The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser. Earlier this morning Electronic Arts officially announced the long-rumored Lord of the Rings meets Battlefield title, Lord of the Rings Conquest.

The game, under development by Pandemic Studios, will give gamers a chance to fight some of Tolkein's greatest battles as either the good guys or the bad when it hits this fall.

?We?ll freely admit that we?re rabid fans of The Lord of the Rings fantasy,? says Josh Resnick, co-founder and general manager at Pandemic Studios. ?Our experience creating massive, rich, action-packed games means that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will give fans exactly what they want: full control of the blade, bow and magic to fight its epic battles any way they want ? even if they choose to play from the evil side.?

Hit the jump for the official press release.

PANDEMIC STUDIOS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST
?Conquest? Grants Players Freedom to Fight Epic ?Rings? Battles Any Way Desired

LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 8, 2008 ? Pandemic? Studios, an award-winning developer of blockbuster video games, is proud to announce the development of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest? for the Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PC and Nintendo DS? platforms. Pandemic Studios is a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).

In a partnership with New Line Cinema, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an action-packed game created by the same Pandemic Studios team behind the best-selling Star Wars Battlefront? and Star Wars Battlefront? II titles. Set in ?The Lord of the Rings? universe of J.R.R. Tolkien as depicted by the Academy Award®-winning films, players will finally fight the entirety of these epic battles any way they want. In addition to crusading as the heroic forces of good, for the first time ever in a ?The Lord of the Rings? action title they?ll conquer Middle-earth while playing as the legions of Sauron?s evil army, including Cave-trolls, Oliphaunts, the Balrog and Sauron himself. The game is set for a global release in fall 2008.

?Our Pandemic Studios creative teams have years of expertise bringing giant battlefields to life,? says Andrew Goldman, Pandemic Studios co-founder and general manager. ?We?ve always wanted to harness our experience in a fantasy universe with warriors, archers, mages and castle sieges. Of course, there is truly no better fantasy world to recreate than the enormity of ?The Lord of the Rings? realm.?

?We?ll freely admit that we?re rabid fans of The Lord of the Rings fantasy,? says Josh Resnick, co-founder and general manager at Pandemic Studios. ?Our experience creating massive, rich, action-packed games means that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will give fans exactly what they want: full control of the blade, bow and magic to fight its epic battles any way they want ? even if they choose to play from the evil side.?

?We are thrilled to be working with Pandemic Studios on this game,? commented David Imhoff, Senior EVP of Worldwide Licensing & Merchandising for New Line Cinema. ?They bring not only their incredible technical and creative abilities but also a great passion for The Lord of the Rings.?

The world premiere of game footage and the first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will premiere exclusively on Spike TV?s GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley on Friday, June 20.

This announcement reveals the third blockbuster video game project in the works at Pandemic Studios? Los Angeles-based headquarters alongside the upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames? and Saboteur?, both in development for the Xbox 360?, PLAYSTATION®3 and PC platforms. For more information on The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, please visit: http://www.pandemicstudios.com/conquest.