11.12.2011

Tolkien's epic masterpiece of literature, the Lord of the Rings (henceforth LOTR) has been a phenomenon of the high fantasy genre for more than half a century. The bestseller books have led to billion dollar grossing films, big budget audiobooks, radio shows, countless Blu-ray and DVD sales in dozens of languages, musicals and theatre productions, and not to mention videogames. LOTR: War in the North is the latest in a line of LOTR games that stretches back to the eighties when game developers first had the confidence to venture into a story with the scope of LOTR. Under the previous EA licence that coincided with the films,the LOTR franchise saw a frenzy of game releases such as the hack and slash games tied to the films and the much lauded Battle for Middle Earth real time strategy series, but it also included the much anticipated but ultimately canned role playing game LOTR: The White Council. Four years later and after all the wish lists on forums all over the world, LOTR: War in the North stands to be judged whether it fills the void in the imaginations of LOTR fans left by The White Council's cancellation.Straight off the bat you know this is a classical LOTR experience. The art direction of this game is astonishingly good. Granted that the developers and artists had a huge body of LOTR art to draw inspiration from but they have really excelled themselves on this project. The artistry in this game extends beyond the films into the realms of the backstory of the Fellowship, includes legendary items from such places as the Kingdom of Arnor and many of the important historical factions. The location art is so good that it has to include some of the production art for the new LOTR film The Hobbit or if it doesn't then the art for the new film should have included assets including the artists from this game. To see places like Fornost, Mirkwood, Mount Gundabad, the Enttenmoors, and the Misty mountains brought to life with this much care and attention alongside the more familiar Rivendell, Lorien and Osgiliath is a real bonus to any fan of the books or LOTR lore. Places barely mentioned by Tolkien himself have been given living breathing topographies that are believable representations of how they were described. This endeavour has been a labour of love by LOTR fans for LOTR fans.In this very special way the game ties the Fellowship into a story that traces all the way back to the tale of the rise of the Witch king of Angmar (who has now become the leader of the dreaded Blackriders or Nazgul) and how he was corrupted by Sauron using one of the Rings of Power. This rich and varied history has been exploited fully and the objects in the game world are as intricate and ornate as anything you'll find in the snowy lands of Skyrim. The locations that you'll visit in the game are similarly distinct and well-crafted but are hamstrung by the linear checkpoint based level design. The snowy vistas of northern Middle Earth do draw an unfortunate comparison with the excellence of Skyrim. All in all, War in the North looks to have much of the content of a much more open game such as an Elder Scrolls game, but for whatever reason at some point in the project a decision was made to limit the scope of the game, thus making it more linear and simplistic than its illustrious cohort Skyrim. Either way, not many games will have this richness hidden beneath their surface.Games have always paid lip service to but not done justice to the vivid megalithic world that Tolkien constructed in the same way that no one Elder Scrolls game would try to include the entire world that Bethesda imagined over the years with everything in it. The characters that populate LOTR's pages are not just characters; they form societies and cultures with their own languages, religions, and traditions which Tolkien constructed over decades. With this grand scale in mind, fans of gaming and LOTR have always sought a role-playing game set in the rich environment of Middle Earth. It is true that the films only ploughed a narrow path through Tolkien's world and there is plenty more narrative wealth to be mined. It is precisely this richness and depth of feel that allows a game like LOTR War in the North to seamlessly task you with playing as one of an unknown fellowship; namely Eradan the ranger, and Andriel the elf, and last but not least Farin the dwarf.The actual gameplay of the game is one area that seriously and near terminally lets down the whole package. With regard to combat, Eradan, Farin and Andriel have some nice sword or staff swipe animations and can equip very different weapons but the pitfall of repetitiveness rears its ugly head soon enough. While they both have ranged and close range attacks they end up feeling very much the same which is the ultimate kiss