Snowblind Studios has something of a pedigree, even a legacy to them. Their most famous title, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, released back in 2001 for the PlayStation 2 (and later, Xbox and GameCube), was a controversial one. For many fans of the Baldur’s Gate series, it symbolized the birth of a trend towards more action-oriented, console-built games from Interplay and other RPG developers, which would come to a head with the legendarily-bad Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. Despite these notions, Dark Alliance was able to not only end up as one of the most fondly-remembered console action-RPGs ever, it would also set the trends in action-RPGs for years after. Snowblind would later reuse this same formula for Champions of Norrath, an EverQuest-themed action-RPG which went on to receive similar accolades, and Justice League Heroes in 2006.
Now, five years later, Snowblind have brought back their tried and true action-RPG design for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, providing many of the same strengths as previous titles. While their trademark hack-and-slash gameplay is as enjoyable as ever, however, the edge has been dulled somewhat by repetition. As a co-op experience it’s a fun, action-packed outing, but the single-player game takes some compromises as a result of this multiplayer focus. As a full-on Lord of the Rings RPG, however, it comes closer than just about any game before it.
Hacking, Slashing and Conversing for Middle-Earth
Coming into War in the North expecting the usual Snowblind action-RPG, I was rather surprised to discover that it resembles a traditional RPG much more than their dungeon-crawling hack-and-slash legacy would suggest. Though many aspects of the gameplay remain, including a focus on combat, loot progression and character leveling, it’s hard not to notice that War in the North plays much more like Mass Effect 2 and other modern action-RPGs, complete with the same dialogue wheel system that BioWare has made is trademark over the last few years. While the structure of the game is more linear and focused than other RPGs like Mass Effect or even The Witcher 2, with a set path through the various stages, and about 20 side-quests throughout the game, there’s far more here than many players might expect.
War in the North revolves around three fixed player characters: Eradan the Dúnedan Ranger, Andriel the Loremaster of Rivendell, and Farin the Champion of Erebor. Despite the impressive titles, the three characters slide firmly into basic archetypes, with Farin (or “not-Gimli”) as your standard warrior/tank, Andriel (“not-Arwen”) the mage, and Eradan (“not-Aragorn”) a mixed fighter equally skilled with both sword and bow. Each possesses three distinct skill trees which further allow one to customize them, while they all share the same basic Strength, Dexterity, Stamina and Will attributes, which determine melee damage, ranged damage, health, and power (mana). Level-ups are fairly frequent, but not too frequent, coming at a rate of about once per hour of gameplay, and each grants three new attribute points and a skill point; by the end of the game my first time through, my party was closing in on level 22, but as I completed all the side-quests, 18 to 20 should be the average for those who stick to the critical path.
Rather than allowing for significantly different character builds, progression is focused more on specializing the existing characters – it’s possible to turn Eradan into an invisible, sneak-attacking dodger, for instance, but he won’t be out of luck in a straight fight or when using a bow either. In my experience, it was best to avoid min/maxing too much, as a generalist will thrive much better in the varied situations the game offers. Thankfully, characters can effectively be reset both by starting a new game/difficulty level and by purchasing Respec Tokens from stores, so you’ll rarely find yourself in a situation you can’t tackle.
The combat itself is a bit of a departure from previous Snowblind games. Rather than taking a top-down perspective similar to the Diablo series, instead, War in the North plays like a more conventional action game, with a behind-the-back camera and Gears of War-style aiming mode for ranged attacks – if you played Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, you’ll know what to expect. Melee attacks are separated between light and heavy, with heavy attacks typically being less efficient damage-wise and speed-wise, but necessary for breaking an enemy’s guard or staggering them. Ranged attacks are character-specific – for Eradan and Farin, they rely on arrows and bolts, while Andriel can fire magic bolts from her staff, but these have a cooldown period and draw from her power/mana bar. Despite the three character classes and specializations, each of the three are capable in all forms of combat, so don’t be afraid to get the Loremaster’s robes dirty in hand-to-hand fighting.
