Lord of the Rings: Conquest (Xbox 360)

Bought this game for one of my sons. He loves it and so does his older brother. They both loved the movie series, and the game plays into that interest. They are ages 14 and 15, and I would recommend it to others looking for a good game for their teenage kids if their kids like this genre of game.

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Lord of the Rings Conquest is a mediocre Dynasty Warriors rip off set in the LOTR universe. The classes of characters (Warrior, Archer, Scout, & Mage) are unbalanced, bland and frankly boring to play. The graphics in this game look slightly better than ps2. When you actually do win it is more a result of luck than skill as the combo chains are sloppy and not designed with precision targeting in mind. Few of the combo chains finalize in an attack that "sweeps" aside a large number of foes which is essential in this kind of game. Also the final attacks in most combo chains are lengthy in their animation time and even when you hit your target you usually end up getting hit by another enemy. You also get "juggled" often by enemies and will find yourself going from full life to death by a medium difficulty foe. Granted the character models/soundtrack/atmosphere do evoke the atmosphere of the films, though the game play is far to one dimensional and poorly executed compared to the genre from which it plagiarizes (Dynasty Warriors). If you are a die hard LOTR fan, or enjoy the Dynasty Warriors titles you may be somewhat satisfied with this game. If not I would pass on this one especially at the full retail price point.

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My son is a big fan of Halo and says this LOTR game is a similar in feel but better - since all things are better on Middle Earth. He highly recommends Conquest. Only drawback is that after completing the campaign both players can no longer be on the same side. I like it better when my kids can play as allies - there's less arguing between siblings. But overall a great game.

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