The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Preview

Ever fancied killing Frodo Baggins as a terrifying Nazgûl? Of course you have. Ever fancied burning holes in Elvish faces as the demon Balrog? Of course you have. And so has Pandemic Studios. Hence, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, the upcoming action game from the team behind the Star Wars: Battlefront games. Following our recent hands-on preview, we thought we'd have a chat with director Eric "Giz" Gewirtz to get some last ditch info before the review hits the internet, and find out if he's got any concerns about rewriting The Lord of the Rings history book.

VideoGamer.com: Thanks for taking the time to answer some of our questions. The game has been confirmed for 360, PS3, PC and Nintendo DS. Why aren't you guys doing a Wii version and is there any chance of a Wii version coming later?

Eric "Giz" Gewirtz: We wanted to focus on the core mechanics of the game, which as you can tell, lean heavily on the Battlefront-style game play. Because of this, there was a decision to go in the direction we did, without Wii. That said, we know we have a legion of fans who own Nintendo systems. We believe the DS game will deliver an addicting fun game play experience, that gamers currently can't find for the platform.

VideoGamer.com: The game will cater for 16 players online. Why not 32, like Battlefront 2? Some of the fans have expressed disappointment over that...

EG: The team went back and forth on this and ultimately it came down to gameplay balance. 16 players tested to be the optimal number of gamers. It allows our rich, diverse set of character classes to really shine and empowers the gamers to really strategize how they can work as a team. Also, we found that the more players you have in a game, the less importance each individual player has in influencing the overall match. We wanted to empower our fans to have a greater role in the outcome of the game.

VideoGamer.com: What are the issues surrounding creating an alternative ending where the bad guys take over Middle Earth and other "non-cannon" elements, and are you expecting any hate mail from "angry" LotR fans?

EG: This is an incredible opportunity to provide fans of the lore a 'what if...?' scenario. The entire team are huge fans of The Lord of the Rings and we worked closely with the Tolkien people and New Line to keep the integrity of the fiction and universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Everyone was really excited about the idea of adding on to the fiction, without taking away anything from the actual books and films. So, although some fans may be upset to see The Shire under attack and up in flames, others will find it a guilty pleasure.

VideoGamer.com: Lots of fans are quite excited about playing the Balrog - can you give us some in depth info about what you'll be able to do while in control of the fiery beast?

EG: The Balrog essentially makes quick work of clearing a path. When the opposition sees The Balrog coming toward them, they don't have much time to figure out their game plan. But The Balrog is not invincible. Every character has a check and balance system that keeps the game engaging. So playing as The Balrog and incinerating Ents or Hobbits is just as fulfilling as taking The Balrog down with an Ent or Hobbit.

VideoGamer.com: Without any recent films, is there a danger that the value of the LotR license is waning?

EG: I think the fantasy created in The Lord of the Rings universe is pretty evergreen. Good versus evil, grand adventures, epic battles, amazing characters and real drama, all tied into one. Though different generations have had new adaptations (new books, films, etc), it all comes back to the fact that this story has been cherished by every new generation that comes across it. Aside from the influence it has had on the fantasy genre itself, I believe it will remain one of the richest worlds created for our time.