The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

For the Spanish military campaign, see War in the North.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
The official logo of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Developer(s)	Snowblind Studios
Publisher(s)	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Series	The Lord of the Rings
Engine	Dark Alliance Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)	Role-playing game

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a role-playing video game in development 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. Players will take control of a hero of the war, and will be 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 attack enemies. 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. Comic Con 2011 featured gameplay of War in the North.

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. It is unknown if there will be choices which influence the plot or change the way a quest plays out. The gameplay also relies upon the player working with friends (or with AI companions) to use tactics to defeat certain enemies.

Locations

Many locations that are not featured in the movies are in the game. Confirmed locations include the Ettenmoors, Fornost, Mirkwood and Mount Gundabad. Locations from the movies also appear in the game. Players can expect to explore The Shire, Bree and Rivendell and interact with the characters there which include Gandalf, Elrond and Frodo. Characters from the books can also be expected to appear in the game. Elrond's twin sons, the Ranger Halbarad, and Radagast are confirmed.

Characters

The War in The North features three playable protagonists. Each character has different classes from one another but each character's class is adaptable. For example, Eradan is a Ranger and thus excels with the bow and sword but lacks the strength of Farin. He can be leveled up however to be an expert with two handed weapons, dual wielding, weapons and shields (tank) or the bow. Farin is an expert with melee weapons but can use ranged weapons and can be leveled up to use such. He can also be leveled up to be the tank or the damage dealer of the party. Andriel is a mage but she can wield two swords at once and level up in melee attacks, supportive magic or offensive magic.

Eradan

Eradan is the Ranger class, he is a Dúnadan. (From Elvish dún-adan, meaning Man of the West, Númenorean.) He is the most adaptable playable character and is adept at using any weapon. He can use a two handed sword, a sword and shield, dual wield weapons or a bow. Eradan also has access to many stealth abilities which allow him to sneak up on enemies to attack them.

Farin

Farin is the Champion class, he hails from Erebor. He is best described as the warrior character but he can use a crossbow and simply focus on using it to attack enemies from afar. Out of all three characters, Farin is the most skilled in using melee weapons and he has many powerful abilities allowing him to attack multiple enemies at once. He can also mine for gems.

Andriel

Andriel is the Elven Loremaster class who has been taught by Elrond. She hails from Rivendell. She uses magic as her defense and offense but can dual wield bladed weapons or dual wield a bladed weapon with her staff which she can also use to melee attack enemies with. Her abilities include offensive spells and supportive spells but she also has melee abilities and can be leveled up to be a "battlemage" if the player wishes. She also has the ability to create potions from alchemy ingredients that the player may find.

Rating

The game will feature stronger graphic violence than previous Lord of the Rings games and is the first game in the series to receive an M rating from the ESRB.

Release

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North released on November 1st in North America, and will release November 2nd in Australia and November 4th for Europe. However, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have decided to release War in the North on November 25th in the United Kingdom.

Reception

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game a 'Good' score of 7/10 praising it's graphics and leveldesign but criticizing the plot as being bland, the characters as lacking personality and the game suffering from a repetitive gameplay. Koalition awarded the game 8/10 stating that 'The cooperative multiplayer aspect is fantastic and the game is balanced very well'.

External links

• Official website
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