While the three playable characters, the human ranger, elven mage and warrior dwarf are far from what you might call recognisable faces, all of the trilogy’s major players make numerous appearances throughout the adventure that runs parallel to that of the core, ring-centric tale. With a story only hinted upon in the movies, War in the North provides a relatively engrossing tale that follows three adventures in their attempts to take down one of Sauron’s top boys – the rather evil looking, Agandaur. Skrim aside though, when judged upon its own merits, War in the North is well worth a look. As much as I enjoyed War in the North, the fact of the matter is, it’s no Skyrim, and unless you’re a Lord of the Rings die-hard, I assume that you will agree. It may well be played from a third person perspective and is certainly more of a linear, story-driven quest than Skyrim’s vast, open world, but there is little doubt that the two fall into the same category. Really? Whose fantastic idea was that? As enjoyable as much of War in the North is and as much sway as The Lord of the Rings name might still possess, to go head-to-head with Bathesda’s juggernaut is commercial suicide. Problem is, it’s also a tad repetitive, suffers from a handful of technical issues and perhaps more importantly than anything else….is released in the same window as Skyrim. Rather than looking like just another fantasy RPG, War in the North genuinely feels like part of the expanded universe. It looks decent, has a solid story and captures that unique Lord of the Rings vibe. The loot system delivers plenty of incentives to keep progressing while the co-op for up to three players is a very welcome addition to what is an otherwise by-the-numbers action-RPG. Loot + co-op x Lord of the Rings really should equal awesome, and, in fairness to War in the North, it so nearly does. Honestly though, War in the North could have been great. In terms of console releases, Lord of the Rings: War in the North comes closer to greatness than any of its predecessors, but sadly, like all those that have come before, fails to realise the huge potential born of the source material. They’re rarely flat out bad, but equally, few have come anywhere near matching the quality of the movies upon which they are based. Other than the PC exclusive MMORPG, Shadows of Angmar and its expansion, Mines of Moria, few games released under the Lord of the Rings banner have reached far beyond the mundane. Videogames based upon The Lord of the Rings universe have been almost universally middling.
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