It gets better. Once you clear all of the secondary missions, it’s time to fight Sauron. You will then have the obvious choice of playing as the appropriate hero, in this case, Isildur. This leads us to believe that though you play as an anonymous character in the campaign, when shit hits the fan, you can play as heroes or villains and that is bad ass. Smiting someone down as a Balrog is going to be sweet.
Now the bad news. The multiplayer is a huge disaster at the moment. Where do I start? First, it is completely unbalanced. From what I understand, if you get a few kills in a row, how many I am not sure of, (if you know, by all means tell) you get to play as an Ent (giant walking tree), or Troll. These players can kill 4-5 people at a swing. Now, when the game is ONLY 8 v 8, this is awful. Respawns take about 10 seconds, which is fine, but if a team has 2 Ents/Trolls, the game is over. They can capture the spawn points easily and are very hard to kill. With no spawn points, you get blocked out until the game ends. The warrior class is basically limited to close hand to hand combat, but when the archers have unlimited arrows and can hit you from across the level, it is useless. Too often do you spawn, take 5 steps, get hit with a poison arrow, and die. The mage class is diverse with its ranged attacks, but is also easy pickings for the archers. Not to mention, the archer class can shoot while running backwards making them impossible to hack and slash while you run towards them. The scout class can go invisible and get a quick kill from behind. This is great until you try to stab an Ent and it stomps on your nuts.
The one major thing I took from the movies was the sheer epic feel to all of the battles. Thousands of soldiers clash for a struggle to save the world or burn it to the ground. The campaign does give you this feel and surely will deliver. But, the 8 v 8 multiplayer is by no means epic. A couple hobbit archers and a huge tree taking on some orcs in The Shire does not exactly do it for me. If the multiplayer is not majorly, and I mean majorly tweaked, this game is going to disappoint a whole lot of people.
[Update: To play as an Ent or Troll, simply find one "sleeping" and board it as you would a vehicle. To play as a hero, gain a lot of points, again, how many required, I do not know for I have not gotten a hard number]
[Update #2 The multiplayer is still a letdown. Relax fanboys. It gets old. Fast]
This one isn’t very high on my 2009 radar, and hearing the multiplayer is wack doesn’t bode well for the game. We’ll see what happens as it gets closer to release and we get final code.
My comment about this is that you dont need to get any kills to become a troll or ent there there from the spawn and obviously your not that good or havent played it that much to know that its a team based game 1 good person can take out a troll being any character you just have to know how to play. With the warriors not being able to “hack and slash the archers is where you are wrong again if you didnt notice the warrior has a throwing axe which knocks people down and a special attack that moves very fast across the ground. I find it sad when people bash a game because they dont know everything about it before they write a review
Yeah to the guy who wrote the review, you need to read up more before you do a review. I WILL GIVE YOU A GOOD REVIEW. (Good job Patrick) Dont do it it by hearsay. LOOK up the information first or play it. The game is a basic paper/rock/scissors. Mage beats archer, archer beats warrior, warrior beats scout (or in my case, anything… assuming I can reach it) scout beats any humanoid assuming it is stealthed and facing their back. (going melee as a scout is NOT reccomended, but can be done with skill. Ents and Trolls are easy to take down. Heroes are the stronger versions of a “vehicle” or class. They can be assassinated (except the Balrog, for obvious reasons), the Balrog is a beefed up troll (that cannot heal) the ents are just as weak to fire as a troll is, no need to be arguementative. Trolls in any lore are very weak to fire. From what im seeing in the training, yes its very helpful. EVERY player should do it, lest they feel like getting demolished in multiplayer because of not knowing the button interface. The negatives to the game (and tips) are; scouts are plentiful (go figure, a pvp game with plentiful assassin classes). Each team really should only utalize the scouts to go behind enemy lines to capture points, or take out the archers and mages. They also make good for killing trolls/ents easiest. Archers can be abused in many ways, such as the poison arrow (I believe it should just snare -cripple- and thats it, no poison crap its almost as annoying as martyrdom in CoD). Archers can kill any class with a single headshot using an explosive arrow so practice makes perfect. Multi Arrow helps against pesky scouts. Poison arrow slows the advance of anything torwards you. Mages are the most valuable asset to Either team, but it seems no one knows how to play them because no one ever heals teammates ( I do) and they think the mage is Hercules or something charging into a battle or charging a troll… You just dont do that. The mage is support, learn the word, learn the roll, learn your job. HEAL. Make choke Points, Give the melee some bubble for -insert religious figure here- sake! THEYRE PAPER THIN! Warriors, where to start… they are in my opinion the hardest class to play. A warrior who doesnt know their combos is a dead warrior. You cannot heal (unless you find or kill someone with a healing orb or have a rare mage who does their job). Archers are the bane of your existance, so what Patrick said, use your axe USE YOUR AXE USE YOUR AXE!
