Snowblind Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: War in the North portrays events that occurred concurrently with the storyline in the novel and film trilogy — only in a region never depicted in any great detail. With Sauron and Saruman focusing on the human kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan, Sauron sends one of his lieutenants, Agandaur, to lead an army and attack their enemies in the northern regions — with the goal of laying siege to the elven city of Rivendell.
In the brief demo I play, we land on a snowy mountaintop (dropped off by some giant talking eagles) and make our way to Gundabad, a dwarf city now overrun by orcs. Although our party is supposed to be on some kind of reconnaissance mission, the fighting starts rather quickly, and it’s immediately apparent that Snowblind Studios is going for an M-rating. Swords and axes will now sever limbs, arrows will protrude from bodies upon impact, and blood will flow freely from open wounds. “It captures the realism and the brutality of the war as Tolkien and the movies depict it,” states WB Games design director Michael De Plater. Combat has also moved from the simplistic “hack-and-slash” style of gameplay found in previous Lord of the Rings games to one based on combos and dodging incoming attacks.
