Review: Lord Of The Rings: War In The North

It’s been a while since a decent Lord Of The Rings title hit our consoles. The recent release of Lord Of The Rings: War In The North ventures into a new area in the saga which has yet been touched upon before. Warner Bros. has taken the plunge with this title, so how does it shape up? Find out in this review.

LOTR: War In The North takes place during “The War Of the Ring” and is told through three characters: Eradan: Dunedain Ranger, Andriel: Loremaster of Rivendell, and Farin: Champion of Erebor. The narrative is not particularly in-depth, but it expands on the already big universe that encompasses the previous films and games. The story can at times have some very interesting dialogue, but most if falls short on achieving what the pervious entries in the LOTR franchise produced. This doesn’t mean it’s bad however, and will keep you interested throughout as you venture through Middle-Earth and discover what the three warriors did to stop Sauron from getting back the Ring of Power.
 Throughout the campaign you’ll stumble upon many different locations and environments which will feel familiar to any fan of the series. This includes places like Bree where the game opens up at The Prancing Pony to visit with Aragon who gives you your first mission. The opening cutscenes and gameplay does feature some dialogue which can drag on as the first incentive for me was seeing what the combat was like. This didn’t take long however, as the swords start swinging as you head to Fornost and save Beleram (one of the great eagles), along with the sons of Elrond: Elladan and Elrohir. As the game progresses, you’ll head to Rivendell and meet many of the main players of the Fellowship: Elrond, Arwen, Bilbo, and Gloin. During this you’ll get your next mission, a couple of side quests and some achievements for those who are interested. The story and missions are all set in beautiful locations, which is probably one of my highlights of the game along with the fact that you get to go to Rivendall and speak to the Fellowship characters. The game’s story may not interest everyone however, if you are not a fan of LOTR then this game won’t change your mind or make you want to watch the films. The story’s appeal is aimed squarely at fans of the films and many locations relate directly to those.

The art design for War in the North is pretty good overall. There are a few nice details added throughout the game, especially the effects on the armour depending on the weather condition. It’s the small details that just make the game look appealing to the eye. There are some locations however than just seem rushed, there are also many things that look really outdated and mashed together. A number of locations that involve water all add to variety, especially when they appear beautiful and crisp in contrast to the others looking terrible and unrealistic. The design does have many flaws which a lot of people will notice throughout playing and the textures do look a bit grainy, but it does have its fair share of polished locations, so overall a 50/50 balance between the two. Another good design feature is the combat system, since when you kill an enemy in a certain way you get to see their arms, heads and legs fling all over the place. It’s a nice added feature and is rewarding after you brutally take down the poor little orcs.

The gameplay in War in the North follows the generic role of an action RPG, opening up more ways to take on the different parts of the game. This also helps with the fact that you can play with up to 3 people online at one time, levelling up and completing the game together. The RPG element is balanced quite well, especially given the focus on Co-Op. Levelling up is based on the amount of enemies you kill and how you kill them. For example if you take down and enemy with a Final Blow you will gain more XP than if you just used your basic sword attacks. The quests are all story related, other than the few side quests. This may put some people off as the length of the game isn’t very long and took me and two friends around 16 hours to complete the game, minus side quests. Even though there isn’t a large amount of side quests, they do help with the levelling system. What is interesting is how well balanced the RPG and combat elements are. I didn’t feel at all bored throughout out the game and the RPG parts were very simple to learn and use effectively. Every time you level up you gain 3 skill points to attribute, and an ability point, to which you can unlock more attacks, combos, spells to use whilst in combat. I also spent a ridiculous amount of time on making sure I got the best armour for my character, hunting down treasure chest and secret caves to gain more items. When in combat, you are able to choose three ways to attack. If you choose the Ranger and Champion you can have a bow equipped to take down enemies at long distances. The Loremaster is able to shoot at enemies with her staff, however it doesn’t have amazing range. In terms of their other specialisations, the Ranger is able to duel wield two primary weapons, the Champion prefers handling two handed weapons or a shield with a one handed weapon, and the Loremaster has ability to shield players from attacks. It’s well balanced between the three characters and gives a lot of replay incentive to try out the different characters. You can also achieve heavy strikes, as well as the standard strikes with your hand to hand combat weapons. Characters can combine that with special abilities that each character possesses. The game is very button mash friendly, but isn’t too repetitive to annoy you. I found it great mashing buttons and seeing enemies fall to my feet in slow-motion.

Overall 7.5/10 

The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North is very fun to play, both solo and in its great three player co-op system. It’s nice being able to see a different side of the story, as I did wonder what was going on whilst Frodo went to destroy the ring. The game does have its flaws however, mainly in the design side of things. The length of the game may put some people off, but I don’t think it should as if you’re looking for a fun RPG  then the length of the game will no longer be an issue. There is also the incentive to replay the game due to the different difficulty modes that unlock achievements. If you’re not of a fan of LOTR then this RPG may not suit you, but if you are interested in finding items and unlocking new abilities then this would be great for you.