|
 Let's play Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a 3rd-person, 3 player co-op action RPG, presented by RandomNinja, kalonZombie, and Ape Has Killed Ape. Released by Snowblind Studios in 2011, it's premise is similar to Lord of the Rings: The Third Age in that your groups adventures occur concurrently with those of the Fellowship in the movies, and never intersect except very briefly (Moria in The Third Age, and the intro sequence of this game). It maintains the Staple of action-RPGs in that you can collect new equipment and level up your abilities, but adds in a combat mechanic dubbed "Hero Mode" allowing you to do more damage if you've timed your hits correctly. The three characters all play very differently from one another and have 3 sepearte branches of evolution for them to spend their skillpoints on. All in all, it's an interesting game that is quite fun, albeit repetitive, and plagued by bugs. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoy playing it. Spoiler policy: This is a 5-Year old game, but please try to keep the spoilers tagged if you absolutely have to spoil something. If I've missed any secrets, feel free to pm me as I'm not playing with a guide, only talking to as many people as I can. Episode List  
RandomNinja fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Apr 17, 2016 |
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 16:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:35 |
|
|
Reserved
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 16:56
|
|
|
I've played this game, and while it's fun, it's no Dark Souls. But it'll be nice to watch, my playthrough sorta stopped when I tried one of the challenges I think too early.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 17:24
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:I've played this game, and while it's fun, it's no Dark Souls. But it'll be nice to watch, my playthrough sorta stopped when I tried one of the challenges I think too early. Were you playing Co-Op or solo? Because the AI is absolutely useless. The game is really not designed around playing by yourself. Even the Chapter 1 boss is difficult solo, which I'll probably show off.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 17:32
|
|
|
I'm sensing more Gauntlet than Dark Souls.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 17:33
|
|
|
Bobbin Threadbare posted:I'm sensing more Gauntlet than Dark Souls. Combat mechanics and the inability to gently caress with your allies when they need healing would say otherwise. Also the combat can get pretty punishing. You'll see.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 17:44
|
|
|
RandomNinja posted:Were you playing Co-Op or solo? Because the AI is absolutely useless. The game is really not designed around playing by yourself. Even the Chapter 1 boss is difficult solo, which I'll probably show off. How far is the first chapter boss? I got past the ghost place at least with little problems. My stopping point was with an optional challenge location where I was too low level for it. And I stopped mostly because other games caught my attention.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 17:57
|
|
|
After Fornost, you fight him in the gladiator like stadium. Maybe 2 or 3 more episodes. Before the Barrows Since the next update will be sidequests, is there any part of the Lore that should be talked about first?
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 18:11
|
|
|
Can finally watch the video. How did you decide who gets to be the dwarf? Or did you just go 'it's my LP, I get to be the dwarf' and that was that?
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2016 18:42
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:Can finally watch the video. How did you decide who gets to be the dwarf? Or did you just go 'it's my LP, I get to be the dwarf' and that was that? I wanted to be the Ranger but kalon called dibs first. That's the story of how I became a sword and board dwarf. Exciting innit?