There isn’t a traditional “light, light, heavy” type of combo system in the game – instead, after doing enough damage to an enemy or knocking one over, a small pointer will appear above it, signaling that you can perform a critical strike. Critical strikes provide more XP and do more damage than standard ones, often killing instantly, but more importantly begin a “Hero Mode” combo chain, which continues until it is broken, either by taking damage or not dealing it quickly enough. Hero Mode increases damage output significantly, can break the guard of weaker enemies, and also puts a multiplier on XP – the longer you can continue fighting without being interrupted, the more XP you’ll earn and damage you’ll do. Hero Mode isn’t necessary to use, and frequently is made difficult to use both due to the use of active skills and the enemies you’ll be facing, but it will speed character growth and it provides a great sense of momentum to the fighting – getting a good streak going in an action-RPG can be satisfying, and reinforcing it through Hero Mode and critical strikes was a great design decision by Snowblind.
A focus on loot is one of Snowblind’s other hallmarks, and War in the North offers up a large variety of weapons and armor to mix and match. Progression in equipment is near-constant throughout the game, but the presence of slotted items (which one can insert Elf-stones into, providing extra stat and damage bonuses), set items, and powerful unique items help to make sure you’ll still hold on to some of your more valuable gear even once it begins to become obsolete. However, certain modifiers, such as elemental damage, are relatively rare to find, which is a bit refreshing compared to Diablo and other loot-heavy games, but means it’s possible to go through the game without ever discovering those modifiers. Aside from the regular loot, which continues to gain in power on higher difficulties to match your over-leveled character, you’ll also find your standard potions for both stat boosts and healing, as well as junk items to sell and crafting ingredients, applicable only to Farin and Andriel.
The big downside of combat (and, summarily, gameplay) in War of the North is sheer repetition. While hacking and slashing is handled well and is a lot of fun, it quickly grows repetitive despite the odd “turret” section. Flinging exploding ballista bolts can only break up interest for so long before it too becomes a bit tired, and although the game provides a decent enemy variety, the basic Orcs, Goblins and Trolls constitute 95% of your opposition, with a handful of bosses thrown in. There are a few additional enemies, such as giant spiders, but there’s just no getting around the fact that the lack of enemy variety and tactics necessary to defeat them can become grating after a while.
The B-Side
Where the combat begins to lose its luster, the story and additional game elements jump in to fill the void, keeping things enjoyable for the duration of the campaign. Though it runs parallel to the events of the Lord of the Rings films and novels, the plot of War in the North makes up a side-story to those events, fixated upon the hunt for Agandaûr, a Black Númenórean who has risen to become Sauron’s “right-hand in the North” during his war campaign against Middle-Earth. Though the plot begins as a simple mission to distract the forces of darkness while Aragorn and the Hobbits escape the Shire, soon it becomes clear that Agandaûr and his huge Orc army serve as a legitimate threat even as the Fellowship makes its way towards Mordor.
Throughout the game, you’ll likely be surprised at just how much dialogue there is. As mentioned above, the game employs a Mass Effect-style dialogue system, with the traditional choice of responses and an “investigate” branch which allows you to ask additional questions. Dialogue, though perhaps lacking some of the character and emotion of other games, fits perfectly into the Lord of the Rings world, with a pleasing lack of anachronisms, many references to myths, history and culture, and internal consistency which some other games lack. Rather than the typical “paragon/neutral/renegade” responses, your options in conversation tend to pertain more to different lines of questioning. The three player characters share most of their dialogue with one another, and there is a lack of real choice and consequence in the story (only a bit of it shows up in some of the side-quests), but generally solid voice acting and the sheer amount of lore and trivia packed in makes the conversations enjoyable.
Story and characters, however, are not especially War in the North‘s strong suit. Although there are all the basics here of a solid adventure, the game is more or less content to let the basic plot points and action drive the story, rather than the characters. There are a few exceptions, including the Great Eagle, Beleram, who serves as a constant ally through the game, as well as some of the characters from the original lore, such as Bilbo Baggins, who is as jolly as ever, but I can’t say anyone left a particularly lasting impression on me. There’s still enough here to satisfy fans who are looking for adventure, but just don’t expect many plot twists, or your choices to make any difference in the story’s outcome.
