War in the North Review
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
I do love how IGN sees this as just another liscenced action game while Greg sees it as a lovingly-crafted fan pleaser.
As to whether I'll get it, I will, as long as I can convince my friend(who eats this stuff up) to get it. After all, the consensus seems to be "better with more than one person"
As to whether I'll get it, I will, as long as I can convince my friend(who eats this stuff up) to get it. After all, the consensus seems to be "better with more than one person"
Well, Mr. Tito, we are looking for very different things in our LotR game. I actually want to go on a linear, authentic quest to destroy the ring: I want to stand on the buttressed wall of Helm's Deep as Saruman throws his might at it. I want to stand on the ramparts of Osgiliath as Orcs stream across the river. I want to lead the charge of the Rohirrim down on the fleld of Pelennor. I want to play The Lord of the Rings. Stuff happening else where in Middle-Earth is not a part of the Lord of the Rings, it's only a part of the general lore of Middle-Earth.
To hammer the point home, I present to you:
To hammer the point home, I present to you:
Gonna be honest and say i'm completely surprised about this game...
It doesn't follow the already overused story of the movies, told in different art-styles and with different gameplays that EA tends to release every single year.
Now that this title is kinda off EA clutches, i'm not amazed it turned out to be good. The studios ventured with a side story that takes events along with the fellowship, but has 3 different raced heroes under the spotlight.
The co-op is great, the gameplay is easy to figure out, graphicly it's not out of this world, but it's good, the background amazing, the story epic and the sound system awesomly beautifull.
It's a great Action/ RPG and a good bring back to the title, has well has a step in the right direction of what kind of LOTR games they should make next.
One can only protect Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith a couple times... he will do them with honour and bravury, but that doesn't mean he should do them forever!!! So this game is a good change!!
It doesn't follow the already overused story of the movies, told in different art-styles and with different gameplays that EA tends to release every single year.
Now that this title is kinda off EA clutches, i'm not amazed it turned out to be good. The studios ventured with a side story that takes events along with the fellowship, but has 3 different raced heroes under the spotlight.
The co-op is great, the gameplay is easy to figure out, graphicly it's not out of this world, but it's good, the background amazing, the story epic and the sound system awesomly beautifull.
It's a great Action/ RPG and a good bring back to the title, has well has a step in the right direction of what kind of LOTR games they should make next.
One can only protect Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith a couple times... he will do them with honour and bravury, but that doesn't mean he should do them forever!!! So this game is a good change!!
Feel free to play the hundreds of games of LOTR with that content. The only different thing is the art styles and the way the story is told, but if you like to perform the same tasks and embark on the same adventure over and over and over again for the same result, withouth wanting to know about what else happened that led the story so far up, please do play any of the EA trademarked Lord of the Rings games...Giest4life said:
You will get the same exact experience in each and every single one. Hope you like it...
a) I've read all but one one of the works written by Tolkien (The Children of Hurin). I know what happened in Middle-Earth and beyond. I've no desire to explore the world Tolkien created because I already know most of it.TitanAtlas said:
b)I've played the million-or-so games licensed by EA. They are shit. The Battle for Middle-Earth series are decently made, but because it's a strategy game, the whole experience feels a bit detached. I even tried the LotR online, and it, too, was below par. I've even played games which have modded LotR maps but they have their limitations.
All I want is to play one excellently done LotR campaign which tells the epic tale using gampeplay.
War in the North holds no appeal for me.
I'm pleasently surprised this game didn't turned out to be shit, after reading the (awful) review of IGN, I didn't expected much about it, but it's good to know that a fan of Tolkien and not some COD obsessed asshat (that gave a freakin' 8 to Sonic Generations), liked this game.
I am enjoying this game. It's a good B game, like a good B movie. There are some obvious rough bits in the mechanics, but I can deal with them, and the hack and slash is fun enough if you vary it up with the extra skills. But for a licensed game (that isn't Batman: AA or AC) it's made with an incredible amount of love.
Biggest hint - use B (dodge and roll) a LOT when you're fighting trolls or other bosses. It's near instant - if you wait for your swings to finish to move normally he'll have hit you long ago.
Biggest hint - use B (dodge and roll) a LOT when you're fighting trolls or other bosses. It's near instant - if you wait for your swings to finish to move normally he'll have hit you long ago.
In that i agree. There hasan't been one LOTR campaign that could par with the awesomness of the Books and Movies.Giest4life said:
I too want this epic adventure, in wich i fight hundreds if not millions of enemies. Good voice acting and a experience that makes me wat to play the game. I do not want silly mini-games, fight a small group of orcs when i can see hundreds of them beyond invisible walls, or even have my tale be told has it was a child's story with weak-cartoonish designs.
