The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Preview
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War in the North is set far from the main events of the Lord of the Rings saga, deep in snow-covered mountains, where a second front has developed, pitting the forces of good against the tides of evil emanating from Mordor. Thanks to Warner Brothers, their powerful patron, Snowblind was able to secure the license to the wildly popular films, which drives the game's recognizable design sensibilities, and also to the books, which provided inspiration and source material. Thanks to the richness of Tolkein's universe, the developers were able to take brief, throwaway lines and expand them into story and gameplay elements. The Fellowship of the Ring makes brief reference to the Nazgul passing a place called Sarn Ford on their way to the Shire Sarn Ford appears in the game as a key area. Even more importantly, the game's entire concept is derived from a speech of Gandalf's, in which he points out that the efforts of the Fellowship on the war's southern front would be fruitless if not for the contributions of (a few heroes in the North.)
I took control of one of these heroes, a doughty dwarf, and guided him through a snow-covered pass, dispatching orcs along the way. There are three classes available in the game, each rooted firmly in Tolkein's fiction, which the developers claim was largely responsible for creating RPG archetypes in the first place. Alongside me was the Human Ranger, a traditional archer/rogue, and the Elf Mage, who provided buffs, support, and some direct damage. Armed with a two-handed axe and a crossbow, my dwarf was tank-style warrior, preferring his combat up-close and personal. Face buttons controlled light and heavy attacks, as well as a dodge roll. The crossbow could be fired using familiar third-person shooter mechanics. Holding one shoulder button brought up a number of traditional warrior spells, like War Cry, which were mapped to the face buttons and thus easily deployed.