You are also the fastest running class in the game, use that to your advantage to capture forward points. You scare the shit out of any class when you are within melee range, YOURE GENETICALLY DIFFERENT BABY! no class meets your melee damage ratio’s so take advantage of your fire attacks. Lets see… Ah mounts. One shot will knock you off, so zig-zag your heart out when using them! run over (or attack) enough people on them and you can initiate a charge by pressing (triangle or Y depending on your system) that will kill anything, Ent, Troll, stupid mages, (havent tested on heroes, anyone like to apply?) They make perfect use to run behind lines if not noticed or to make quick runs to forward points.
My Xbox Live gamertag is Brian6386 feel free to drop a message or friend request! (if you plan on sending hatemail for some reason think otherwise, I am one of those players who WILL report you for harrassment, I do hate people ruining my fun on things that I pay to play). P.S. sorry for the essay!
You guys realize this is NOT A REVIEW, right? It’s impressions of the demo as downloaded on the PS3. Impressions != Review, especially based off a demo.
As Matt said, it is the IMPRESSIONS, not a review.
The game DID NOT IMPRESS ME.
Could the game be good? Sure. The demo does not tell how to play as a hero character and throws you into the mix. I did figure out that trolls and ents are basically tanks, not powerups.
That being said, the demo is weak. The multi should be the best part and it is very repetitive.
The camera is awful, the players are not weighted, and the collision detection is off for close combat.
Don’t be surprised if this game is not a 9.0 above, trust me.
And by the way…
There is only one Return, and it ain’t of the King.
I dunno if i like the game i spend time playing the demo online
but it annoys me and it seems very limted.
I am kinda curious about the game i want to play the proper game before i buy it but none of my friends will buy it.
Online i am a archer but i like the warrior.
I will buy the game as i think the multiplayer story mode would
be fun but its not a sandbox game!
Xboxlive name: Apu daley
feel free to send me a message about the game or play the game with me
if you are playing the game with me could you inform me of you presence.
Thankyou!
Agreed the demo is weak, but, alas its SW Battlefront with LOTR slapped in the front of it. My previous post was giving players (who arent sure about the game) an impression about it. I do admit I did not give my impression of it, but I shall now. Its a needed change to the consoles. First Person Shooter this, Button Masher that… it seems that no game is original, but the Battlefront series includes many genres. This is also a game that deeply encourages teamwork so if you dont talk, nor have a microphone, you’re most likely not wanted on either team. It was a demo, a MULTIPLAYER demo at that. of course they wont have an in-depth demo for the singleplayer. And demo’s have bugs, and need to be balanced, and changes can be made before launch, even after launch. Dont judge the game by its bugs, judge it by its playability and fun. I’m personally picking it up because im tired of the FPS games and its counterparts. (that and Im huge when it comes to PvP games… bring back Planetside!)
Who ever wrote this about the game has to play it more and do research first you dont need any kills what so ever to be a ent or troll and second of all to be a hero you dont need any kills just massive points which u get a 100 for every territory u capture
@ Cenwulf:
As stated in my comments, which you did not see, I now understand the Ents and Trolls are vehicles, not upgrades. I also stated in the article that I was not sure and if anyone knew, please tell me.
As far as the Hero, thats an assumption that had to be made and nowhere in the game to they explicitly tell you that. I also assume the same rationale.
As far as research is concerned… the game is not that good. I don’t need to delve into anything to know a game is not as epic as it could have been.
My ‘Impression’ of this game is that:
The game has much potential, though the demo is quite the best multiplayer experience ever. But you need to consider that you cant call a demo repetitive because its only meant to give you a taste of the game, if the demo was bigger a better and lasted for 2 months of enjoyment people wouldnt bother buying the game. Also I think the units need to be tweaked (my suggestions) warriors need more damage, i hate having to perform 3 combo’s on a unit to kill them only to be kill only to be killed by the next unit that attacks you. Also archers you be given less movement or agility while firing. And mages are way to strong being able to kill a warrior with 2 or 3 strikes and have to ability to blow away anything in a 4 metre radius. I find the mages to be to effective in killing to be a unit that can heal himself and others and shield himself and friends from ranged fire. Scouts i think are cool they can take decisive units without having much ability in close combat, (a good balance).
BUT i also bare in mind that this demo is not the final copy, and is a way for the developers to see how player behave with the units.
Also what i wanted to mention is that many of you seem to discouraged because of the 8v8 combat, i am not entirely sure but i have been told of there being bots online multiplayer so it isnt just 8v8.
And i am also sorry about the essay.
