The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Prologue

The game starts with an introduction, narrated by Gandalf. Gandalf explains that heroes like Aragorn, Frodo Baggins and Gandalf are honoured much, but that without a few, not well-known heroes - Eradan, Andriel and Farin - the north of Middle-earth would have been lost.

The game then switches to Bree, where the three heroes make their way to the Prancing Pony, just a few days before Frodo arrives in Bree. Arrived in the Prancing Pony, they find Aragorn in a corner of the inn. They tell Aragorn that the Nazgûl attacked and defeated the Rangers at Sarn Ford, and a flashback shown in which the Witch-king meets a Black Númenórean, Agandaûr. Eradan, Andriel and Farin overhear their conversation: Agandaûr says he has summoned an army of Orcs of the Misty Mountains and assembled an army in Fornost, to aid the Nazgûl in the Hunt of the Ring. The Witch-king sends Agandaûr back to Fornost, so he can attack immediately. The flashback ends, and the game returns to the Prancing Pony

Farin asks Aragorn why the Nazgûl attack the Shire, to which he answers that a Hobbit with an important burden is making his way to Bree. And that this "must be protected at all cost". Aragorn sends Eradan, Andriel and Farin to Fornost, where they have to stop Agandaûr's army before it can attack.

Chapter 1: Fornost

As soon as Eradan, Andriel and Farin enter the ruins of Fornost they are attacked by a band of Orcs and Goblins. After clearing the main gate, they end up in the pits under Fornost. There they hear an animal screaming. After finding their way out of the pits, they find the source of the noise - a giant Eagle. The three heroes unchain the Eagle and kill its jailers. The Eagle introduces himself as Beleram, a servant of Gwaihir who gathered news but was taken out of the air by siege engines and sorcerers. Together the Eagle and the three heroes make a plan: while Beleram would attract the enemy's attention, Eradan, Andriel and Farin would make their way up to the battlements to destroy the siege weapons. The plan works out successfully, as all siege weapons as well as two Orc sorcerers are destroyed. The player, furthermore, obtains a scroll with unreadable text.

When reaching the outer wards of Fornost, the players meet again with Beleram. The eagle thanks his rescuers again and tells them that he saw Elladan and Elrohir within the ruins. While searching for the two Half-elves, they defeat a giant crossbow, used by Orcs, and are trapped by a Troll. Just shortly after the death of the Troll, the sons of Elrond appear.

Andriel introduces Eradan and Farin to Elladan and Elrohir, and informs them about their task. They collaborate in this task, but instead of just stopping the army to attack they decide to kill Agandaûr. The sons of Elrond guide the player to the citadel. They separate, however, after defeating another giant crossbow. Eventually, they are locked on a bridge between two gates. After surviving an ambush, the sons of Elrond appear again and open the gate. After defeating another ambush, they arrive at the gate of the citadel, which is protected by a magic spell to stop intruders. While the sons of Elrond undo the magic, the player defends them against an attacking force of Orcs, Goblins and a Troll. As Eradan, Andriel, Farin, Elrohir and Elladan enter the citadel, Beleram remains outside to protect them against enemy reinforcements.

Inside, they overhear a conversation between Agandaûr and Tharzog, chieftain of the Orcs of Mount Gram. Tharzog tells Agandaûr that there are intruders in Fornost, after which Agandaûr angrily commands him to find and kill them immediately. After Agandaûr leaves, the player and the sons of Elrond go onward in the tower. Tharzog, however, notices them and as a gate is closed, the player is cut off from the sons of Elrond. Tharzog and his guard attack Eradan, Andriel and Farin, but are defeated and killed.

At the same time, Elladan and Elrohir fight Agandaûr on the top of the Citadel tower. Agandaûr is no match for the twins alone, but when Eradan, Andriel and Farin join them he flees on the back of a Fell beast. Beleram attempts to chase him, but Agandaûr summons a thunderstorm and escapes.