of death for a class based game. It is definitely not an open world game. You visit a list of locations on the main map of Middle Earth and you do so in a set order and you can only break that order to revisit previous locations or do challenge maps. This is very much an old-school action RPG and thus suffers from the gameplay maladies that they did. Each section of the game is punctuated by an overriding point to point kill everything in between formula that gets old before you have even finished the first chapter. This was acceptable to gamers once but games have moved on several generations since then. You cannot venture from the set corridor and sometimes you can't even move back the way you came. The occasional extra side cave with loot in it or the secrets do little to alleviate this conveyor belt sensation of checkpoint, enemies, and checkpoint again. It is one of those games you begin enthralled to play, play for a while, get depressed by the monotonous combat and switch off only to turn it on again a day or two later once your will to find out what happens to the characters has replenished. The critical hit finishing decapitations and amputations are interesting until you've seen each one twenty dozen times. The game developers clearly had lofty goals of a sophisticated combat system with blocking, melee and ranged attacks but it quickly descended into a button masher of old. Having said that the combat is redeemed by the fact that the game is actually pretty difficult on normal, there is no regenerating health and health potions are rare and expensive. This does give the player a slight willpower incentive to complete a challenging area but it becomes a drag. Special attacks are great in theory but when the camera obscures your view of which exact enemy you are fighting, or the terrain blocks into a corner you can't step over, hitting the square button over and over again is your only hope. Killing enemies by decapitations or obtaining hit streaks does allow you to level up your character, assign points to attributes, and unlock new button combination attacks specific to the weapon you want to use. In single player the AI teammates are competent and can even equip equipment that you give them if it is better than the items they have but they are no substitute for decent human companions. Multiplayer cooperative gameplay for up to three players adds the layer of randomness and strategy to the combat rarely seen in single player.Without question, the cut scenes do a near flawless job of not only weaving the story of Eradan and company into the main fellowship story but also weaving the story of the fellowship into the story of the Hobbit. Tolkien's prequel tale concerns Bilbo Baggins and how he obtained the ring of power sixty years earlier in the land of the dwarfs. With a forthcoming multimillion dollar film entitled The Hobbit coming to cinemas in Europe next December; it is not surprising that this game took the opportunity to introduce the events of `The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and how they relate forward in time to the Fellowship sixty years later. Once in Rivendell, Legolas, Gloin, and Bilbo offer backstory and describe the events of The Hobbit. Despite not having one voice actor from the films, the voice acting is first rate. The voice (and appearance) of Beleram the great eagle steals the show. It is great to have a lead character that actually engages in spoken dialogue with the people of the world and it makes that lead character very believable. However, the fact that Eradan, Andriel, and Farin are fully fledged characters with their own voice does mean that the player has little influence over how they interact with that world. The game feels more like a character playing game than a role playing game as the spoken dialogue choices near stray far from a set predetermined path. The game even encourages the gamer to choose the default dialogue option if they wish to experience a true cinematic experience. In many ways the game might have been better served using full on cut scenes rather than trying to emulate the cut scenes of a Bethesda or Bioware RPG. In actual gameplay the sound is tinny, recycled, and really serves to defuse the epic cinematic feel that the game designers and artists had tried so hard to build up. The game suffers from incessantly repeated dialogue that adds to the grind of the combat.LOTR War in the North is not without its problems but for fans of LOTR or even action RPGs this is a really good game. The inclusion of co-operative gameplay for up to three friends is an excellent idea and in a console gaming world that is continually short of decent cooperative experiences (especially for more than two players) this is really a game to try if you love coop gaming.