It’s clear right from the start that the environments in War in the North are the real stars, both richly mired in the Lord of the Rings fiction and quite varied in design, with the various cultures and characteristics of the world coming through strongly. It’s obvious Snowblind devoted a lot of attention to crafting a world that felt genuinely like part of its source material, and where it doesn’t take directly from the already fantastic designs in Peter Jackson’s films, it draws inspiration from them in a way which never feels out of place. Throughout your journey, you’ll make your way through the ancient tombs of the Barrow-downs, the dark, claustrophobic and spider-infested Mirkwood, the jagged cliffs of the Ettenmoors, and more; a slow ascent of the icy Mount Gundabad is especially memorable. Meanwhile, the now-legendary village of Bree, a Ranger camp at Sarn Ford, the Elven paradise Rivendell, and a well-concealed Dwarven city serve as quest hubs in-between the action, each with their own unique visual style and characters.
That said, while War in the North makes efforts to interact with the larger Fellowship story (many characters from the books and films appear, including Bilbo, Frodo, Elrond Halfelven, Radagast the Brown, Gandalf, and others), it’s hard not to feel like the plight of Eradan, Andriel and Farin is playing second-fiddle to the larger events. It’s great to see Snowblind telling its own story, especially a non-canon one which so effortlessly fits into the universe, but the scope of the game suffers as a result of the shorter, more focused tale. When Agandaûr lies defeated, sun rising over the mountaintops, and word of Sauron’s defeat comes simultaneously, it’s hard not to feel as if the game’s events have been made rather irrelevant.
A Fellowship of Our Own
The big selling point of War in the North is its heavy focus on co-op play. Right from the main menu, things resemble a lobby system more than anything, with a character selection screen and quick access to multiplayer displayed prominently, while management of save games and other characters is pushed far into the background. War in the North supports matchmaking, but also allows you to play with friends as well as browse existing games – console versions also support split-screen, though this seems absent from the PC version. Due to the nature of the game balance as well as the narrative, co-op games are limited to three players, one for each party member, with no doubles allowed.
Though co-op play works great, the single-player mode has taken some strange compromises as a result. While it’s customary for RPGs to allow full party control, War in the North requires that you change character either upon first starting or after every level, rather than during gameplay. This lack of control also extends to customization of AI companions – namely, there is none. While you’ll be able to change your appearance, equipment and level up as you see fit for your own character, computer-controlled party members handle themselves, right down to finding their own loot in chests and from slain enemies. It’s very clear they were intended as stand-ins for human players, rather than traditional RPG party members.
This is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s great for the game to so effectively handle AI companions, and players who don’t want to micro-manage will find that they get along just fine on their own, while also providing sufficient support most of the time. On the other, there’s no customization at all, even through manually controlling and leveling each one of them, as they’ll simply override your decisions – if you think you can give Farin a sweet item set, be prepared to see him swap out and throw those other valuable items away when the mood strikes him. This applies to previously-controlled characters as well – if you spend 15 hours customizing Eradan, then play as Andriel for a single stage, chances are your version of Andriel will have changed significantly when you go back to him. There’s also no way to interact with your companions’ inventories, save for giving them items to use; once you hand something over, you won’t be getting it back.
This is one of the more divisive aspects of War in the North, and might turn off some players who aren’t interested in multiplayer. Traditionally, RPG fans have derived much of their enjoyment from being able to tinker with stats, skills and equipment to get their ideal builds for both individual characters and parties. A lot of the “optimizing” that made Snowblind’s previous games fun is minimized due to this choice. I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker, especially for players who just want to enjoy the story and play through once or twice at most, but it does cut out much of the depth that hardcore fans crave. Personally, I would have been much more content with all the auto-management if it was an option, rather than mandatory. Hopefully Snowblind will release a patch or some DLC to address this decision down the road.
