So where do you go once you’ve made two hit Star Wars games that let you run around and be a Stormtrooper? For Pandemic, once you’ve done Star Wars: Battlefront, there is only one franchise that even compares. Only Tolkien is dearer to the hearts of nerds around the world, so why not make a game where you can kill hobbits?

Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an action/adventure game with two storylines – one good and one evil. The good guys get to defend Minas Tirith, holding out long enough for the army of Rohan to ride in and save the day. The bad guys sack the Shire, whacking Bagginses and Tooks as the darkness spreads.

And that’s just single player. In multiplayer, not only can you finish the adventures co-op, but you can play “capture the ring” or a hide and seek type game where one player tries to keep Frodo out of the clutches of the Nazgul.

Setting aside, Pandemic is trying to make an accessible brawler. It doesn’t take a lot of work or practice to get flaming swords sweeping through armies of orcs (just like in the books!). There is an emphasis on “pick up and play” here so that even a novice can pretend to be the chosen hero. There are more sophisticated moves, of course, for the seasoned veteran, but you can (barely) survive most of the missions without dipping into this bag of tricks.

The four classes are divided into two general archetypes. For melee fans, there are warrior and scouts. Warriors are your typical tank class and scouts can sneak into a group of enemies to do stabbing damage or plant bombs. If you prefer an FPS style action game, there are mages and archers – the former with magic lightning and walls of fire, and the latter with special arrows or multiple shots for eliminating a crowd of enemies.