24.12.2011

There's been few loot RPG's on the Xbox 360 but I've played them all. Having said that, I can honestly say that War in The North is the BEST action-RPG loot game simply due to the amazing, fluid and brutal combat and due to the vast quantity of loot available for the player to find. As the title states, the game is set in the LOTR universe (Middle Earth) and the story is a new tale about another fellowship whose quest is in the North. The story isn't anything that's immersing IMO but it did its job and contained lots of references from the books and movies (basically, the lore of Middle Earth) for Middle Earth enthusiasts to relish in. For those who are novices to Middle Earth,you can learn about the world from NPC's and also from area descriptions.Some have called this game repetitive but these people obviously don't know what a action RPG loot game is. War in The North actually offers more depth than some popular depthless games such as Call of Duty or Modern Warfare. The combat system is amazing and is far from being repetitive. You can block (and you will have to), you can dodge, you have light and heavy attacks which can be chained together and you also have abilities and there's a smooth transition to ranged combat too. Each enemy requires a different tactic for the player to beat and this is what makes playing through the game addictive as each battle has you yearning for the next. Combine that with the loot, RPG elements (leveling up statistics and abilities) and there's a lot to keep you playing through the game again and again.The voice acting is pretty good with Nolan North voicing Eradan (the Ranger) and the voices actors of Gandalf and Elrond do well to nearly perfectly imitate their movie counterparts. The music is new and has been composed by Inon Zur who composed the music for Dragon Age: Origins. Does the music fit LOTR? Yes, it does and the music is memorable, epic and suitably fitting at all times. Expect peaceful melodies when roaming beautiful landscapes of Middle Earth to epic momentum when clashing with the enemy. The sound effects go well with the music and really make you feel part of a real battle as your weapon strikes your enemy.There are plenty of side quests for the player to tackle and exploration is highly encouraged in regions to find all that a region has to offer. Each character has their own unique racial ability which allows them to do something that another cannot. The Ranger has tracking skills and can find treasure and Ranger caches. The Elf can brew potions (alchemy) and the Dwarf can mine for gems and knock down walls. The player can also backtrack to regions to complete unfinished quests, defeat enemies that live in that region, talk to people, trade or simply to find loot.The graphics are beautiful and Sarn Ford looks just as beautiful as it should be. A peaceful melody plays while in this region as you see flocks of birds flying in the sky while the trees sway in the wind as the river below reflects the sun. In fact, all regions feel alive and have atmosphere. The areas in the game really do do LOTR proud. Also: snow builds up on your character in the snow areas. Rain can be seen dropping of your character when you encounter it and mud builds up on your character as you roll. This only helps to immerse you even more with the world and shows how good the engine of the game is.The dialogue plays out similar to Mass Effect's dialogue system, save that there are no moral choices. You can try to develop a personality for one of the three characters but they are ultimately noble heroes and the dialogue will often be noble. Through dialogue, you are able to ask questions, continue with the plot and learn more about the world, lore and of course - the story. You can even ask Gandalf - when you meet him - why Frodo can't take a giant eagle to Mount Doom! He explains that The Council considered the idea but ultimately decided against it due to the attraction that it would have with enemies and also because the Eagles probably wouldn't go through it. Gandalf also stated something along the lines of "one does not simply fly into Morder" which made me laugh. So all in all, the dialogue is pretty good in the game with some little easter eggs here and there. The battle cries that each character shouts in battle also only help to immerse you with combat.Conclusion:So whether you're looking for an action-RPG with plenty of loot, a LOTR game with a new plot or simply a game where you can decapitate orcs and send their limbs flying, then War in The North is for you!5/5P.SI do not view comments. So no questions please.

22.8.2013

I'll start off by saying that nobody should be handing over £30 odd for this game, because your money could be better spent on many other titles. However if you can pick this game up preowned for £15 at the maximum, it will not disappoint. The game has a mediocre storyline, focusing on three characters, waging war against a tyrant of the north who is allied with Sauron, therefore it will not cater to those looking for an experience related wholly to lord of the rings itself, this is rather a separate story which only occasionally links with the main epic we all love. That said, the characters of lord of the rings do feature within the game, offering helpful tips and giving side quests,but they will not ever engage in combat or come to your aid at any point.If you can ignore this, in my opinion, minor detail, you'll have a fair few hours of storyline fun, in which whilst not the most wholesome experience for an offshoot of such an epic franchise, you will want to play on to discover the woes and victories that await our three companions and all whom they aid and are aided, by. As well as a somewhat engaging storyline, the real strength of this game is in its loot. You'll plow through hundreds, eventually I believe over 1000 enemies, and that's if you just take the straight road through the story, with no farming for level gains along the way. Whilst doing this you will amass more loot than you can shake a stick at, with some of it naturally being below par for your needs and thus readily available for selling to amass coins, to buy even more loot! It's guaranteed that throughout your play through, you'll be driven on and on by the chance of a new weapon with better stats or magical properties than your current one. Thus, for all loot whores, this game is a must and to top things off, once you're finished the story, you can start another play through, on a greater difficulty, with the chance for even better loot whilst keeping all of the weapons, armour and items you finished your first play through with.Now, this game is not without its gripes. Unfortunately, it seems that blizzard developers became rather lazy whilst orchestrating this game, because the following hang ups could easily put players off, which is not my intention as this game is a lot of fun, but this wouldn't be a proper review if I weren't to make it balanced.First and foremost, it has been said in many areas of the internet that the coop on this game has a tendency to crash, requiring a full restart of the game, which really is a big hang up for those of us who'd rather not play alone.Secondly, as much as I've praised the loot system in this game, the option 'give to' one of your companions when deciding on the fate of an item becomes redundant, as the game does not always place this item in the companions inventory, for your use if you choose to switch to any of the three playable characters.Thirdly, and this is really for any gamers who just plain aren't used to/don't like dungeon runner type games, there is a LOT of repetition, meaning waves and waves of enemies to kill is pretty much the whole basis of the game. However I would hope that even for those bored by repetitive gameplay like this, the boss battles, which are relatively frequent, offer some break from the monotony and keep them engaged.Fourthly, the saving system in this game is really lazy of the developers, you can't choose to save on the go, and the only way you do know that your game is saved is the appearance of a little rotating gold ring at the bottom of the screen, which is easily missed.Lastly, and this is not really a big complaint because of the type of game we have here, the game is extremely linear, allowing the companions to travel within set levels and not to stray out on their own. The only exploration choices you really have are the search for hidden secrets, which are really not that secret with the game being a linear experience.In summary, if you're a loot whore, someone who doesn't mind just an okay, rather than mind blowing, storyline and as well somebody who enjoys plowing through hundreds of enemies to find the best gear, this game is for you. Do NOT however, pay more than £15 for this game as it does not warrant such a price tag for the content it holds.

