One thing I truly love about gaming is a good shadow drop of a game you didn’t know was being released or even made and it comes as a nice surprise. What I love even more is a shadow drop re-release of a classic game from my childhood which I’ve been longing to play again on modern hardware and not having to dust off my old Xbox 360. And that’s exactly what I got with the surprise release of Lord of The Rings: The War In The North Legacy Edition from Aspyr.
I have to give it to Aspyr, they are really doing a lot for game preservation. We’ve seen this with the countless Star Wars re-releases that they have brought out over the years. But now their sights are on Lord Of The Rings with more games to come (they claim). And the one they start with is a classic and a personal favourite of mine.
Now, there have been quite a fair few Lord of the Rings games from the early to late 2000s. The most notable being the Two Towers and Return of the king on PS2 (please make remakes of these). But there have also been unique ones like Battle for Middle Earth which was a RTS, The Third Age which was a turn based game and then War In The North which delved into the RPG genre.
So 15 years later from its original release how does the new Legacy Edition re-release fair up?
Let’s take a look.
A Unique Lord of the Rings Story
The War In The North tells its own unique story within the tale of the Lord of the Rings. You play either as a Dúnedain ranger, an Elven mage or a Dwarven champion. You start out at the familiar location of the Prancing Pony in the village of Bree, and meet with Aragorn (under the guise of Strider) and are tasked with creating a diversion to distract the orcs at Fornost to allow Aragorn (and the hobbit that carries a great burden aka Frodo) to pass through to Rivendell undetected).
You learn the importance of this mission as Aragorn tells you that 3 days prior the Nazgul (ring wraiths) attacked the Dúnedain defence at Sarn Ford on the way to the shire. You also learn that their leader, the Witch King of Angmar met with an agent of the dark lord Sauron, the black Númenórean called Agandaûr who told him of the mounting of orcs at Fornost.
So with this information the trio make their way to Fornost taking down many Orcs and making alliances with familiar faces along the way.
And by that I mean that you will meet up on your journey throughout middle earth with characters from both the books and the films like Gandalf and Elrond, but also characters that appeared in the books only like Elrond’s sons Elladan and Elrohir for example.
RPG Gameplay and Character Progression
Now this game is an RPG and with that plays differently to other Lord of the Rings games. For one you can upgrade your stats and skills of your playable character (whichever you choose) and their gear. You also have side quests alongside the main quest line. And finally the gear you buy from merchants or find on your travels can be damaged from prolonged use, leading to them needing repair from blacksmiths to get them shiny and new again.
Three Heroes, Three Different Playstyles
Your party consists of three different play styles. You have your ranger which plays as your bog standard soldier and archer. You then have the elven mage that allows you to perform magic during battles and provide a good defence. Finally you have the dwarf who acts like the tank of the group, going in and smashing orcs with his Warhammer.
Single Player and Co-op Improvements
The game offers both a single player experience that is more tightly optimised (will get onto this in a minute) and a co-op experience via split screen (on console) and online play. The differences between this release and the original lies within its core gameplay.
The original (while a single player game) was tailored slightly more towards co-op play meaning that you could only change the gear and upgrade the stats and skills of your character you were playing at any time in the game compared to the other two in your party.
What I mean by this is if you are playing as the ranger you can change your gear and upgrade your skills at any moment, but you would have to wait until you completed a section of the level where you were given the option to upgrade the skills and change the gear of the other members of your party. This made it tedious at times for a singleplayer playthrough.
However this has been changed in the Legacy edition allowing you to maintain the gear and stats of each party member at any given time throughout your playthrough leading to a more tailored single player experience. This comes as a welcomed addition to the game as that was one thing I thought the original was lacking.
Visual and Audio Improvements
Visuals have been improved in places looking more sharp and crisp compared to the original. The comparison of the 360 version to this version side by side shows this with a much more crisp image of the legacy version compared to the outdated and at times slightly blurry 360 version.
Sound ranging from the voice acting, sound effects and music appear unchanged which adds a level of nostalgia and preservation.
Bugs and Technical Performance
And with most re-releases these days it is best to be on the lookout for bugs. However I can safely report I’ve only encountered one bug where the character models mouths (of both the player character and NPC’s) remain open in funny positions after finishing dialogue during conversational scenes. Hopefully this will be fixed with a patch.
Challenging Boss Battles
One thing that I did find slightly disappointing was that the boss battles still remain tedious like in the original. The first boss battle near the ending of the Fornost quest in particular was a pain to complete back in the day and remains that way now.
After about 12 attempts and a lot of running around I finally completed it. While it was a grind I did come to appreciate how challenging the AI enemies are in the game but also how helpful the AI companions are too. No matter how many times I was downed, my companions always tried their damnedest to revive me.
Final Thoughts
So what do I think of this re-release of The Lord of The Rings: The War In The North Legacy Edition?
I think it’s great. It’s so nice to see classics like this back but on modern hardware. Not only does it give a big nostalgia fix for us older gamers, but it also introduces newer gamers to older games where quite frankly more care and attention was given compared to some of these modern releases. And that’s why I like what Aspyr is doing with these ports for game preservation.
The Lord of the Rings: The War in The North Legacy Edition gets a 9/10.
Read more awesome reviews >>here<<.
The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
Review Summary
The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North Legacy Edition Review Summary
The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North Legacy Edition brings back Aspyr’s classic action RPG with improved visuals and more convenient single-player character management. Featuring three playable heroes, co-op gameplay, familiar Middle-earth characters and an original story, it’s a fantastic nostalgic return. Although some boss battles remain frustrating and a minor dialogue animation bug was encountered, this is a welcome re-release that deserves its 9/10 score.
Review Q&A
Is The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North Legacy Edition worth playing?
Absolutely. It’s a fantastic return for fans of the original, offering an enjoyable RPG adventure, familiar Middle-earth characters and improved single-player gameplay.
What type of game is The War in the North Legacy Edition?
It’s an action RPG set within the world of The Lord of the Rings, featuring character progression, equipment upgrades, side quests and combat.
Which characters can you play as in War in the North?
You can choose between three heroes: a Dúnedain Ranger, an Elven Mage and a Dwarven Champion, each offering different combat abilities and playstyles.
Does War in the North Legacy Edition support co-op?
Yes. It supports split-screen co-op on console and online multiplayer, alongside a single-player experience.
What has changed in the Legacy Edition?
One of the biggest improvements is the ability to manage the equipment, stats and skills of all three party members at any time, making single-player progression more convenient.
Have the graphics improved in the Legacy Edition?
Yes. Visuals are sharper and crisper compared to the original Xbox 360 release, although the voice acting, sound effects and music appear unchanged.
Does War in the North Legacy Edition have any problems?
Some boss battles remain frustratingly difficult, and a minor dialogue animation bug caused character models’ mouths to remain open after conversations.
What score does The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North Legacy Edition receive?
The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North Legacy Edition receives 9/10 for its enjoyable RPG gameplay, nostalgic appeal and welcome improvements.