@ Wowy71
My ‘Impression’ of this game is that:
“The game has much potential, though the demo is quite the best multiplayer experience ever”
You’re kidding right? With no known ranking or perks system, just how long can you play this for.
One hyperbole to rule them all.
Sorry about that, there was meant to be NOT in there somewhere. Sorry my laptops keyboard screws up and randomly changes where your typing wihtout noticing.
yeah what he hell are you on about, why write a review when it seems like you’ve only played the multiplayer about onc or twice, the whole hero thing is just whovever has the most points and usually lets you be a hero about half wayt through, and yes it’s all about teamwork, eg 2 scouts can easily take a warrioras one distracts whilst the other assassinates him.
this is totally wrong every thing you said is not true you play as an ent or troll when you capture the base that spawns them you are just fucking stupid the mage is to help the archers and suport the warriors with helth not only that but no shit and archer can take out someone with a headshot its just like any gun game that has a sniper, thats what the are dipshit SNIPERS used to take out people from a distance. and if your annoyed by a scout dont freak out as long as you dont stand still for a fucking hour it hard for them to get you, all in all this whole sit is retarded and you should try actually playing and analyzing a game before you write something about it.
this is totally wrong every thing you said is not true you play as an ent or troll when you capture the base that spawns them you are just fucking stupid the mage is to help the archers and suport the warriors with helth not only that but no crap an archer can take out someone with a headshot its just like any gun game that has a sniper, thats what the are, SNIPERS used to take out people from a distance. and if your annoyed by a scout dont freak out as long as you dont stand still for anhour it hard for them to get you, all in all this whole sit is retarded and you should try actually playing and analyzing a game before you write something about it. oh and screw you scuba either you suck at this game or you havent played it and dont bring that return of the jedi bullshit in here when we are talking about a lotr game, this game is well based and balance if you know and i mean KNOW how to play a TEAM based game.
My good sir, how can anyone assume the game’s multiplayer is awful, it has slight balancing issues, like poison arrow, no idea how annoying it is, and just restrict healing on trolls/ents, otherwise, its really good, warriors need slight damage tweeks, but not to the extent u point out. Plus 75 bots on each side will make it epic.
And multiplayer doesn’t get old fast, I have played he demo from the day it came out to now, its really well made, as classes are balanced, and still have unique strengths. Scouts, if used right can easily melee anything without backstab, I can. And heros comes when your team gets 500 points and top player gets the hero. BTW the ps3 version is worse than the xbox, if you have one try it.
[...] Lord of the Rings: Conquest from EA/Pandemic ships this week for most major platforms. You saw our demo impressions already and we’ll have a full review as soon as we get through the entire game. Not much else [...]
Yeah, to be honest I have to agree with everyone here. I loved the Battlefront series…therefore I couldn’t wait for this game. The demo on Xbox was awful, unbalanced, and it even felt a little cramped. Even in the Campaign…yes you could see a massive battlefield… but you couldn’t actually go out and explore it. You pretty much just ran around tight quarters. I put a reserve on this, but i really think I’m going to retract it. This game looks terrible!!
Yeah, to be honest I have to agree with everyone here. I loved the Battlefront series…therefore I couldn’t wait for this game. The demo on Xbox was awful, unbalanced, and it even felt a little cramped. Even in the Campaign…yes you could see a massive battlefield… but you couldn’t actually go out and explore it. You pretty much just ran around tight quarters. I put a reserve on this, but i really think I’m going to retract it. This game looks terrible!!
@ SevrenHawk3878
You have restored my faith in gaming. I am waiting for my review copy to show up today so I can play the full version and give a fair review, but my hopes are not that high. I have been getting flamed by fanboys who refuse to look past the obvious shortcomings in the demo.
I hope this game kicks ass, I really do. I am just very reserved.
played the demo all day today and really loved it, i really REALLY wanted to like the warrior and avoid the archer but i found myself getting frustrated with the warrior and going on archer for a long range rampage, it seems the maps allow for such long distance camping you can easily get several kills before even being noticed, a single headshot with a flame arrow is lethal and even at close range if you miss they’re knocked over. I agree that mage is too lethal to have THAT much defensive powers too, lightning should need charged and not insta cast, the healing should be a slower aoe regeneration that requires staying still, thus more team work involved. The warrior is great but they really dont start out with enough flame sword to do alot of damage and are usually hit from all directions by archers while they melee, and seem to counter nothing, mages can easily zap/shockwave/firewall, scouts can jus stealth and bomb, or even melee them with quick attacks enough that the warrior cant move, archer mobility is too much, and the arrows are TOO easy to shoot, give them some draw time and real physics so a 200m headshot isnt so easy, and slower power regen on them too.
Im a player I like the game it has it up and down but so far it a great game. They also added a couple new map packs I would go check them out befor anyone else critize the game.
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