7.6.2012

The one thing I bemoan about consoles is the lack of RPGs and RTS available. Suffice it to say, I will buy anything of this ilk for that reason; sometimes I will be rewarded (Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age) though more often than not thoroughly disappointed (you know who you are Dungeon Siege). I'm happy to report that LoTR: War in the North falls within the first camp.I've completed it once on normal already and almost completed it again on heroic difficulty, thence to legendary for the third and final time...You get a choice of three characters Dwarf warrior, Human ranger and Elf mage which you 'can' interchange but only by going back to the main menu screen which is a pain in the you-know-what.

15.6.2012

Firstly...if you get easily frustrated at games, don't buy this one. It is rather hard in places. There is often 3 against 10(at least) most of the time and it is constantly all go. I'm only on chapter 3 and have already faced 6 or 7 cave trolls. If you die you start at the beginning of the last checkpoint (Which is annoying as there can be 2 or 3 BIG fights before the end of the 'part').I got this game today and have been playing for about 7 hours (straight) and have died countless times due to the amount of enemies that come running at you, you'll often find yourself surrounded and unable to fend them off.You can't lock onto a target like you can in Assassin's Creed for example.

3.12.2011

I very much enjoyed playing this game. It's well balanced and true to the lore of Lord of the Rings. The graphics are very good, as good as any of the other current generation games (trudging through late night, rain soaked Bree is particularly satisfying). The combat is good - I find the system much better than, say, Dragon Age, and nicely gory. My only criticism is that it can be a little repetitive, and it takes a while to unlock combo attacks.I haven't played this game co-operatively and don't much plan to, but the AI is fine. If you are down they will come and revive you quickly, and they are also quick to use their powers and special attacks,

7.11.2015

I think the game was a free PSplus game some months back so, its a good little game, but this package is not about the game any more. No steelcase. The artbook is small but interesting and nicely produced.For me, its about the figure. I've always enjoyed making, painting and collecting models, so I have a liking for these collectable 'special edition figures'.Its an LOTR themed piece, so for the 'collectors' out there, it wont be going out of fashion any time soon.Sometimes these models are made from cheap plastic and feel light, bendy and flimsy. This doesn't. Its a solid, hefty figure. The troll attaches to the baseplate with a reasonably thick pin which adds to the quality feel of the model.The pose is dynamic and well suited to the LOTR theme.

6.1.2012

I played this game in split screen co-op and it was immense fun. It's an entertaining cross between a solid hack-and-slash and an RPG, with loads of weapons and loot to collect and a skill-tree upgrade system to give your character a bit of individuality and allow you to tailor his fighting style. The graphics are good and the combat meaty with sufficiently flexible skills taking the fights above the level of a routine button-bashing brawler. The Middle Earth locations and characters made for an involving gaming experience and conversations with Frodo and the Fellowship as your story crosses theirs are a real treat. The story also evolves nicely making you feel part of your own little saga.The only real negative point of the game is that it is very linear.