Beleram returns to Gwaihir, in the Misty Mountains, to inform him about the events in Fornost, Elladan and Elrohir return to Rivendell and Eradan, Andriel and Farin go back to Sarn's Ford to inform Halbarad.

Chapter 2: The Barrow Downs

The leader of the camp, Halbarad, sends the party to Rivendell, to report on the events at Fornost to Aragorn. As they are to travel through the Barrow Downs, Halbarad asks them to keep an eye out for two rangers, Luin and Kilaran, who went missing in the area. Traversing the Barrow Downs, Eradan, Andriel and Farin encounter many wights as they fight their way through the tombs, following ranger clues into Amon Gorthad, the Great Barrow. There, they find Kilaran ensnared in nightmares. Luin has fallen to a great wight, controlling him, and they must defeat him to make their way out and finally head to Rivendell. The fellowship travels through the Barrow Downs, where they have to find two lost rangers.

Chapter 3: Ettenmoors

In Rivendell the fellowship meets several members of the Council of Elrond, scout the land around Rivendell, and fight Orcs with Elladan and Elrohir.

Chapter 4: Gundabad

Whilst the Fellowship of the Ring travels towards Mordor to destroy the One Ring, Sauron has sent one of his most cruel servants, the Black Númenórean Agandaûr, to the North to destroy Rivendell and defeat the Free peoples of Eriador and Rhovanion. Eradan, Andriel and Farin travel to Gundabad to discover the strength of Agandaûr's army.

Chapter 5: Mirkwood

Eradan, Andriel and Farin travel with Beleram to Mirkwood in search of Radagast. In the air they’re attacked by Wolfram, a sorcerer and a Fell Beast rider, after which they fall from the Eagle’s back. After slaying Wolfram, Wolfram’s Fell Beast tries to escape but is killed by Beleram. Andriel leads the others deeper into Mirkwood. They are ambushed by a group of Orcs and an Orc shaman. Eventually the fellowship enter a cave where they defeat a Cave-troll.

Commentators have noted that this is the first iteration of The Lord of the Rings-based games which is aimed at an older audience - predicted to be the first game in the series to be given an M-rating - with the inclusion of graphic violence and gory bloody detail with players being able to decapitate orcs and slash limbs off enemies. When defeating enemies you can gain experience and loot. With experience you can gain new skills; there are twenty skills for each race. Every skill has five different ranks. Loot can also be found in chests. Some items can only be used by a certain race, therefore it is possible to trade with the other characters of your fellowship. The gameplay - in both single and multiplayer modes - revolves around strategically combining the different abilities of the threesome to good effect, for instance, the dwarf can find treasure and spot weaknesses in structures, which lead to alternate roads, whereas the elf can find herbs to heal other party members. When in single-player, the other two characters will be controlled by computer AI. Working together with the other characters of your fellowship is very important to defeat stronger enemies.

It is possible to co-op (cooperative mode) both local and online; players can join the game at every moment. While the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 support split-screen, online split-screen and online multiplayer, the PC only includes online multiplayer.

The game will not be open world, nevertheless, some areas will be more open than others. It is still unknown if it is possible to return to earlier locations. There will be several NPC's (Non-playable characters) in the game, some of them will have a more passive role while others fight beside you. Like many RPGs, the dialogue system is very important, and affects the game's storyline.

If you are in need of help you can call the eagle Beleram, who can help you to defeat bigger or stronger enemies. Calling him is limited in the beginning, but while leveling you can find items which make it possible to call him. It is impossible to call Beleram underground or in buildings and there is a cool down for using him.

Playable Characters

• Eradan: Eradan is a Dúnadan and one of the Rangers that accompanied Aragorn as the Grey Company. He is very good at tracking enemies and fights with a sword and a bow. He can move undetected behind enemies with his skill evasion.
• Andriel: Andriel is an Elf of Rivendell and was sent by Elrond to investigate Sauron's armies that were gathering in Eriador and Rhovanion. One of her abilities can create a shield that protects her and the other characters of the fellowship against ranged attacks. She can use her staff as both a melee and a ranged weapon.
• Farin: Farin is a dwarf of Erebor that has travelled to Eriador to repay his debt to Bilbo Baggins. He can be used as a tank and his strength is in battle with enemies in close quarters. His main weapon is an axe, but he uses a cross-bow as his ranged weapon.

