Hey gang, Valkor here. Back in 2011, I reviewed a game from WB Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) called The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Before that review, I was able to give it a run at E3 2011. And it was at that moment that I fell in love with the game. However, when my copy arrived at the Val-Cave and after playing it for several hours, the love I had quickly faded. It wasn't terrible. But it has one feature that, on paper, sounded awesome, but when executed, left me majorly disappointed.
Fifteen years later, War in the North is back in the Val-Cave with an enhanced version known as the Legacy Edition, thanks to the folks at Aspyre. The game comes with a host of new features. But there's only one feature that's worth looking at. And it will either up my score or drop it into new depths.
Before we dive in, here's a link of my original review of War in the North for the PlayStation 3 along with a brief excerpt:
A hack-and-slash action role-playing game, Lord of the Rings: War in the North is set concurrently with the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In either single or multiplayer, you control one of three characters, Farin the Dwarf, Andriel the elf and Eradan the ranger on a quest to the north where you hunt Aganduar, Sauron's lieutenant, who controls an army of Black Riders, Orcs, trolls, and other nasties, whom if not stopped will stand in the path of the fellowship who are on their way to Modor to destroy the ring of power and serious dark times shall befall middle-earth.
If you really want to know how I felt about the game, click the link and scroll down to the Bad section. In short, my biggest gripe with War in the North centers around the game’s best/worst feature - swapping. In the original game, another player would take control of one of the three characters. And if they were, say, the Ranger, they could see tracks and hidden stashes that the other characters couldn't. Now imagine not having a 2nd or 3rd live player involved. To switch characters, you’d have to return to a town, change characters, and then redo the level to find the hidden areas/stashes that only that one character can find.
Praise Aspyre, because the Legacy Edition of War in the North fixes this issue, allowing you to swap characters on the fly. You're also able to see hidden items/areas no matter which character you control! This makes for a smoother gaming experience! And let me tell you, it is smooth! No more wasting time backtracking a level to find much-needed hidden goods. Now I can explore and fight to my heart's content. To Aspyre, for this, I hope that your pillows are always cool on both sides.
However, a new concern arises. And this might have been an issue from the previous version. But I didn't notice because I was all caught up with the swapping thing. Speaking of which, you can swap on the field whenever you need to, plus you can swap when you need to update any character. However, when it comes to buying or selling, you can’t swap. Each character can hold their own stash of currency, weapons, and items. But when you're ready to buy or sell those extra items, you have to take care of one, back out, switch characters, and repeat the process until you're settled with what I need to do. This is where things slow down. And I wonder if a future update can fix this. Sounds familiar? Thankfully, it's not as bad as not being able to swap on the field.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition is available now on all console and PC platforms. It took 15 years to get this one… almost right. But I give praise to Aspyre for making it happen nonetheless. The game, while it still has a few soft spots, is even more fun to play than it was 15 years ago. I recommend checking it out. And out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving War in the North: Legacy Edition a solid 4.
