heroshade
12-26-2008, 03:18 AM
So, for anyone who doesn't know, this is Pandemic's (and EA's sadly) latest project. Basicly, it's like Starwars Battlefront only in Middle Earth, with signifigantly fewer lasers. The demo is now up for download on the PS3 store.
Anyway, my first impression after watching the gameplay video was a stiff, apathetic 'MEH'. The attacks looked repetetive and boring, the objectives they listed seemed as generic and overused as pretty much everything else (I.E. Defend this path for three minutes then counter attack and take all the command posts; just like Battlefront), and there is only four classes; Warrior, Archer, Scout (A.K.A. Assassin), and Mage, along with special units like Trolls, Ents, and heroes.
When I actually played it however, it was pretty fun. The demo only lets you play on two maps, both of which were pretty well laid out, so there really isn't much I can say about level design; The city looks like a city and the Shire looks like the Shire.
I spent most of my time playing as the warrior. They seemed to deal with everything alright, even Trolls/Ents (They have the ability to run up their back and wtfkapwn them in the face). The warrior has a throwing axe for a ranged attack which knocks down whoever it hits (Useful and strangly underused), making it very easy to knock somebody down and then unleash a volley of sword strikes on them. I got the most kills out of just throwing an axe at somebody's head (Critical hit) and using the warriors Firesword charge to get six or seven hits on them before they can get up. The one problem I ran into with the Warrior was fighting Mages.
Mages have the astounding ability to hit you with a bolt of lighting, set you on fire, healing themselves, and quickly finishing you off. You tend to find them in groups when the enemy is on the defensive, which makes them even tougher to kill (Archers and Scouts can take a few out if they are organized, but usually they'll have an Ent/Troll with them which makes it hard to stay in one spot for too long), but even when fighting one solo they are pretty hard.
The Archer was probably the class I played the least. It's useful to pick enemies off from a distance and everything, but really you just hold down R2 and back up. They can launch an explosive fire arrow at you, devestating you and your friends if you are too tightly grouped. They can also hit you with a poison arrow, which obviously decreases your health and slows you down to a useless pace; basicly, if one hits you and you are out in the open or fleeing from enemies, you're pretty much fucked.
The Scout is a class I have a serious problem with. It has the ability to turn invisible for a long period of time and then once it runs out, it seems that you can flick invisibility right back on. I wouldn't have such a problem with this if it weren't for the classes backstab skill. If a cloaked scout gets behind a line of archers (provided they are actually shooting somebody and not standing around spinning in circles like retards) it can pick them off one by one. The backstab is a one hit kill and even when you see it happen, you know that you're most likely next. I was playing as a warrior and I was capturing a command post with a mage and a scout. Well, I see the scout do some little figity thing, and then see an enemy scout holding him from behind and shoving a knife in my poor little allies chest. 'No big deal I thought' as I charged my firesword. *poof*, the little fucker is gone again seconds after he appears. The mage casts fire (Which is an area of affect spell), but doesn't find him. Then the mage gets backstabbed. Now I'm all alone, with the command post just barely out of my control when I hear the depressing scream of my character being assassinated. Yeah, I got owned.
I have however gotten a hang of paying special attention for scouts. If you actually see one go into cloak mode they have a sort of transparent silhouette, which still isn't easy to follow, but you can at least hopefully get an attack in on him before he gets behind you. The axe is pretty useful for this.
Overall, I'de give the demo a C+. The gameplay is fun, but I can't see playing the game for an extended period of time. I still kind of suck at the game at the moment, so I can't really tell you how the hero units play. The demo is one tutorial level and the multiplayer conquest mode with the Shire and Minas Morgul.
I'de recommend downloading it for yourself and playing for a while. Really, I just wrote this to kill time while I download something else.
Anyway, my first impression after watching the gameplay video was a stiff, apathetic 'MEH'. The attacks looked repetetive and boring, the objectives they listed seemed as generic and overused as pretty much everything else (I.E. Defend this path for three minutes then counter attack and take all the command posts; just like Battlefront), and there is only four classes; Warrior, Archer, Scout (A.K.A. Assassin), and Mage, along with special units like Trolls, Ents, and heroes.
When I actually played it however, it was pretty fun. The demo only lets you play on two maps, both of which were pretty well laid out, so there really isn't much I can say about level design; The city looks like a city and the Shire looks like the Shire.
I spent most of my time playing as the warrior. They seemed to deal with everything alright, even Trolls/Ents (They have the ability to run up their back and wtfkapwn them in the face). The warrior has a throwing axe for a ranged attack which knocks down whoever it hits (Useful and strangly underused), making it very easy to knock somebody down and then unleash a volley of sword strikes on them. I got the most kills out of just throwing an axe at somebody's head (Critical hit) and using the warriors Firesword charge to get six or seven hits on them before they can get up. The one problem I ran into with the Warrior was fighting Mages.
Mages have the astounding ability to hit you with a bolt of lighting, set you on fire, healing themselves, and quickly finishing you off. You tend to find them in groups when the enemy is on the defensive, which makes them even tougher to kill (Archers and Scouts can take a few out if they are organized, but usually they'll have an Ent/Troll with them which makes it hard to stay in one spot for too long), but even when fighting one solo they are pretty hard.
The Archer was probably the class I played the least. It's useful to pick enemies off from a distance and everything, but really you just hold down R2 and back up. They can launch an explosive fire arrow at you, devestating you and your friends if you are too tightly grouped. They can also hit you with a poison arrow, which obviously decreases your health and slows you down to a useless pace; basicly, if one hits you and you are out in the open or fleeing from enemies, you're pretty much fucked.
The Scout is a class I have a serious problem with. It has the ability to turn invisible for a long period of time and then once it runs out, it seems that you can flick invisibility right back on. I wouldn't have such a problem with this if it weren't for the classes backstab skill. If a cloaked scout gets behind a line of archers (provided they are actually shooting somebody and not standing around spinning in circles like retards) it can pick them off one by one. The backstab is a one hit kill and even when you see it happen, you know that you're most likely next. I was playing as a warrior and I was capturing a command post with a mage and a scout. Well, I see the scout do some little figity thing, and then see an enemy scout holding him from behind and shoving a knife in my poor little allies chest. 'No big deal I thought' as I charged my firesword. *poof*, the little fucker is gone again seconds after he appears. The mage casts fire (Which is an area of affect spell), but doesn't find him. Then the mage gets backstabbed. Now I'm all alone, with the command post just barely out of my control when I hear the depressing scream of my character being assassinated. Yeah, I got owned.
I have however gotten a hang of paying special attention for scouts. If you actually see one go into cloak mode they have a sort of transparent silhouette, which still isn't easy to follow, but you can at least hopefully get an attack in on him before he gets behind you. The axe is pretty useful for this.
Overall, I'de give the demo a C+. The gameplay is fun, but I can't see playing the game for an extended period of time. I still kind of suck at the game at the moment, so I can't really tell you how the hero units play. The demo is one tutorial level and the multiplayer conquest mode with the Shire and Minas Morgul.
I'de recommend downloading it for yourself and playing for a while. Really, I just wrote this to kill time while I download something else.