The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a role-playing video game developed by Snowblind Studios. It is based on the events taking place in the northern regions of Middle-earth in the background of the main story of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, more specifically in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy universe. The Plot for the game is that, the 3 heroes players can choose from, go on their own journey, similar to the Fellowship of the Ring the characters journey to different locations to help the War, their actions help the Fellowship, in a way that is not seen in the films or books. Players take control of a hero of the war, and are able to play through the game alone or co-operatively with other players.


Gameplay

In a preview article in PlayStation Magazine, it was discussed that players will have skills that are upgradeable, characters that can be customized, and that conversations play out similarly to Mass Effect without the moral ramifications. Each character also has ranged attacks which they can use, Farin (the dwarf champion) has a crossbow, Eradan (the human ranger) has a bow and Andriel (the female elf mage) can cast ranged spells at enemies. All characters also have light and heavy attacks and can roll, block and counter enemy attacks. Players can also issue orders to their AI companions if they are playing solo. There are also hubs in the game which function as points where the party may rest, accept new quests, speak to people and stock up on new supplies. Hubs are towns or villages.[4] Comic-Con 2011 featured gameplay of War in the North.[5]
Each class also has a unique ability. The dwarf for example can mine for gems which can be used for crafting purposes and he can also smash walls down where hidden treasure can be found. The game also features unlockable difficulty modes such as a nightmare difficulty. You can replay through the game and keep all your equipment and skills from the previous playthrough. Dialogue will normally present a few choices where the player can get just the facts, delve deeper into the lore or get optional side quests. The gameplay also relies upon the player working with friends (or with AI companions) to use tactics to defeat certain enemies.

Reception


The Lord of the Rings: War in the North received mixed to positive reviews. Koalition awarded the game 8/10 stating that "The cooperative multiplayer aspect is fantastic and the game is balanced very well".[16] Gamefront gave the game a positive score of 8.5/10 praising the game as being "a successful effort for Snowblind" and stating that "It’s a fun title that you can enjoy with your friends or alone".[15] IGN awarded the game a "Good" score of 7/10 praising its graphics and level design but criticizing the plot as being bland, the characters as lacking personality and the game suffering from repetitive gameplay.[14] GameSpot gave a score of 6 out of 10, stating issues such as odd enemy behavior, technical issues with multiplayer and a general feeling of disappointment.[13] On Metacritic the game holds a 62/100 for the Xbox 360 version[10], a 66/100 for the PC version[11] and a 63/100 for the PlayStation 3 version[12] as of January 29, 2012. The German edition Der Krieg im Norden received a positive review from the Zillo Medieval magazine praising the possibility of playing in previously unexplored areas of the game's world.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_War_in_the_North

Minimum System Requirement


OS: Windows Vista®/XP/ or Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz / AMD 64 X2 4400
RAM: 2GB
GFX: GeForce 8600 or Radeon HD 2600 (2006 or later graphics card)
HDD: 10GB free hard disk space