A World of Beauty
As War in the North‘s story is more an excuse for sending you off to new areas of Middle-Earth, it’s only fitting that those environments be the most striking visual aspect of the game. The Lord of the Rings films have some of the most stunning visual design in the fantasy genre, and it comes through excellently in War in the North. Whether it’s the green trees and spiraling Elven architecture of Rivendell, or the towering cliffs and ancient stone-carved dwellings of the Grey Mountains, chances are you’ll find yourself impressed at some of the backdrops. That said, considering the game’s heavy combat focus, most of these boil down to corridors with occasional branching paths, but that rarely gets in the way of how pretty they are.
Beyond the environments, character models and animation are a bit more of a mixed bag. The three protagonists look great, as does all their armor and weaponry, with some excellent designs inspired by or straight out of the films, but secondary characters and some enemies occasionally suffer from lower-resolution textures and less-detailed models. Moreover, the likenesses for the film’s characters are a mixed bag, ranging from “passable”, to “what happened to your face?!” There’s some brutal decapitations and lots of blood-splattering to be had (without becoming excessive, unlike Dragon Age II), and combat overall looks and feels like it’s got a lot of weight behind it, but clipping issues and some occasionally wonky animation can also give War in the North a less-than-polished feeling at times.
Sound design is another one of those things that War in the North does well, but like the visuals, mostly by sticking to the films. The musical score uses a lot of the film soundtrack, but also contains some new works by veteran composer Inon Zur that blend in nicely. Much of the action and many cinematic sequences are also well-choreographed with the soundtrack, providing a movie-like quality to the proceedings. However, most of the time, the music forms the undercurrent for the tone and mood of the game, rather than standing out; it gets the job done well, but you won’t find yourself humming any of the melodies when the game’s switched off.
Sound effects and voice acting are another story. Though the quality of the effects is great, especially in the thick of battle, there are some occasional audio balance issues that can see some sounds coming out surprisingly muted, and sometimes the reverb and other audio effects can become a little bit excessive. Voice acting, meanwhile, is pretty good on average, but just as their faces, the sound-alikes for the film’s characters can be very inconsistent – Elrond in particular sounding almost nothing like Hugo Weaving’s performance in the films. Most non-film characters are fine, the sole exception being the Ranger; despite a performance by the almost comically omnipresent and usually quite emotive Nolan North, his voice work in dialogue sequences is painfully dry and stilted.
Finally, it’s worth bringing a few technical points to light. The PC version of the game is a Steamworks title, and as such is invariably tied to Steam no matter where you buy it. A host of Steamworks-standard features, including achievements and Steam Cloud saving are present, which is quite welcome, but as some people aren’t Steam fans, it’s worth bringing up. For what it’s worth, I encountered no Steam-related issues while playing. Elsewhere, however, fans have reported bugs related to the save system, crashes, stuttering, and inventory items disappearing. The game ran very smoothly under Windows 7 on my Intel Core i7-920 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470, but I encountered another strange issue in that certain graphics options, such as depth of field, motion blur, and ambient occlusion, apparently had no effect when switched on – whether this is the game at fault or NVIDIA’s video drivers, I can’t be sure at this point. Hopefully these issues will be identified and patched by Snowblind in the coming weeks.
Conclusion
It would have been easy for Warner Bros. to push out a quick-and-dirty product in a year’s time and call it a day. Considering how common it is, and how many tragic stories of developers forced to rush out licensed games in half-finished states there are, it’s easy to have reservations about such a title – even one with the Lord of the Rings name behind it. Instead, Snowblind has crafted one of the better Lord of the Rings games to date, and, not counting The Lord of the Rings Online, the franchise’s best RPG to boot. With two-and-a-half years in development, the attention to detail and care comes through, and Lord of the Rings fans and RPG fans alike should find something to enjoy in the end, so long as the repetition in combat doesn’t wear too heavily.
On the whole, The Lord of the Rings: War of the North is a solid action-RPG that provides a good amount of gameplay for the money, and also is one of the few RPGs out there to really handle multiplayer co-op in a way that feels integral to the experience, rather than tacked-on. While it may not have the staying power and replayability of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, or the sheer size and scope a “pure” Lord of the Rings RPG might, War in the North demonstrates that Snowblind Studios are able to branch out beyond their comfort zone, while still delivering an entertaining experience.
