The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 130 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 130
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 130
  3. Negative: 17 out of 130
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  1. BaronMonaco
    Jan 20, 2016
    7
    The Lord of The Rings is THE universe of medieval fantasy of reference and yet it still lacks a true RPG of reference to make it count as much as in the books and movies universe. With War In The North we've got a new attempt to that goal.

    First let me say that contrary to what the marketing division said, this is not really a true RPG, but more an hack'n slash with some customization,    The Lord of The Rings is THE universe of medieval fantasy of reference and yet it still lacks a true RPG of reference to make it count as much as in the books and movies universe. With War In The North we've got a new attempt to that goal.

    First let me say that contrary to what the marketing division said, this is not really a true RPG, but more an hack'n slash with some customization, but there's almost no side quests and the few that are there are simply not interesting. Every chapter are simple corridors and the battle system limits itself to smashing two buttons and roll away fighting hordes of enemies. This is not a true surprise when you know that the same studio made Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance but that's still deceiving as Warner as always talked about it as a true RPG.
    Now concerning the specifics the game is very easy and you really shouldn't die a lot considering that even if you lose your life your teammates can save you. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to try the coop mode that could have add some fun, some sequence were clearly made for two players, but know than you can play it with a friend. The game offers some nice boss fight, unfortunately the rest of the game is very repetitive and at the end of chapter 1 you already have seen everything the game has to offer.

    Concerning the Lord of The Rings universe is well transcript and fans of the original material should find a lot to like here with a story that occurs in parallel with the movies, it's clearly my favorite part of the game, but once again don't expect a RPG length, it will take you about 12 hours to finish the game ("side quests" included) and yet there's already one filler (chapter 2) in the game.

    The graphics are average and the environments could use more details, the game, as I played it, had no bug and a steady framerate, you're clearly not amazed by the graphics but at least your eyes won't bleed.

