The Lord of the Rings: War in the North hasn’t been getting the press it deserves.  This month’s release list has really overshadowed this hack and slash game action rpg.  I feel like War in the North is getting written off.  IGN gave it a 7, but it’s not a 7 game — it’s better — and they probably just rushed through it.  A 7 on IGN’s “6-10” scale is terrible.  You should listen to people actually playing the game.

This is a hack and slash game like Champions of Norrath and Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance.  In fact, it was made by the same studio. The game takes place during the well-known Lord of the Rings story — starting off slightly before the hobbits reach Bree.  Aragorn is giving the playable characters a mission, which is pretty much to fight some of the northern  human bad guys.  In many ways, you play as a distraction to keep the enemy away from the hobbits.

Characters are all fun and diverse.  The standard ranged, melee, and spell caster are all here.  The skill trees have nice variety, but I wish they were a little more indepth.  I’m glad that there is a lot of equipment and it changes the look of your character instead of just being a game where you put on gear and nothing changes.

War in the North doesn’t have the same perspective as other Snowblind games.  I was expecting more of a top-down view but the camera angle is quite different.  Surprisingly the graphics are great; I say surprisingly because usually graphics are just “okay” in a game like this.

Bottom line is this is a hack and slash action rpg with a really strong emphasis on co-op.  If you’re going to complain about repetitive combat  then you’re probably not a fan of the genre.  War in the North has all of the qualities I want in a hack and slash rpg, and it’s definitely worth buying.  I’m trying to convince Keen to buy a copy.

Gameplay video of me playing after the jump. (more…)