I want to ride my horse into battle, i want to be in the middle of the wall at Helm's Deep has i cry for help till help arrives at dawn at east side, i want to fence off the invasion at minas tirith and see the undead ghost army fight by my side, i want to cross the marshes (swamp area. forgot the name), i want to enter Mordor, grab that goddam ring and toss it into the fiery pits of mount doom!!
I do not want games with 8 missions only, told horribly, with no grab and feel to the story, that makes me fight the same thing over and over and over again.
i want to be in the full-story a adventure that takes me beyond of the generic 4 hour campaigns that have been released constantly. I want to se Balrog and fear for my life!!
I had high hopes for LOTR conquest... but it was CRAP!!!... even the online game... it was weak and pathetic!!!
I want to be part of the adventure. But unfortenatly at the hands of EA we will never get it. I'm surprised they haven't made a Lego Lord of the Rings... that would really stick a knife in the old ticker...
At least the books get a deserved respect with a good game. War in the North might not be the full-on story of the fellowship, but it is a good game, and Tolkien deserved at least that. A good game honouring his work.
May we hope that one day, on a epic adventure of the fellowship, we might fight besides hundreds of our comrades against Sauron, and if that day, that campaign has co-op or some kind of multiplayer, may we cross our swords and charge against the enemy. Till then!!
I thought War in the North was supposed to be an open world RPG like the Elder Scrolls? Am I confusing this for a different LotR game?
If its a fan pleaser then im a fan and i like to be pleased.
Im just very pissed at the fact this is getting released 3 weeks later than the whole other world in the UK.
Im just very pissed at the fact this is getting released 3 weeks later than the whole other world in the UK.
Yes lets all pretend that Battle for Middle Earth II and its expansion Rise of the Witch-King does not exist.TitanAtlas said:
This game bears similarities to an old lord of the rings title for the ps2. I think that was an rpg that allowed two player. I only played it once and traded it in. Even though this is drenched in heresy I think we should detach ourselves from lord of the rings story arc and make a completely new story based in that world. I think that would be cool although the task of doing something like that would be very daunting.
Heh I remember Spoony getting childishly angry that the mage in the game wields the staff like it's some sort of machine gun.
Heh I remember Spoony getting childishly angry that the mage in the game wields the staff like it's some sort of machine gun.
On the whole detaching from the lord of the rings story arc" idea, it would be way, WAY too easy to make a new story/game in some other time of Middle Earth. I mean, there's just so much!Swifteye said:
First age Beren/Luthien and wars of Gondolin, the wars with Morgoth and all that. There's the kinslaying of the elves, the rise of Numenor... Shit, the First Age alone has huge, HUGE amounts of content.
Then of course, you could do the founding of the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, the early wars of the Rohirrim (come to think of it, playing a game involving Helm Hammerhand would be hilariously awesome. He's bascially the MacBeth of Middle Earth)
Middle Earth is a huge, HUGE place filled with lore, and there's nothing I'd rather see than game studios abusing the hell out of it. Sadly, the only bit we've gotten of that was Battle for Middle Earth 2.
On topic, I'm loving War in the North. Pretty damned solid game. Goddamned amazing, really, once you get pass clunky multiplayer issues. I know I love it, and the fanservice is nice too.
I am pleasantly surprised that this game didn't turn out to be shit actually, I might just buy / rent this out.
I really want to play this game! just need to find a friend who will commit to playing it through on co-op for me. I can't be the only LotR fan in my social circle...
do miss the old days when an old friend and I would just hack away in the RotK game on our Gamecube! that was mad fun
do miss the old days when an old friend and I would just hack away in the RotK game on our Gamecube! that was mad fun
I mirror every one of your sentiments exactly, especially this line. Conquest had the potential to be the very game that LOTR fans were hankering for, an epic battle game charting every epic battle in the epic war for the ring. Instead we got some generic, bland game that can't even be described as average because even the gameplay was boring. Urgh, I don't even want to think about it.TitanAtlas said:
War in the North looks to be a better game by far but still not really what I was looking for. It's a real shame they could licence the actors' likenesses but not their voices as well. I have a thing about voice acting.
Still, being the fan that I am, I expect this will end up in my collection at some point all the same.
Is it me or am I missing part of the review? I only see images and hear your voice. I thought there always was some gamemusic under it?
But otherwise, I enjoyed playing this game over at the Warner place. But when I got it in my hands here I was, indeed, swinging my weapons into thin air, even though I was standing against said troll.
And the AI gets in the way, blocking your path sometimes.
Erf.. At least they revive me quickly. . . Right?
But otherwise, I enjoyed playing this game over at the Warner place. But when I got it in my hands here I was, indeed, swinging my weapons into thin air, even though I was standing against said troll.
And the AI gets in the way, blocking your path sometimes.
Erf.. At least they revive me quickly. . . Right?