The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Discussion Thread

BHULLAR BOYS

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# Official web page: LOTR: War in the North
# Publisher: Warner Bros
# Developer: Snowblind Studios
# Genre: Action RPG
# Release date: 2011

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, an epic multiplayer action/RPG video game based on the renowned novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, is set to launch on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows® in 2011.

Developed in association with Middle-earth Enterprises, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North explores both original and familiar narrative elements as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment holds the rights to develop video games based on both the literary and motion picture content from The Lord of the Rings. Breaking new ground as a mature RPG video game set in Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North advances the RPG paradigm through innovative online, interdependent co-op play for up to three players who form their own Fellowship to fight Sauron’s forces in the North.

Trailer: Link http://www.warinthenorth.com/uploads/media/211/teaser_FLV.flv
Multiplayer: Yes CO-OP Games for Windows Live

“With The Lord of the Rings: War in the North we are taking a mature approach to the widely celebrated property with authentic portrayals of battles and all new storylines,†said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Utilising the award-winning and passionate development team at Snowblind Studios, we are looking to evolve the RPG experience and deliver The Lord of the Rings game fans have been waiting for.â€

“In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Snowblind will deliver an action RPG for core gamers featuring authentic narrative and environmental locations from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original The Lord of the Rings,†said Ryan Geithman, Founder and Studio Head of Snowblind Studios. “This game is a natural evolution of the acclaimed RPG gameplay that Snowblind has consistently delivered over the past years. Players and fans will experience an innovative approach to online co-op gameplay, woven throughout every facet of the game in a way that only Snowblind can deliver.â€

In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, players can become the heroes in the great battle of the North as part of the epic War of the Ring. Exploring unseen lands, story elements and characters from Middle-earth as well as elements familiar from past feature films, gamers will experience extensive character customization and development, expansive co-op gameplay options and upgradeable weapons, skills and special abilities.

For more information about The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, please visit index.php?PU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.warinthenorth.com.
 
About time the thread gets a bump! The game releases on November 1st. A more recent trailer:

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The campaign is set to be 12~14 hours long which is kinda short for an RPG title. I hope it is worth it!
 
I have only played Conquest till now and it was pretty good. I had completed the "War of the Ring" campaign, but never got around completing the "Rise of Sauron" campaign. I'll definitely try this game, if it follows a similar hack-en-slash approach like it's predecessor.
 
LOTR: ROTK was awesome! The game followed the concluding sequel in the movie series and the hack and slash combat was brilliant. I skipped Conquest owing to the poor reviews it garnered.

On a similar note, LOTR: BFME, BFME II and its expansion - ROTWK remains some of the best strategy titles I have played till date. I could still recall the finale of the evil campaign in BFME II - Sauron makes his appearance towards the ending and single handedly owns Rivendell and the Elven forces. Never have I seen so much prowess on the screen before! :p
 
^^ Putting one in-charge of Sauron was simply awesome. Of course it did turn what was already quite a one sided fight into a massacre.

The heroes in that game were some of the best I have played with in a RTS.
 
^Totally. To this day I recall the final moments in the game! I badly want a RTS game based on the LOTR fiction now. :(
 
Gannu said:
^Totally. To this day I recall the final moments in the game! I badly want a RTS game based on the LOTR fiction now. :(

There is a Hobbit movie in the making. Going by past experience, it will most likely be accompanied by a game. But it will likely be a RPG rather than an RTS.

I agree, the BFME franchise definitely deserves a return. Even apart from the richness of the LOTR content, the game itself was fairly accomplished as an RTS.
 
I had seen the one hr gameplay video of this in gamespot. It didnt look that interesting. Main problem is, as they have mentioned in the reviews, the repetitive gameplay.
 
I'll get this for the 360, since only the console version seems to have 2 player local co-op. Reports say, the screen is split vertically, which is fine by me. Curious to see how the game works in co-op. :D
 
I am gonna give it a try once I am done with other November biggies. I have seen few a vids and the game looks interesting & I have a feeling that co-op will be much more fun than single player campaign.

360 for me too!
 
Started the game last weekend and made quite some progress. I have some mixed views unfortunately. Too lazy to draft a review now. All ye RPG fanatics stay away! :p The game barely manages to scrap the surface of the genre with whatever it offers but nonetheless, fans of the LOTR franchise might find the title good and playable as a time killer.

Had some progress over the last weekend and reached Chapter 5, Part 6. Combat felt very repetitive despite all the hacking and slashing and too much of orc blood spewed around in the Middle-Earth, plot is boring although the events are set around the same time as the first movie - the Fellowship is formed by Elrond and Frodo is entrusted with destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom at Mordor, the visuals, level and character designs are extremely well done - the Elven outpost at Middle-Earth Rivendell looked spectacular reminiscent of the backdrops and props used in the first movie; Elrond, Legolas and Arwen were modeled to perfection! Absolutely no complaints there, sound effects and soundtracks were decent and nothing like what The Return of the King had to offer; the classic LOTR theme track composed by the Howard Shore was missing from the game altogether which came as a big disappointment and the voice acting which appears to have been done by the original characters based on the movie felt bland and lifeless (except for this character Belaram).

Like I mentioned before, those who loved playing the previous LOTR games might like this iteration. Others can safely give this a miss. :p
 
Completed the game. Turned out to be pretty short. Maybe like 14 hours. Side quests (if at all they can be called so!) were really boring for an RPG game. The final boss battle was piss easy. Storyline is passable at best but the main quest with the 2 AI allies was pretty decent. I bet with 3 player co-op, it should be a notch better.

The best character in the entire game has to be Belaram - brilliant voice acting, character modelling and animation. Heck, calling his aid was done pretty neatly as well. Would love to hear the opinions of the others who may attempt the title. :p
 
Just started the game and reached Chapter 2, part 2. I have picked Eradan and currently on level 9. So far, I think it's pretty decent, but hardly challenging. Just 2 mini-bosses encountered so far, who hardly posed any threat. The graphics are lousy. The combat could have really been refined. But it's still fun in co-op.
 
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