The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Lord of the Rings: War in the North still remains a game that can be enjoyed by Action-RPG lovers as well as lord of the Rings .The game has enough solid points to offer an enjoyable experience but does suffer from several issues that holds it back from becoming great.

This game is not going to break new ground in innovation but what it does do is deliver a good solid game that has well thought out online play, a good three player co-op mode and a solid single player experience.

What looked great crammed into 3 minutes of a trailer turned out to be boring when stretched over a whole campaign. In small doses combat is very satisfying and a mature take on Middle-Earth is very welcome. [December 2011, p.68]

Lord of the Rings: War in the North is far from perfect, but killing a lot of orcs is always a fun experience.

What keeps this thing afloat is the story, the characters and the adaptation of Tolkien's compelling lore from his ever-popular fantasy tales.

Quotation forthcoming.

Attractive world of Tolkien's imagination brings "forgotten" adventure of three heroes aside from the main story – the true magic of the game is hidden in the 3-people cooperative play. [Christmas 2011]

Not without issues, but as The Lord of the Rings games go this is much better than most. [Feb 2012, p.84]

The best PC slasher of the year (with not much competition). [January 2012, p.75]

Prepare for an expedition to the northern boundaries of Middle-earth in this full-blooded hack and slash game with focus on a cooperative mode that gains its recognition. Do not expect anything breakthrough, nor complex, nor anything colossal. You will feel a stereotype after a while, but that is compensated by a multiplayer game. Who wishes to kill The Lord of the Rings' filthy guys for many hours and with their friends – this game is your ideal choice.

While it's admirable that the team had opted to create an original story set alongside the events in the books, you'll wish that they had attempted to take more risks with the project. The characters are bland and lifeless, and the combat, while fun at first, gets pretty repetitive before too long.

It's pretty obvious that a lot of effort went into making of this game, but hold off going to the war in the North until you run out of other, more interesting RPGs and coop-oriented action games.

War in the North is a hack and slash with some RPG elements and co-op, all assembled around one of the most beloved media licenses today, but with all this going for it, it simply doesn't manage to stand out. Sadly, it's just another product that tries to blend some popular elements, but with no true support or personal identity.

This war is just one that is fought in the past of game design, and as a result, just lacks the punch or feature set that addicts people and keeps us coming back for more.

For all you Lord of the Rings fans out there, this game is a major let down. But if you are in for some quick and simple fatasy action with no expectations what so ever you may be able to find some scrapes of enjoyment.

Snowblinds latest game seems like a relic from the previous generation. The story is weak and the gameplay has lots of problems. On the upside, the co-op mode is an excellent treat for fans of Tolkiens work.

At its core, War in the North isn't a bad game; it's merely a disappointing one.

Quickly loses steam thanks to repetition and bland design. [Jan 2012, p.114]

Quotation forthcoming.