Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Once upon a time there was a book; a book that changed the world of fantasy forever. The Lord of the Rings is more than a novel or a film for many, myself included, and thanks to the film franchise by Peter Jackson there have been quite a few video game titles to accompany Tolkien’s work over the past 10 years. The latest incarnation on offer is the long awaited (for me at least!) Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

Those of you who have read the appendices found in the Return of the King will know that there was a lot more to the war against Sauron than Frodo and his chums. One of the main features eliminated from the three cinema monsters was a real understanding of just how far the evil of Middle Earth had spread. War in the North has finally started to utilize some of this goldmine by offering gamers the chance to experience some of the stories not yet explored through consoles.

First things first: graphically this game is pretty good mainly thanks to the endorsement by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Much of the visual style from Peter Jackson’s movies can be found gracing your screen, which is always going to be a bonus as it undoubtedly pulls on the strings of movie nostalgia. As a result, fans who are more film trilogy orientated than loyal to the books will appreciate the helping hand that Jackson’s Middle Earth gives in defining the culture of races and the locations which undoubtedly bring the game to life.

But let us not forget that beauty is only skin deep and while the game may look tastier than a pint at The Green Dragon in places, it takes a lot more than that to get my seal of approval. Initially the story begins as Aragorn awaits the arrival of the Hobbits in Bree. You begin as one of a trio of characters: Eredan, a fellow Dunedain Ranger of Aragorn, Andriel, an Elven Lore-Master and Farin, a Dwarf from the Lonely Mountain who, under Aragorn’s orders, are sent to the long abandoned fortress of Fornost to investigate rumours of a threat from Mordor causing unrest.

Snowblind have obviously taken care in providing some kind of ‘historical accuracy’ by setting it around battles and locations such as Mirkwood, Bree, the Barrowdowns and Rivendell (including some well known characters too!). Unfortunately the purist in me finds a problem with the fact that unlike games such as Lord of the Rings Online, your choice of character has little influence on the plot of the game as you are shoved together into a band of merry do-gooders from the get go.

The three warrior choices have hardly any back story that explains the bond between them, which not only impacts on the plot of the game, but also undermines the creation of the Fellowship in the novel (which on War of the North timescale, hasn’t even happened yet).

While most of you may sigh as to why this is a problem at all, the point is that people who are true fans of Lord of the Rings will find it very difficult to engage in a story that feels very bland in comparison to one of the greatest novels of all time. The three main characters are not only contradictory to the original story, but also make a big hole for your average RPG in terms of plot and emotional attachment as they offer next to none.

Dialogue between the trio and NPC’s met along the way has little in the way of variety and seemingly no influence on outcomes. When your target audience is going to be predominantly people that give more than an average crap about the story, this isn’t going to go down well!

The RPG elements are pretty basic, with levelling up providing access to new abilities along with lootable items and shops in many locations along the way. However, the individual characters show very little variation as the majority of combat is combined of X and Y button taps and unlocking special moves. They have mild preferences for certain combat styles, but the available upgrades on offer don’t quite cut it in the ‘customisable’ stakes.

The biggest disappointment of all, unfortunately, is its lack of absorbing game play. Initially I found myself quite excited at the prospect of sweeping down orcs, goblins and the odd cave troll. However, with limiting and repetitive controls, the fighting sequences of play soon becomes repetitive and monotonous. Combine this with the linear level styles and easy to complete side missions and you start to have a game with more holes than Shelob’s Lair.

On top of this the AI characters often wander off and do their own thing, despite the ability to issue them basic attack or defend commands, which makes me feel like it was pushed to be predominately co-operative. For a game that doesn’t do enough to really impress, I wonder how long people will really keep playing before finding co-op buddies online becomes a problem.