Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

War in the north tries many things. But unfortunately it does not deliver a stellar experience on all fronts. It is an interesting game I will admit. And its got the whole history and lore of the Lotr universe behind it. Fans of the series will be happy to hear that it does intertwine with the main plot of the books in a few ways, but it hardly feels like you make any difference for the fellowship in their quest to destroy the ring. You will also see a few familiar places, all of which have been rendered beautifully and in grand style. War in the north follows the exploits of a group of 3 people- a dwarf, elf and a human ranger- who are hunting down one of sauron's allies in the northern part of middle earth.
The game basically plays out like an RPG. You are free to select any one of the 3 heroes in your quest and there are all the standard features like managing an inventory, looting, customizing character appearance and levelling up but with a hack and slash element also added to it. These elements are what I have always dreamed of in an LOTR game but frankly all of them feel a bit shallow. The game is enjoyable at first but later on it starts feeling a bit repetitive. Some fight combo upgrades as you progress would have been nice. But instead, you are subject to only a handful of combat options all throughout the game. Granted there are certain different abilities for each character, but then I really wanted to cut up orcs in style, maybe how it was done in the Return of the King game. There are also the frequent branching dialogue options you can perform which will bag you a few side quests, but leave a feeling that they could have been fleshed out more.
When you play singleplayer, the computer ai will take control of your companions. Suffice to say, they are barely acceptable. Dont expect them to be good in combat, but they will revive you when you are in a pickle and you will also have to do likewise frequently. But war in the north was meant to be played with friends and that is where it truly becomes a fantastic experience. Along with the ability to share items among companions, the game gives you good reason to keep progressing. But it is not without its problems during multiplayer. Frequent syncing problems occur during combat. Enemies who you would have killed will still be standing staring at you and friends who would have been revived still look as if they are about to die. These do occur here and there but they are overshadowed by the good coop experience.
Graphically I found the game very good looking. All locations are beautifully done, paying homage to Peter Jackson's LOTR movies. And even characters look good save for a few npcs. Rivendell and the Dwarf Kingdom are quite a sight to behold.
Ultimately, War in the north is worth a look. If you are a fan of LOTR you may be a bit disappointed because the characters are not very likeable and they feel very inorganic. But the game is good for hacking and slashing with a couple of friends. Scale wise, it is grand and is a very long game. But I do feel that with many big releases in the past weeks and more to come, this title will get buried underneath.

Pros: Good coop, Inventory and sharing system, Long game

Cons: Feels repetitive and shallow, Connection issues, Sudden changes in level of difficulty

Final comment: Maybe worth a renting