The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is, unfortunately, not a very fondly remembered Lord of the Rings video game. It was a Lord of the Rings take on the Star Wars: Battlefront formula that Pandemic Studios had worked on previously, however, it just wasn’t very balanced and didn’t provide the same level of wonder and excitement that was present in the Lord of the Rings films. That said, if a studio were to get the rights to make a follow-up game, it could make some changes that would, hopefully, improve the experience and be among titles like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor as video games that live up to the Lord of the Rings name.
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Lord of the Rings Conquest Living Up to its Premise
Many studios have been able to properly capture the magic of the Star Wars series in video games as much of its aesthetic revolves around iconic imagery and sound design. When Pandemic Studios made Star Wars: Battlefront, it really nailed those aspects making the games feel very much in line with Star Wars as a whole, despite being limited by the technology of the time. The Lord of the Rings is similar in that way: iconic imagery and sound design are huge for the established aesthetic, but Pandemic wasn’t really able to capture the magic of the franchise in Conquest.
Now that AAA studios are able to make games that run at high resolutions and include extremely detailed textures, Lord of the Rings: Conquest might be able to more properly capture the series’ aesthetic. With motion capture being as realistic as it is and games being as beautiful as they are, it seems like The Lord of the Rings: Conquest could actually realistically portray the many lush, beautiful environments that each battle takes place in. Environments like the ominously lit halls of Minas Morgul to the stark white marble of Minas Tirith weren’t done justice due to the technology available at the time, so a new entry now could actually live up to its source material.
Expanding the History of Middle Earth
If a new LOTR: Conquest were instead to focus on another aspect of Middle Earth’s history, it might be able to more properly tell stories set in the world. That way, the studio wouldn’t need to worry about being true to the film’s adaptation, and instead, could focus on making its own identity. It would do the studio behind the sequel well to look at how the Shadow of Mordor games have handled their storytelling as the two games also have nothing to do with the story told in the films.
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