    All in all War In the North is another failed attempt to make a game worthy of the movies/books but it is clearly not broken and you can enjoy the 12 hours in this fantastic universe if you're not looking for a challenging and thoughtful experience and still is one of the best Lord of The Rings game. If you're a fan you may buy it, if not it's worth a try for the hack'n slash lovers, but know there are better games in the market.    … Expand
  2. Strewthard
    Nov 21, 2011
    7
    Gameplay: 8 - Great. LoTR: War in the North's combat is simple, yet extremely enjoyable. 2 buttons (light and heavy attacks) allow for simple combos, but mixing in rolls and powers adds a slight layer of strategy. Adding Co-op only makes things better. Sitting down with one buddy (local) or two (online) allows War in the North to really shine. All three characters (Elf Mage, Human Ranger,Gameplay: 8 - Great. LoTR: War in the North's combat is simple, yet extremely enjoyable. 2 buttons (light and heavy attacks) allow for simple combos, but mixing in rolls and powers adds a slight layer of strategy. Adding Co-op only makes things better. Sitting down with one buddy (local) or two (online) allows War in the North to really shine. All three characters (Elf Mage, Human Ranger, and Dwarf Champion) have close and ranged attacks. All have health and mana potions. Each is better suited to a particular strategy, however. Andriel is the healer of the group, Farin is the damage-dealer, and Eradan is best at Range.
    Story: 6 - Okay. War in the North's story is bare-bones. The characters are bland and their quest is forgettable.
    Graphics: 7 - Good. Certain areas of War in the North are pretty, but much of it is average. It doesn't break any new grounds visually.
    Sound: 10 - Perfect. Lord of the Rings music. 'Nuff said.
    Overall: 7 - Good.    … Expand
  3. vixvicco
    Dec 19, 2012
    6
    Decent game, but they could have done so much more with it. It had potential, for them to expand the story. More impact in choices would have been more interesting (like Dragon Age style) or something like that and more character interaction. Still good if you are a LOTR fan but don't have high expectations. Hope next installment is more fulfilling.
  4. JohannJHVJ
    Jun 29, 2020
    7
    Let's start with the good:
    The music is good, graphics are a bit outdated but not distracting, the designs are great, the combat is very simple, but critical hits and severs are satisfying, and the game doesn't shy away from showing decapitations etc, without gratuitous gore. Gameplay is quite fun. Some locations that have been mentioned or seen on maps previously, but we haven't seen in    Let's start with the good:
    The music is good, graphics are a bit outdated but not distracting, the designs are great, the combat is very simple, but critical hits and severs are satisfying, and the game doesn't shy away from showing decapitations etc, without gratuitous gore. Gameplay is quite fun. Some locations that have been mentioned or seen on maps previously, but we haven't seen in the movies or books even, are visited during this game, and the locations, though very linear, are well designed.
    The not so good:
    The plot is rather weak. It shows a story that happens parallel to the events of the main story LOTR. A previously never mentioned powerful enemy appears, and a trio of previously never seen or mentioned heroes, despite being acquainted with some of the main characters of LOTR, several of which cameo in this game, have to stop this villain. It reeks of mediocre/uninspired fanfiction over long stretches. The characters are rather bland and uninteresting, customization is minimal, the writing has some weak moments, and the acting is not too great. I also encountered several instances during gameplay, where some dialogue lines show up seemingly out of place, and in one level there was an audio glitch, where a loud chain-noise drowned out most of the sound, even until the next cutscene, long after I passed that area.
    Overall, I must admit that I had a lot of fun playing this game, but those weaknesses do hurt the overall score. 7 it is.    … Expand
  5. Drake211
    Nov 9, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good but also problematic. I'm a Lord of the Rings fan and always will be. Overall i think this is a great addition to the LotR universe. I disagree with people who say the story is horrible. Personally i think it has a well thought story based on it working with Peter Jackson's vision of the LotR Trilogy. The game starts when the first movie starts and the game ends when the movies end, as far as story goes. The characters development is mediocre but its not hard to find yourself liking the character you play after awhile.The game play is fun at first and gets a little repetitive after awhile but a lot of games have this issue. One of the main things is that its not well balanced. Farin's explosive shot is a good example of this among many other issues in the games balance. Another issue i noticed when teaming with a friend was when we took a break i wanted to keep going to he turned his system off and i continued...or tried, for some reason if you use the same character slot when joining a co-op game and then go back to single player the game glitches and you can't continue the story. Other than some issues here and there i still found myself addicted to this game and still enjoy it. If your a LotR fan or a fan of the games genre i recommend it.… Expand
  6. Zherneboh
    Nov 9, 2011
    7
    It's hard to find a good local multiplayer game these days; other than music games it seems like we have Mario Kart and Castle Crashers. Champions was one of my favorite games on the PS2, slaughtering things with sweet loot and learning new, devastating skills hardly gets old. War in the North builds on that foundation very nicely, but there are a few technical flaws (Even more than thereIt's hard to find a good local multiplayer game these days; other than music games it seems like we have Mario Kart and Castle Crashers. Champions was one of my favorite games on the PS2, slaughtering things with sweet loot and learning new, devastating skills hardly gets old. War in the North builds on that foundation very nicely, but there are a few technical flaws (Even more than there were in Champions) and I feel that the talent trees are a bit shallow and uninspired. However, if you're a fan of hack-n-slash RPGs it's worth taking a look at.… Expand
  7. Zanfire
    Apr 10, 2013
    7
    War in the North is definitely not the best title in recent years, nor the best action RPG that you can buy. The graphics are good, but poorly defined, by today's standards. Combat options are there, but they remain rather limited, although the ease with which you go from melee to ranged combat offer some variety. Equip is interesting, too, but the options and statistics are narrow here,War in the North is definitely not the best title in recent years, nor the best action RPG that you can buy. The graphics are good, but poorly defined, by today's standards. Combat options are there, but they remain rather limited, although the ease with which you go from melee to ranged combat offer some variety. Equip is interesting, too, but the options and statistics are narrow here, too. The story is interesting and it is noticeable that it represents a narrative line that goes parallel to the adventures of the Fellowship of the Ring. What makes the game "special", in its way, is that evokes quite well the Tolkien's setting, at least the one derived from the movies trilogy by Peter Jackson. The dialogues are very well made, as well as the visual aspect of Tolkien's world. There is definitely an exaggerated presence of magic, compared to the standards of the Oxford professor, and some poetic license clash with the context (a dragon?), but, after all, we are facing an action game, so we can close an eye. Ultimately, I find that War in the North is a fun hack'n'slash game, with strong and well made references to the Lord of the Rings. Definitively interesting for lovers of both videogames and Tolkien's saga!… Expand
  8. EMelo01
    Nov 3, 2011
    5
    I was expecting a lot more from this game, but it didn't quite deliver like I thought it would. It could have been a great game, instead, its just ok. The RPG elements are there, but the game play is medioore. I'm not pulled into the story, I feel like I am part of the sidelines. The graphics are pretty good in some cases and bad in others. And the sounds are sometimes annoying. For me,I was expecting a lot more from this game, but it didn't quite deliver like I thought it would. It could have been a great game, instead, its just ok. The RPG elements are there, but the game play is medioore. I'm not pulled into the story, I feel like I am part of the sidelines. The graphics are pretty good in some cases and bad in others. And the sounds are sometimes annoying. For me, the split screen co-op is what keeps me (and my gf) playing it. Good thing its a gamestop guarantee and within a week, I'll get my money back!… Expand
  9. SatsumaBomb
    Dec 19, 2011
    5
    Want to play in a rich fantasy world with massive quests, monsters, characters etc. Play SKYRIM instead. Big let down after being excited by the trailers. Not the worst but definitely not the best. Shame.
  10. pyrocloud7
    Apr 14, 2012
    6
    Love the tight gameplay and LOTR story. Can't get past the multiple game ended bugs though. I simply cannot complete the game. Would really love to be able to, this game would easily be a 9/10 if it weren't broken.
  11. mosessaur
    May 15, 2013
    5
    Not what I expected. I got this game as part of my PSN Plus subscription. The story was cool. But as an RPG Action game it's missing lots of things. The game play experiance wasn't good. I didn't like when my companions step into my way. Or when I jump of a small cliff I couldn't jump up back! It's really annoying that I cannot go back in some place and that I had to finish the story lineNot what I expected. I got this game as part of my PSN Plus subscription. The story was cool. But as an RPG Action game it's missing lots of things. The game play experiance wasn't good. I didn't like when my companions step into my way. Or when I jump of a small cliff I couldn't jump up back! It's really annoying that I cannot go back in some place and that I had to finish the story line in each place in order to be able to navigate later to previous locations.
    From RPG point it was bad. Just conversation that never affect your leveling up or reveal some secrets. It's like cut scene but you have the choice to pick what to say next.
    Over all 5 for me    … Expand
  12. Jreilly89
    Jul 15, 2013
    7
    Not half bad. Picked it up on sale for $5. It's a delightful romp as a silly grouping of almost Gimli, almost Aragorn, and some female Elf caster. It does get bogged down by occasional snags and bad design choices, but overall, it's a pretty fun adventure RPG with a decent story, likeable enough heroes, and easy to learn beat em up mechanics with RPGish skill points, equipment, and action skills.
  13. kempo24
    Mar 17, 2021
    7
    Enjoyable for lotr fans. Gameplay very repetitive. Cool story and ok characters. Has game breaking bug.
  14. Onask
    Oct 7, 2018
    7
    Un juego que se llevó bastantes palos por la crítica en su día pero que a mí me sigue pareciendo un juego bastante sólido.

