The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on November 3rd, 2011

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There are times when War in the North shows you the game it could have been--when the exhilaration of mowing down fearsome foes or the satisfaction of seeing your character become more powerful makes you want to press forward. But each time the game starts to hit its stride, it soon stumbles and falls on its face. For a trio of heroes whose destiny is to save the northern regions of Middle-earth, this fellowship spends too little time earning glory and too much time crawling around in the mud.

How much fun anyone will have with The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is really based on a few factors beyond just storyline and gameplay, like how many friends you may have to play it with and how much you care about the lore of Middle Earth. Putting aside the fact that these three characters' connection to the overall plot is fairly weak, the action in-game can be fairly intense once three players take control in place of the frustrating AI. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a game meant to be played with friends and it thoroughly shines as a multiplayer title. New game plus features and a hardcore difficulty further enforce that, adding a fair amount of replay value to the overall package. The Lord of the Rings fans should be proud, War in the North may not be perfect, but it certainly succeeds rather well where most others have failed.

War in the North doesn't push the envelope too much, and it's not overly surprising considering the enormous task Snowblind Studio's undertook. This is how we remember games of our childhood, and that's both good and bad. It's a blast to play with your friends online or locally on your couch in split screen, and it's almost always fun to venture back to Middle Earth. There are some flaws, but this is a great starting point for what could be a new series of Lord of the Rings games. If Snowblind can iron out the minor issues that lead to bigger frustration, we could have a great series of action-RPGs to add to our collections.

The lore of the Lord of the Rings is without question a font of characters, quests, adventures, battles, and most importantly, imagination. Venturing into new lands, engaging new enemies, making new friends while staying true to the canon and intertwining with events of Lord of the Rings, WitN sets out on a quest to deliver us one of the best action RPG Lord of the Rings experiences we have ever had. While a few things could use some revision work, overall this game is a masterpiece for Tolkien fans and shouldn't be missed. There's nothing like fighting through a massive battle in an iconic location to finish part of a quest and in the process find some amazing weapon or piece of armor that makes your character an even bigger threat against Sauron's forces. Prepare yourself to play a part in actions that will shape the history of all Middle Earth and all its inhabitants, prepare yourself for Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

Play this game with friends, or not at all. There are a lot of issues with Lord of the Rings: War in the North, but many of them are forgotten when you and one or two buddies start taking out hordes of orc together. The game is inconsistent and incredibly punishing at times, and all three of you will die from time to time and there won't be a good reason for it. But the spirit of camaraderie is strong. There aren't enough games out there that let you cooperatively play with three people at once. For that reason alone, you may want to check this game out. It's not going to rock your world, but it should offer the enjoyment of a good round of Gauntlet Legends. If you're playing alone though, you may want to steer clear of this one. There just isn't enough depth to justify the purchase.

If you're a massive Lord of the Rings/Fantasy fan, you'll definitely get a kick or two from what's on offer here and taking the game online with a mate or two can reinvigorate the action in a snap - at least for a short while.

For everyone else though, I'd suggest giving this one a rent to tide you over till Skyrim.

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