The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

War in the North is a classic video game full of total awesomeness. I've heard the game is glitchy, but playing on my Xbox 360, I haven't experienced anything too game stopping.

The characters are awesome, and the fighting system is so addicting. The world is cool, and while it isn't so sandbox as, say, Skyrim, it's kinda a refreshing game to play, focused and easy to follow.

The locations are super fun to explore, and many of the adversaries are fun to combat. As you play this game, you'll find yourself creating ties to some of Middle earth's most legendary heroes, and exploring some of Middle earth's most awesome locations.

I love this game and return often!

This game had a lot of issues with glitches that went unresolved. My theory is that this game suffered severely in sales due to its close release to the gargantuan entry into the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim. And when their sales went straight into the commode, they decided that instead of fixing all those glitches, they'd simple move on and act as if they didn't exist.

But I'm still giving this a nine, so what gives? Well, I guess I got lucky. I only ever experienced one major glitch in the game and I was able to be pulled from its depths with the help of a friend. Honestly, I loved this game. The three-player online co-op was a blast, the combat was fluid and engaging, and all the environments, while feeling somewhat on rails, were a blast to explore.

I love this game and I wish they hadn't been so foolish in their release plans. I have no doubts that they had high hopes for this game. I'm sure they'd begun working on story DLCs that we're dumped and will never be seen. It's a shame. When this game works properly, it is so, so fun.

A lot of people have been commenting on how buggy this game is. Sadly, I was not spared the glitches. I was just about the play the final chapter of the game when I got stuck between two checkpoints in Norinbad, and unable to advance any further. Very angry about this.

The game itself tells a story not detailed by either Tolkien or CGI-obsessed nutcase Peter Jackson, but does take place in the latter's expansive LOTR universe. It looks, plays, and feels a lot like a Dungeon Siege game, and for anyone disappointed with the lame Dungeon Siege 3 then War in the North would have been a perfect remedy had it not sabotaged my ability to actually finish it. Besides this particular bug I found the characters, movement and collision detection to be very clunky. You will often move so slowly that you won't be able to help getting massacred by orcs and trolls. Even if you want to run away from said battle and give yourself more room - forget it! The creatures and characters on-screen somehow take up more space than they should and there is an invisible bubble around them which you cannot pass through. Very frustrating indeed.

The game is liberal with trophies, and I was going for the Platinum before my progression was put to a premature end. I unlocked 59% in total. Only one of them is for online play, and it's a bit of a tricky one too. It should not have been there.

I'd like to recommend this game, but since it will likely prevent you from enjoying it due to the bugs (in a different way from me, no doubt) I can't.

Graphics B Sound A- Gameplay C+ Lasting Appeal D-