The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a role-playing video game developed 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 take control of a hero of the war, and are able to play through the game alone or co-operatively with other players.


[edit] Synopsis
 
[edit] 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 explore Bree and Rivendell and interact with the characters there which include Gandalf, Elrond, Frodo, Bilbo, Legolas, Arwen and Aragorn. Characters from the books can also be expected to appear in the game. Elrond\\\'s twin sons, the Ranger Halbarad, and Radagast are confirmed.[8]
 
[edit] 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.[9]
 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 a one handed 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. 
[edit] Development
 


[show]System requirements
 






























































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[edit] Release
 


[hide] Reception
 


Aggregate scores
 


Aggregator
 
Score
 


Metacritic
 
68%[10]
 


Review scores
 


Publication
 
Score
 

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.[11] The Lord of the Rings: War in the North released on November 1st in North America and November 4th for Europe. The latest date of release is in the UK, at November 25th.
 
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North received mixed reviews. Koalition awarded the game 8/10 stating that \\\'The cooperative multiplayer aspect is fantastic and the game is balanced very well\\\'.[12] Gamefront gave the game a positive score of 8.5/10 praising the game as being \\\'a successful effort for Snowblind\\\' and stating that \\\'It’s a fun title that you can enjoy with your friends or alone\\\'[13]. IGN was less optimistic giving the game a \\\'Good\\\' score of 7/10 praising its graphics and level design but criticizing the plot as being bland, the characters as lacking personality and the game suffering from a repetitive gameplay. [14] Gamespot gave a score of 8 out of 10, stating issues such as odd enemy behavior, technical issues with multiplayer and a general feeling of disappointment. [15] On Metacritic the game holds a 68/100 based on 19 reviews for Xbox 360 , and 66/100 for PlayStation 3.[16][17]
 
[edit] References
 
1.^ \\\"War in the North uses the Dark Alliance Engine\\\". Retrieved 24 June 2011.
 2.^ Goldstein, Hilary (2010-05-05). \\\"E3 2010: The Big Games List\\\". IGN. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
 3.^ \\\"LOTR: War in the North begins November 1\\\". GameSpot. 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
 4.^ \\\"Lord of the Rings: War in the North a Co-Op Action Game Worth Playing\\\". Computer and Video Games. 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
 5.^ \\\"The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Comic-Con 2011 Demo (PC)\\\". GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
 6.^ \\\"The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Hands on\\\". Vgrevolution. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
 7.^ \\\"The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Hands on Preview\\\". GameFront. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
 8.^ \\\"Lord of the Rings: War in the North Beleram Reveal\\\". Gametestlab. 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
 9.^ \\\"Lord of the Rings: War in the North Heroes\\\". Snowblind. 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
 10.^ \\\"The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Xbox 360\\\". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
 11.^ Good, Owen (2010-06-18). \\\"Lord of the Rings: War in the North Eyes-On Impressions: A Party of Three\\\". Kotaku. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
 12.^ http://thekoalition.com/2011/11/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-in-the-north-review-the-best-lotr-game/
 13.^
 14.^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1211226p1.html
 15.^
 16.^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-in-the-north/critic-reviews
 17.^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-in-the-north
 
[edit] External links
 Official website
 The Lord of the Rings: War in the North at the Tolkien Gateway
 





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