Game #935: The Lord of the Rings - War in the North

  And they still refuse to adapt Tom Bombadil into any other media.

 EA really killed it back in the PS2 generation with their LOTR games, didn't they? The movies ran their course, but hey, EA loves money, so they kept milking the license. Thankfully, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North turned out quite right. It's missing some of the snappy gameplay from the previous generation's releases, but it has other things going for it.

 The game takes after the movies, for good or bad, so character cameos and the world itself is based around Peter Jackson's vision, even the voice cast did their best to imitate how the original actors sounded. You play as another fellowship, made up of a Dundain ranger, an Elven loremaster and a Dwarf, erm, 'champion', as their adventure helps divest Sauron's attention from the fateful nine. It's a short game, lasting about 12 hours, but short considering it takes place parallel to all three movies... and while the script is decent, it does an awful job of simulating or implying passage of time, as the game feels all too short as to take place throughout the entirety of Frodo's adventure. Nitpicky? Maybe, but as a fan it was a bit jarring. On the other hand, the game introduces Radagast to Peter Jackson's world, so that's cool, and the developers loved throwing tons of Middle Earth trivia if you talk with NPCs and bury yourself deep in the dialogue trees. We even get to fight Barrow-Wights! Only thing it was missing was Tom Bombadil.

 I don't usually go out of my way to praise how a game looks, particularly on generations beyond PS2 since PS3 and PS4 tend to look relatively good, but this game was rather pretty. The human and elven faces are plastic-y and very artificial, but other creatures and the bearded dwarves, since it hides most of their faces, look fantastic. Try if you want to play around with the very limited character editor, I bet you won't find a single decent face. The environments in particular are pure eye candy, and the armors are very detailed, not to mention that your equipment reflects on all three playable characters, and each character gets a lot of different equipment pieces. Even if you play by yourself, the game does have local co-op, your CPU allies will regularly update their equipment, so you'll also get to see them get upgrades. The frame-rate holds steady enough most of the time, but if it gets too hectic it might take a few dips.

 The game is a beat'em up with RPG elements. Sure, different equipment pieces with different stats, including a durability stat to keep you returning to the blacksmith to get your stuff fixed, experience points, stat points, skill points and skill trees, and, heck, you even get optional side quests... but let's be honest, this is more of a beat'em up than anything else. You have a weak attack, a strong attack, three active skills that run on mana and cool down, a evasive roll, a defense stance and a means to attack from afar(The human gets a bow, the Dwarf a crossbow and the Elf magic blasts). Some sort of targeting system would've been nice, as some enemies are rather nimble, so you'll have to manually move the camera as you dodge or they dodge attacks, which can be cumbersome during some of the more intense fights.

 It's not the most involved combat system ever, and it's a bit sloppy to be honest. Some enemies are too aggressive to the point that after every dodge you'll only be able to get a few slashes in before you have to dodge again, and I think some of the hit boxes for enemy attacks are very suspect... but it works well enough for what it means to do, plus, you can carry tons of HP and Mana potions to make up for any shenanigans, and if that wasn't enough, you can revive your allies or they can revive you, as long as all three of you aren't dead you won't lose. Heck, the Ranger has an ability that turns him invisible, you can turn invisible and quickly revive your teammates. 

 I really, really liked War in the North. It's not the most innovative or deep action game out there, but the game never meant to be. It's a fun stroll through the world of Middle Earth, and you get to bash enemies ripped straight out of, or inspired by, Peter Jackson's interpretation. Plus, what it lacks in substance it makes up for in style, the game is very pretty so exploring its world is always fun, and I love how different equipment pieces actually change how the character looks. All in all, I had a good time with this one.

 8.0