The Lord of the Rings: War In The North Review: A Journey Worth Taking

The Lord of the Rings: War In The North Review

The Lord of the Rings: War In The North is an action-RPG game which takes you on a journey that revolves alongside the happenings of the one ring we all know so well. I myself love action-RPG titles, and it was no different with this one. Throw the Lord of the Rings title onto an action-RPG game, and I will automatically be interested. This title didn’t fail me either as I was given a good experience and a decent story to go along with a tale that I love.

You have 3 main characters in which you can choose from for who to play – with that includes a ranger, elf and dwarf. Each character has their own abilities and equipment needs that fits to each character’s style of combat. The story revolves around these three characters as they go out on their own quest to help stop evil. As I said before, the story takes place alongside what we know from the Lord of the Rings. With that you will also stumble upon familiar places and a lot of familiar faces, including some of your favorites. You will also have some likable characters that you get to partner up with as well on your journey that can be used as support. This includes a new favorite character of mine that becomes the most useful in times of great combat. You will be able to call him in for quick support to take out a more difficult enemy.

When it comes to the combat it was something that I wasn’t the biggest fan of at first. It took a minute to get use to, and I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t plow through some of the easier enemies. Every time I leveled up, it caused me to want to use all of my skill points to add to my attacking power in which I did just that. Eventually though it leveled off, and I became very at ease with the combat. At the end of it all, I didn’t have any real complaints with the combat as it does a pretty good job. The only major complaint, I had with it was that the positioning sometimes gets a little messed up. You’ll have moments where you are trying to attack an enemy but one of the other main characters gets in your way so you aren’t making contact. I’ve had a few moments where I got annoyed by one of the other characters getting in my way.

For the most part the other characters are very helpful though. Especially if you take too much damage and run out of life. That doesn’t mean it’s game over as they have an opportunity to heal you unless they are killed by the enemy as well, which at that point it will be game over anyways. They even have their own abilities that they will cast out also. For example, the elf will cast out a healing shield that will heal you when you are inside of it. It will also repel enemy arrows from hitting you. Enemies can still come inside the area though, so you will still have to deal with them.

You have two options to attack with from close range combat to long range combat with a bow and arrow. Or if you are the elf, you will be able to fire energy from your staff. The weapons are pretty basic, but each style handles very well – that includes the bow and arrow which the controls handle well and is a lot of fun to use. I did experience on multiple occasions that my arrow would hit a nearby enemy that is near my aim, though not on my target, instead of hitting the enemy that I did have lined up with my target. It didn’t bother me too much, but it’s slightly annoying to know that there is a slight automatic targeting system that’s taking my shot and hitting the target. So you don’t ever have to be perfect with your aim unless you are trying for head shots.

There is plenty of gear for you to loot along your journey from hidden off path chests full of goodies to random spots with a pile of loot. Also you will come across many barrels to destroy and sometimes stumble upon some loose change which come in handy when you are near a store so you can pick up some needed gear. There is a decent amount of gear to find though so you really shouldn’t need to be buying much material. You will probably find buying health and magic potion more useful than anything else.

The enemies are very good challengers and in many ways they provide you with the best combat. You will need a good strategy. You will even have to deal with many large beasts along the way and some which can very much man handle you….literally. It provides for some fun and entertaining combat though. You’ll have a great time dealing with these enemies on your journey.

The game has some pretty impressive visuals – especially in some of your stops on your journey. This includes Rivendell which is wonderfully created. The scenery throughout the game is great though and really helps set the tone for your time in middle-earth. The characters look good and the enemies just as well. They also have some slow motion scenes during battles for when you are performing a finishing move on an enemy that look really great.

When it comes to the soundtrack for this title I became a little disappointed. They went for that epic sound for a journey such as this, but I came away not being thrilled by it. It didn’t come off as memorable as I was hoping it would be. It’s still not bad by any means, but I was really expecting more. I should say that I could have been so caught up in the journey, and the atmosphere of the game that the music just put me right into it – and that’s why it wasn’t memorable. It still does the job as the style of music really fits the game, but I just wanted a little more from it.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a good action-RPG title for fans of the genre and especially so if you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings. I find it to have done a wonderful job creating that atmosphere we know so well from the Lord of the Rings. I really enjoyed my journey going through the game. It ties in the characters from the Lord of the Rings that we all know and love. There really isn’t a reason why Lord of the Rings fans would be disappointed in this title.

Score: 4/5

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