Much has changed since AcidRounds first reviewed games for nine people several years ago. He got married, and his wonderful wife loves games, too. The only problem now is finding quality "couch-co-op" (local multiplayer/two-player) games!
But "Lord of the Rings: War in the North" is one of those PRECIOUS few titles (see what I did there?) that provides satisfying, Tolkien-lore combat in a linear-style RPG progression format.
Play as the roguish Dunedain Ranger, the mighty dwarf warrior, or the magic-casting she-elf. Take on the swarming troops and big brutes of Mordor directly as your quest shapes you and your companions into a small but powerful force capable of leading the bulk of Sauron's forces away from Frodo and the rest of The Fellowship of The Ring. Meet nearly every character depicted in the movies at some point.
Combat's pretty straightforward: the pointy end goes in the bad guys. Hack and slash with a few ranged abilities and special abilities for each character to upgrade when you level up. This does allow you to specialize your character a bit more, choosing to plunk more points into ranged attacks over higher health, or better damage output with swords instead of expertise with shields. This is crucial as you progress with a buddy and balance your combat styles. If you like to mostly stay put and cut your enemies down only when they get close enough, your friend can play the sniper with arrows or ranged magic attacks. Build "aggression" by successfully attacking your foes, which makes you more likely to draw attacks from enemies, but also fuels your power attacks.
You can customize the appearance of your character, both by choosing some presets for faces and hairstyles, and by equipping different armors/armor pieces (with different armor values and specific bonuses).
The CONS: nothing major, but the shouts from each character get quite repetitive. The dwarf in particular tends to get somewhat irritating because he yells all. the. time.
Also, the game suffers a bit just from trying to reproduce the voices of actors like Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, and Viggo Mortensen. It's not altogether bad, but for hardcore movie fans, it's probably distracting ("That doesn't sound like Aragorn at all!"). If you require sophisticated plot twists and subtleties in character to immerse yourself in a video game's story line, you probably won't get much out of LOTR: WITN. At its heart, it's a good excuse to fight orcs and Uruk-hai, and it doesn't aim much higher. If you're cool with that, then LET'S HUNT SOME ORC!
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2017
Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2016
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Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013
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Top reviews from other countries
Travis Ross
great team play
Reviewed in Canada on July 2, 2018Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
T. MacRae
Better than expected!
Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2013Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
TJ
Great co-op game
Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2018Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
Jenna Mosher
Game is my favourite, thanks for having it!!
Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2020Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
J Anthony Dixon
I love this game
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2014Size: 1 PackVerified Purchase
