Review: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North™ - Legacy Edition

A Forgotten War in Middle-earth Finally Gets a Second Chance

It is interesting to return to The Lord of the Rings: War in the North so many years later and realize that it remains one of those games that seems to have been overshadowed by much bigger releases.

The campaign follows Eradan, the Dúnedain Ranger, Farin, the dwarf of Erebor, and Andriel, a Loremaster of Rivendell, as they face the forces of Agandaûr in the north of Middle-earth, in a story that takes place alongside the events surrounding Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring. Aragorn, Gandalf, Elrond, and Frodo appear at important moments, but the story does not simply try to repeat what we already know. While the One Ring continues its journey south, our characters fight a different war, traveling through regions such as Fornost, the Trollshaws, Rivendell, and Mirkwood. It is an adventure that was never a major release, but it has an identity of its own and, so many years later, shows that it perhaps deserved more attention at the time.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay retains much of the identity of an older action game, particularly in its combat structure. Eradan is the character who uses a sword and bow, Andriel is the elf with magical abilities, while Farin takes on the role of the warrior dwarf.

Each character has their own traits and abilities, allowing players to choose who to control depending on the situation. The mage can reveal secrets, while the dwarf can destroy certain walls, and this variety works very well during exploration.

Combat is one of the biggest highlights and also one of the most challenging aspects of the game. There are moments when dozens of enemies appear simultaneously, some of them extremely resistant, making it so that simply charging forward and attacking is not always the best strategy. In some situations, I had to explore the environment, look for less direct ways to deal with enemies, and even take advantage of the small amount of health recovered passively to defeat one or two remaining enemies. The difficulty can certainly be frustrating at times, but it also makes encounters more tense and satisfying compared to many modern games, especially when we need to keep the characters together to survive.

Each character has their own skill tree, with different progression paths and abilities with their respective cooldowns. We also need to manage certain resources, such as the arrows used by Eradan. By performing several attacks without taking damage, we can also activate Hero Mode, progressively increasing our offensive power. The system works well and provides a good sense of progression, although I would have liked to see some enemies receive a reduction in their durability, as some of them end up feeling like complete damage sponges.

Exploration also rewards players who stray from the main path. There are chests hidden throughout the environments, side quests, and secrets that can be discovered by using each character's unique abilities. We also have purchasing and saving points, as well as a small village where we can interact with NPCs, repair equipment, and buy items. Potions, however, are quite expensive, making resource management even more important throughout the adventure.

Even with some enemies being far too resilient, the high difficulty is one of the elements that contributes most to the game's personality, especially for those who enjoy more intense combat that requires attention to the resources available.

VISUALS AND SOUND

Visually, War in the North shows its age quite clearly, but the remaster makes the experience more pleasant without taking away from the original game's identity. We are obviously not looking at a current-generation title, but the environments, characters, and effects still do a good job of capturing the visual identity inspired by the films. I particularly enjoyed the parallax effects during loading screens, which add some life to these moments, while the cinematic sequences are well made and feature characters such as Aragorn and Gandalf. The frame rate also remains very stable at around 60 frames per second, which suits the game's fast-paced combat particularly well.

On the audio side, the production maintains the atmosphere of the franchise with the sound effects of weapons, attacks, and abilities helping to give the battles more weight. Most interestingly, these visual and audio elements work together with the narrative to reinforce the feeling that we are following a story taking place alongside the events of the films. Meeting familiar characters, visiting places such as Rivendell, and realizing that our campaign is unfolding at the same time as the Fellowship's journey is one of the best ways the game connects itself to the trilogy without simply retelling its story.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievement list is one of the things I liked most about War in the North. It does not simply ask players to finish the campaign and reach a certain level. There are objectives that genuinely encourage players to use the game's mechanics, such as Sudden Fury, which requires three critical hits within ten seconds, and Relentless, which asks for a 50-hit streak while in Hero Mode. There are also achievements related to exploration, such as Seeker, which requires discovering 25 secrets, as well as objectives involving equipment, skill trees, potions, melee attacks, ranged attacks, and different ways of eliminating enemies. This encourages players to experiment with systems that could otherwise go unnoticed during a normal playthrough.

The variety continues with objectives tied directly to the adventure. There are achievements for freeing Beleram, defeating bosses such as Tharzog, Bargrisar, Wulfrun, Saenathra, and Agandaûr, completing quests, using war machines, equipping complete armor sets, and reaching specific levels.

Unfortunately, there are also challenges tied to the Normal, Heroic, and Legendary difficulties, including Against All Odds, which requires completing the campaign on Legendary difficulty.

For players who enjoy completing games, there is plenty to do beyond the first playthrough, and several achievements directly complement the mechanics that make the gameplay interesting, such as the skill trees, exploration, and management of the different characters.

TRAILER OFFICIAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7BTKU4oDcE&pp=ygVDdHJhaWxlciBUaGUgTG9yZCBvZiB0aGUgUmluZ3M6IFdhciBpbiB0aGUgTm9ydGjihKIgLSBMZWdhY3kgRWRpdGlvbg%3D%3D

FINAL THOUGHTS

The problems are difficult to ignore, especially when the game forces players to travel long distances again because an area remained locked or because certain enemies simply failed to appear. The AI of the allied characters could also be better, and their oversized presence area gets in the way of movement at times. Potions are almost useless since it is easier to die and be revived, while certain enemies have so much health that encounters that should be intense turn into prolonged battles. These problems did not ruin my experience, but they are exactly the areas where this version could have gone further than simply preserving the game.

Still, the further I progressed, the easier it became to understand why War in the North found an audience at the time. The combat is heavy, the three classes have genuine differences, the skill trees have practical value, and the ability to switch between Farin, Andriel, and Eradan adds an interesting layer to the campaign. Exploration also rewards players who pay attention, whether by finding hidden chests, revealing secrets with Andriel, or using each character's unique abilities. Even Beleram, the Great Eagle, works as a powerful combat tool, allowing him to be summoned for aerial attacks against specific enemies.

That is why I think it is unfair to describe War in the North as simply a bad game that somehow turns around and becomes good. It is a good game that ended up in a difficult position, surrounded by releases with similar mechanics. For anyone missing a new The Lord of the Rings game, especially after Shadow of War, this new opportunity to experience the adventure of Eradan, Farin, and Andriel makes a lot of sense. There are imperfections, moments where its age is clearly visible, and decisions I would change without hesitation, but there is also an enjoyable, challenging action RPG here with plenty of systems that still work very well.

SCORE: 7.8/10

 Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