    Si bien gráfica o jugablemente no es nada que destaque excesivamente, el mundo en el que toma lugar esta historia (muy bien contada y establecida, por cierto) es la Tierra Media, durante los acontecimientos de La Comunidad del Anillo. Y si a un fan de El Señor de    Un juego que se llevó bastantes palos por la crítica en su día pero que a mí me sigue pareciendo un juego bastante sólido.

    Si bien gráfica o jugablemente no es nada que destaque excesivamente, el mundo en el que toma lugar esta historia (muy bien contada y establecida, por cierto) es la Tierra Media, durante los acontecimientos de La Comunidad del Anillo. Y si a un fan de El Señor de los Anillos le das un juego que te cuenta cosas adicionales creadas exclusivamente que complementan la historia, pues ese fan se lo pasa bien, y si además el juego está bien, pues no te haces a la idea.

    Juego recomendado, y más aún si eres fan de Tolkien.    … Expand
  15. Yojimbo2015
    Jan 11, 2023
    6
    Action RPG that's a little wordy and the combat can be repetitive but visually it's spot on and will please Tolkien fans looking for a bit of solid Middle Earth adventuring.

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
41
#41 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 33
  3. Negative: 4 out of 33
  1. DarkStation
    Jan 27, 2012
    60
    In many ways, War in the North is a Gears of War version of Lord of the Rings. In fact, the game introduces an enemy type that looks and functions identically to the Ticker and there are wave-based Horde modes to play through. Like Gears of War, however, the game's saving grace is the three player co-op because it is much more fun to slay Orcs with friends.
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  2. Play UK
    Jan 9, 2012
    42
    A derivative hack-and-slasher which offers nothing new and does nothing old particularly well. [Issue#213, p.89]
  3. Eurogamer Portugal
    Jan 3, 2012
    50
    War in North is a rushed game. The Gameplay is simple and it doesn't take any risks, and the story had potential but fails to stand out.
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