Non-Playable Characters

• Aragorn
• Beleram
• Elrond
• Elladan and Elrohir
• Halbarad
• Radagast
• Gandalf
• Barliman Butterbur
• Witch-king

Cast

• Ettenmoors
• Mirkwood
• Rivendell
• Carn Dûm
• Sarn Ford
• Gundabad
• Barrow Downs
• Bree
• Fornost
• Nordinbad
• Osgiliath
• Lórien

Development on War in the North started in early 2010 or late 2009, Saul Zaentz Company claimed the name The Lord of the Rings: War in the North in June 2009. However, the game was not officially announced until 18 March 2010. Since its announcement several images, traillers and concept art of several locations and characters has been released.

Continuity issues

War in the North is considered to be a tie-in to Peter Jackson's film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. But since this game was developed before the film adaptations of The Hobbit entered production, War in the North features minor continuity errors in relation to those movies.

Elrond summarizes the War of the Dwarves and Orcs as it is described in the novel; with Azog perishing during the Battle of Azanulbizar at the hands of Dain Ironfoot. However, in the movies, Azog survives that battle, but was killed many years later by Thorin Oakenshield at the Battle of Five Armies.

The winged fire-drake Úrgost is depicted as having four legs and a separate pair of wings, as with most traditional depictions of Western dragons. This contradicts the movies' portrayal of Smaug, who is depicted in The Hobbit film trilogy as having wings attached to his forelegs like a wyvern (though Smaug was originally intended to have separate wings as well, as shown in the theatrical cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey).

_gP-_r27n9Y

Since the first announcement in March 2010, Warner Bros. has periodically released trailers demonstrating various aspects of the gameplay and revealing the characters and locations. All video links are to YouTube, and times are in minutes:

<table class="TGtable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 auto;"><tr><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Video</td><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Length</td><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Release Date</td><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Description</td></tr>

Unite Your Fellowship1:0317 March 2010Teaser trailer; short clips of action and trolls

Combat Vignette:0310 June 2010

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Fellowship Trailer:3412 August 2010Expanded version of teaser trailer

WITN - Love of Middle-earth:22c. September 2010Coverage of Penny Arcade Expo 2010 exhibit

Untold Story1:2217 November 2010Outline of plot with various shots of locations

Snowblind Tolkien Toast 20111:223 January 2011No gameplay; Snowblind's birthday toast

The Black Númenórean1:591 February 2011Exploration of Agandaûr, the game's antagonist

Behind the Scenes: The Untold Story2:3817 February 2011Outline of the several locations of the game

Brutal Combat Trailer1:359 March 2011Coverage of The War in the North's combat gameplay

Pax East Hands-On0:5216 March 2011Coverage of Penny Arcade Expo 2011 exhibit

Blood and Steel: The Combat of War in the North2:3331 March 2011Exploration of game's combat and Middle-earth's darker side

Combat Vignette0:4413 April 2011Gameplay vignette covering the different combat styles

Gameplay Video: Mount Gundabad2:285 May 2011Exploration of the gameplay in Gundabad

Snowblind Studio Tour2:4211 May 2011No gameplay; A guide through Snowblind's studio

<td>Dev Video: Art Direction Process2:0911 May 2011Coverage of art, including concept art of several locations

Prepare for War: Weapon Development2:0112 May 2011Coverage of weapons

Heroes will Rise1:361 June 2011Teaser trailer

Beleram Gameplay Trailer0:4822 June 2011Exploration of Beleram, one of the games’ main characters

Behind the Scenes with new heroes2:1424 June 2011Coverage of some of the several characters

E3 Walkthrough2:341 July 2011Walkthrough of the game at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Movie Touchpoints Trailer2:047 July 2011Game trailers; uses fragments from The Lord of the Rings (film series)