3.1.2013

This review is mainly for the collectors edition content, rather than the game itself.At its currently listed price (£23.47) this is an absolute bargain. Nay, a steal. Even at twice the price this edition would still be worth it.The troll figurine is a well detailed piece, not a cheap and nasty effort. It is held to the base (Which you can easily remove) with a metal pin - A small touch, but adds an element of quality to the whole thing. It isn't just some single cast figurine with shoddy plastic, and even if you just wanted the troll figurine and you weren't interested in the game I'd probably say the price is worth it alone for any LOTR fan.The art book is also of good quality,

28.1.2012

What a difference to the previous Lord of the Rings title games. Graphics and game-play have advanced well over the years, this is obvious with the close ups of your 'finishing blow' on enemies where limbs are usually hacked off and blood then stains your close.I was impressed with how much there was to do in this game, I've got to admit this type of game is my favourite, I love the aspect of levelling up and gaining new items of clothing to customise your designated character. The set characters compliment one another each bringing a new skill and experience to the game play. Admittedly I played as the ranger throughout the game as he to me had the best range of skills and the fact he looks

18.6.2012

I played this game entirely in split screen co-op mode and found it very entertaining. It fulfils all the main aspects of a good RPG, with a plethora of weapons and items to find, and some great landscape and areas from the lord of the rings trilogy. The game-play is also very fun, with satisfying gore, and skill trees which allow you to adapt the way you fight and learn new spells and talents.My only two downsides are the storyline and the difficulty settings. The storyline is very average at best, not allowing any real connection with the characters. As a Tolkein fan I feel they could have done a lot better with the material they had at hand. I played through all of the difficulty settings and found them to get significantly easier,

14.4.2013

Fight your way across the north of middle earth waging the campaign mentioned but never described in lord of the rings.A black numenorean has taken command of an ancient citadel and summoned to him a giant army of orcs and ogres.Your job is to stop him and protect the free people of the north .Choose between a axe wielding dwarf a magical elf or a Dunedain ranger,but of course the choices dont stop there you can also choose where to spend your points, make the elf a offensive mage or a defensive healer,etc.The ranger can have stealth sword wielding or arrows skills or a combination there of .The type of combat you employ will be influenced by your character and in what direction you choose to evolve them.The game is great with varied enemies,

23.10.2012

First off,LOTRWITN.Is a great game.Button mashing fun,loads of loot,brilliant graphics etc.Why 1 star ? you may wonder.Because after around 20hours of gameplay(Xbox Live,single player mode)i simply could not load my game(Beginning of Chapter 2.I am level 7).Talk about tearing my hair out !!!!.I must have tried about 20 times to load,no success.So 1 star rating and whoever is responsible for this bug,(And i'm not the only one)get out of the gaming world.20 euros DOWN THE DRAIN !!!.PS.This game was bought on X Box live NOT Amazon.******** Update 31st October 2012.I have now upgraded my star rating to 4.Why ?.I was enjoying the game so much,that i decided to re-start the game BUT NOT ON X BOX

17.1.2014

Firstly, with the low price tag I had low expectations for this game. These expectations were unwarranted as the game was thoroughly enjoyable!Gameplay - There was a great mix of hack&slash gameplay whilst also tactical elements which the kept the game interesting throughoutStory - as a big Tolkien fan I was very impressed at the level of background references to other Tolkien works were scattered throughout the game. Although there was a lot of non-lore content I thought the main story was interesting and the characters well thought out.Negative aspects - the voice acting was laughable at points with Farin (the dwarf) sounding like a strange mix of american, west country and an attempted scottish accent.

15.5.2013

This is just a magnificent game with outstanding figure of a Snowtroll that's holding Farin the Dwarf.The game is so amusing and it has done well in the archives of Tolkien.The game is fun to play, good graphics and a good eye for details, good fun for offline gaming (it supports a 2 player but not 3 player splitscreen alas..) Online it offers 3 player mode wich is handy for hunting Trophies.The game has a diversity of weapons and items and elfstones.Easy drop in drop out system. Automatic save.This collectors edition contains : Snowtroll figure, 2 DLC's ( a nice theme pack and an Orc champion sword for beginners),a wonderful artbook and a bonus dvd that includes everything around the original soundtracks of the game.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail