Review by: Connor Cleary

Are you itching to hear every single line of dialog this game has to offer? Are you going to "squee" at the chance to chat with Bilbo Baggins and run around in Rivendell? Then this might be the game for you, even more so if you have a friend or two that feel the same way. Here's the thing: War in the North can't really stand on its gameplay alone, it relies heavily on the players being serious LOTR fans. If this was 'Generic Fantasy Title: War in the North' it would probably be dead in the water. Don't misunderstand though, this isn't some lazy cash-in on a franchise, it is a Lord of the Rings game through and through.

I have coined what I believe to be a new term to accurate convey what this game is: "Lore Porn" (don't Google it). The writing team clearly did their homework and if, like me, you're a bit LOTR-obsessive you'll love the absurd amount of lore jammed into this title. There is a ton of content to absorb if you're so inclined, but if you're not then you can probably pass on this game altogether. For fanfolk, being able to do things like fight wights in the Barrow-Downs and creep through Mirkwood almost makes up for the mediocre gameplay.

An emphasis on co-op can add a lot to a game, and it's fitting that a LOTR game should do this, unfortunately in this case the single-player experience suffers for that emphasis. An important word of caution if you take on a co-op campaign: make sure everyone agrees ahead of time whether they want to explore every dialog option or just skip through to the next fight. Every player has to watch every conversation with an NPC, so a lack of consensus on this point could lead to some very irritated allies.

Speaking of allies, when playing a single-player campaign you have no control over your NPC allies' equipment or skill allocations, and their AI is quite poor--don't get me started on pathfinding. Swapping between characters is a chore, and despite having a persistent inventory it feels more like switching between three separate, parallel dimensions and less like switching roles in one consistent world. Example: Let's say you're playing as the Dwarf; you deck him out with certain equipment and skills, and customize his appearance. When you switch to play as the Ranger, suddenly the Dwarf will have a completely different set of equipment and skills; this is both confusing and annoying.

The combat is very brawler-esque with a variety of activated-skills unique to each character. It is fun for a while (especially dismembering orcs and goblins) but becomes repetitive. Leveling and skill systems blend mechanics of Baldur's Gate and Borderlands, including purchasable re-spec tokens.

Randomly-generated loot/equipment mechanics are reminiscent of the Diablo series, including named sets of armor that grant bonuses for wearing more pieces of the set, and gems that you can slot into weapons and armor. Equipment also changes your character's physical appearance, which is always a nice touch. But wait, what if you need to sell off some of that vendor-trash, or get repairs? No problem! Inexplicable (and unexplained) beams of white light are scattered throughout the levels, they give you a chance to go back to town but also act as merchants for some reason.