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Fellowship Trailer2:0020 July 2011Teaser trailer

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Champions TrailerAugust 2011Interactive trailer

I Love The Lord of the Rings: Dev Video with Jason Olander2:348 September 2011A dev video with Jason Olander, who tells about his love for The Lord of the Rings and how it applies at his work

Power of Three1:3523 September 2011Cinematic trailer focussing on the main characters: Eradan, Andriel and Farin

Behind the Scenes - Power of Three2:3429 September 2011Focusses on the three main characters, Eradan, Andriel and Farin. Also covers co-up and introduces Challenge mode for the first time

Eradan Character Vignete1:4818 OctoberTrailer totally dedicated to Eradan, the Dúnadan/Human character

Farin Character Vignete1:4821 October 2011Trailer totally dedicated to Farin, the Dwarf character

Andriel Character Vignete1:4821 October 2011Trailer totally dedicated to Andriel, the Elf character

Fight Together or Die Alone! The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Official Launch Trailer1:1228 October 2012Final teaser trailer, featuring many characters and locations of the game

<tr>LOTR WITN - G4 Exclusive - Slay the Orcs2:553 November 2011<td>Review of X-play, includes interviews with actors of The Lord of the Rings films</td></tr>

<tr>WITN - Love of Middle-earth5:134 November 2011<td>Interviews with actors and scholars about War in the North, The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth</td></tr>

<tr>WITN - Slay the Orcs5:124 November 2011<td>Interviews with actors and scholars about War in the North, The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth</td></tr>

<tr>WITN - The Legend of the Rings5:274 November 2011<td>Interviews with actors and scholars about War in the North, The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth</td></tr>

<tr>The New Fellowship5:294 November 2011<td>Interviews with actors and scholars about War in the North, The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth</td></tr>

Combat Tactics: Dodging Tharzog - The Lord of the Rings: War in the North1:1829 November 2011Video expaining how to use "Dodging" to defeat Tharzog in Chapter 1: Fornost

<tr>Combat Tactics: Siege of Nordinbad - The Lord of the Rings: War in the North1:218 December 2011<td>Video expaining how to defend the gate in Siege of Nordinbad</td></tr>

<tr>Combat Tactics -- Sanctuary at Barrow-downs1:5019 December 2011Video expaining how to use Andriel's "Sanctuary" skill to complete Chapter 2: Barrow Downs</td></tr>

Combat Tactics -- Evasion at Mirkwood1:5023 January 2012Video expaining how to use Eradan's "Evasion" skill to complete Chapter 5: Mirkwood

</table>

<center>===Wallpapers and Concept Art of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.===

</center>

The first release date of War in the North was 1 November 2011 in North America and the release date in the United Kingdom was 25 November 2011. All release dates are in 2011.

<table class="TGtable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 auto;"><tr><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Region</td><td style="background: #F2E6CE;">Release date</td></tr>

North America1 November
Africa4 November
Middle East4 November
Low Countries4 November
Ireland4 November
Southern Europe (except Spain)4 November
Eastern Europe (except Russia)4 November
South America (except Brazil)4 November
Northern Europe8 November
Germany9 November
Russia9 November
France10 November
Spain11 November
Australia and New Zealand16 November
Brazil17 November
United Kingdom25 November
Asia (except Middle East and Russia)Unknown

</table>

Collector's Edition

Besides the normal version of the game, a collector's edition will be released. This collector's edition will include an artbook, a behind-the-scenes music DVD, a quiver case as well as access to digital gubbins: icons, avatars and themes. Some retailers give extra add-ons. Both the collector's Edition and the special add-ons will be available in North-America and Europe; it is still unknown if it will be available in other parts of the world.

Commentators immediately picked up on Snowblind Studios' experience with role-playing games (such as Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest) along with frequent mentions of the more "mature" and "brutal" design of the game, and the desire for an action RPG in the manner of previous Snowblind games.

1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 30/05/2026.