The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

 PlayStation 3
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63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 130 Ratings

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  • Summary: In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, players can become the heroes in the great battle of the North as part of the epic War of the Ring. Exploring unseen lands, story elements and characters from Middle-earth as well as elements familiar from past feature films, gamers will experienceIn The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, players can become the heroes in the great battle of the North as part of the epic War of the Ring. Exploring unseen lands, story elements and characters from Middle-earth as well as elements familiar from past feature films, gamers will experience extensive character customization and development, expansive co-op gameplay options and upgradeable weapons, skills and special abilities.… Expand
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The Lord of the Rings: War in the North: Council of the North Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 33
  3. Negative: 4 out of 33
  1. Gamer.no
    Nov 7, 2011
    90
    This game hits the mark on all fronts. Through the beautiful visual presentation comes a bloody and engaging world filled with myriad battles and a relentless chase for skills and loot that sucks you in and makes you stay.
  2. Official PlayStation Magazine Benelux
    Jan 2, 2012
    76
    A heartwarming story is what we miss the most. You get the feeling you are doing the dirty work for the real Fellowship. While they are making history in the south of Middle-earth, you need to cause some diversion in the north. [December 2011, p.93]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. PlayStation Universe
    Nov 2, 2011
    75
    An enjoyable action-RPG with solid Middle Earth inspiration, Lord of the Rings: War in the North is best played with others and its flaws aren't enough to ruin the experience.
  4. Vandal
    Nov 22, 2011
    65
    Although the story is original and its combat and roleplaying gameplay is a good idea, there are things that doesn't work well. Roleplaying elements are well-made, but they are not that important, and combat lacks depth, and the enemy AI is limited. An average game that won't make history.
  5. Eurogamer Spain
    Nov 24, 2011
    60
    Entertaining for fans of Tolkien's universe, but too repetitive and linear to appeal anyone else.
  6. GameSpot
    Nov 2, 2011
    60
    Too many frustrations interfere with the joys of killing orcs and collecting loot in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
  7. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Nov 14, 2011
    40
    It's a side story within the Lord of the Rings universe presented in the form of a mediocre hack-n-slash RPG. Only the die-hard Lord of the Rings fans need apply here.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 40
  3. Negative: 5 out of 40
  1. Singh
    Dec 3, 2011
    10
    You don't have to play Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance to fully enjoy this game, or watch the Fellowship of the Ring, or even read the Return ofYou don't have to play Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance to fully enjoy this game, or watch the Fellowship of the Ring, or even read the Return of the King. All you have to do is enjoy ripping people apart, why are people pissed? Because of repetitive gameplay in a RPG, well just look at Mario. The thing is, this game is solid, it takes the Dark Alliance Engine back tot he basics of that toolset and redefines everything. Finally giving us a game worthy of using the DA Engine, worthy enough to be on the same tier as Dark Alliance, and worthy enough for people to enjoy a sequel in a different animated world.… Expand
  2. mxnu54
    Oct 17, 2021
    10
    Very underrated, if you are a fan of LOTR then you have to dust off your PS3 and play this. Youll have 12 hours of fun gameplay, it should beVery underrated, if you are a fan of LOTR then you have to dust off your PS3 and play this. Youll have 12 hours of fun gameplay, it should be at least an 85 Score. The whole Eagle story is so nice.… Expand
  4. th0rn
    Dec 10, 2012
    9
    LOTR:WITN is a great action rpg set in the LOTR universe. Think of it as Skyrim if you always fast travelled to the next story quest location,LOTR:WITN is a great action rpg set in the LOTR universe. Think of it as Skyrim if you always fast travelled to the next story quest location, but when you get there the combat is much better, and it's co-op. This game is one of my all time favourites, and would have been an easy 10 if not for some interface annoyances with the inventory and upgrade systems. A definite BUY and a good game to come back to again and again!… Expand
  5. kempo24
    Mar 17, 2021
    7
    Enjoyable for lotr fans. Gameplay very repetitive. Cool story and ok characters. Has game breaking bug.
  6. BaronMonaco
    Jan 20, 2016
    7
    The Lord of The Rings is THE universe of medieval fantasy of reference and yet it still lacks a true RPG of reference to make it count as muchThe Lord of The Rings is THE universe of medieval fantasy of reference and yet it still lacks a true RPG of reference to make it count as much as in the books and movies universe. With War In The North we've got a new attempt to that goal.

    First let me say that contrary to what the marketing division said, this is not really a true RPG, but more an hack'n slash with some customization, but there's almost no side quests and the few that are there are simply not interesting. Every chapter are simple corridors and the battle system limits itself to smashing two buttons and roll away fighting hordes of enemies. This is not a true surprise when you know that the same studio made Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance but that's still deceiving as Warner as always talked about it as a true RPG.
    Now concerning the specifics the game is very easy and you really shouldn't die a lot considering that even if you lose your life your teammates can save you. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to try the coop mode that could have add some fun, some sequence were clearly made for two players, but know than you can play it with a friend. The game offers some nice boss fight, unfortunately the rest of the game is very repetitive and at the end of chapter 1 you already have seen everything the game has to offer.

    Concerning the Lord of The Rings universe is well transcript and fans of the original material should find a lot to like here with a story that occurs in parallel with the movies, it's clearly my favorite part of the game, but once again don't expect a RPG length, it will take you about 12 hours to finish the game ("side quests" included) and yet there's already one filler (chapter 2) in the game.

    The graphics are average and the environments could use more details, the game, as I played it, had no bug and a steady framerate, you're clearly not amazed by the graphics but at least your eyes won't bleed.

    All in all War In the North is another failed attempt to make a game worthy of the movies/books but it is clearly not broken and you can enjoy the 12 hours in this fantastic universe if you're not looking for a challenging and thoughtful experience and still is one of the best Lord of The Rings game. If you're a fan you may buy it, if not it's worth a try for the hack'n slash lovers, but know there are better games in the market.    … Expand
  7. Yojimbo2015
    Jan 11, 2023
    6
    Action RPG that's a little wordy and the combat can be repetitive but visually it's spot on and will please Tolkien fans looking for a bit ofAction RPG that's a little wordy and the combat can be repetitive but visually it's spot on and will please Tolkien fans looking for a bit of solid Middle Earth adventuring.… Expand
  8. outera
    Jul 25, 2013
    0
    A completely broken game, i was unable to finish it because of the mirkwood glitch. (Do a quick google search and you'll know what thatA completely broken game, i was unable to finish it because of the mirkwood glitch. (Do a quick google search and you'll know what that means.) It's quite common and will likely never get fixed as the developer moved on long ago, so do not buy this! Consider yourself warned.… Expand

See all 40 User Reviews

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Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
41
#41 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011