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 00:05
|
|
|
I played this through with a friend way back when. It felt kind of fun but the combat felt lacking in it's responsiveness. There wasn't the snap and impact that we remembered from the older 3rd person LotR games, even if those old games look insanely dated now. And if you're going to have shallow combat with tons of repetitive minions, then it had drat well feel good.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 00:13
|
|
|
Corbeau posted:I played this through with a friend way back when. It felt kind of fun but the combat felt lacking in it's responsiveness. There wasn't the snap and impact that we remembered from the older 3rd person LotR games, even if those old games look insanely dated now. And if you're going to have shallow combat with tons of repetitive minions, then it had drat well feel good. The biggest problem with the combat is the lack of save editor. There are, for the dwarf alone, 6 different viable weapon types, and 3 different builds. However, experience isn't gained fast enough to allow you to experiment with all sorts of different builds, so I plan on showing off some other ones in side videos. The Hero Mode mechanic is visceral, but in an average run it's pretty lacklustre, can't argue there. E: And then there's the armour set bonuses which do neat things but good luck ever unlocking one of them
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 00:18
|
|
|
The combat is also, well... slow. Very slow. With relatively few enemies. And I remember being disappointed in the lack of parries, though it's been a long time since I played. Mostly, this game wants to be a console arena fighter based on LotR, when I wanted it to be something more like an arcade beat-em-up (with associated difficulty). Because that's what the old LotR games were, IMO.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 00:20
|
|
|
Corbeau posted:The combat is also, well... slow. Very slow. With relatively few enemies. And I remember being disappointed in the lack of parries, though it's been a long time since I played. Because of your comment, you've given me an idea. The old PS2 LotR games were fun, and I think the Return of the King game epitomized that fun. So I may end up playing a bit of that to highlight that combat feel. In defense of War in the North, it tries to abide by the more realistic combat flow of the movies, which I think it lives up to fairly well. From the powerful finishers and the dismemberment system, it does have a certain cinematic quality to it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 04:37
|
|
|
RandomNinja posted:I wanted to be the Ranger but kalon called dibs first. That's the story of how I became a sword and board dwarf. Exciting innit? Indeed! Though I only used axes & hammers 'cause dwarfs are too good for swords  As to why Strider doesn't look like movie Aragorn, it's entirely possible they didn't have the rights to use Viggo's image in the game.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 06:01
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:Indeed! Though I only used axes & hammers 'cause dwarfs are too good for swords Except I can't rightly see how that would occur. New Line Cinema is owned by WB, and this game is published by WB. They've used his likeness in all sorts of other media. And they didn't even bother with getting an impersonator either. It's mystifying.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 06:34
|
|
|
Pretty sure halberd is a real character, although I can't remember how it's actually spelled. Your lack of knowledge of the deep and meaningful lore behind this hack & slash game (which mostly seems to involve running around picking up loot?) disgusts me.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 06:53
|
|
|
Maybe they can only use his image for media that depicts events from the actual movies? Or do they use it wherever otherwise? Copyright stuff is really convoluted sometimes. e: the wiki says they are supposed to bear a likeness to their movie selves, I'm just confused now Zanzibar Ham fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Apr 14, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 06:55
|
|
|
I played through this with my brother years back. We used to think of it as a discount something-or-other but I can't remember what. We hadn't played Dark Souls at the time. Maybe Dragon Age?
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 07:58
|
|
|
Halberd was totally a real person. Also, I am pretty sure that the 9 hadn't grouped up in the North yet. 4 or more were in the Shire, asking around. The rest were still in the field trying to cut them off, and fighting Gandalf. And it was Glorfindel, elf lord, at the ford and who gave their horse to Frodo to outrun the 9. Frodo was baller enough stand up to the 9 while stabbed on his own. Glorfindel and Aragon and the halflings followed them and scared the 9 in to the river, which Elrond had raised, and Gandalf just made the waves look like horses. Loretrap fallen for, I guess.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 08:06
|
|
|
HAZAD! HAZAD! For such an average game (it is by no means a bad game for any stretch of the imagination) It did turn me to the berserker play-style. My friends can stand in the back shooting arrows with their dicks in their hands, but I'm severing limbs and reveling in the melee.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 09:15
|
|
|
Drakenel posted:HAZAD! HAZAD! While you take more damage in melee, it's better overall. The threshold for cutting off heads or arms is lower than making them explode at range. And once you sever a limb, the enemy becomes a non-issue. Also it's visceral and cathartic and for some reason kalon still prefers the range RandomNinja fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Apr 15, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2016 18:24
|
|
|
Sidequests Episode 1 With me in this episode is Great Joe, who's currently working on an excellent Dirt Rally thread. RandomNinja fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Apr 16, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2016 18:53
|
|
|
Video is unavailable, apparently. (you're linking to qK3PpRnlbSw instead of qK3PpRnIbSw)
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2016 19:22
|
|
|
chrisoya posted:Video is unavailable, apparently. Fixed, thanks.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2016 22:51
|
|
|
RandomNinja posted:Fixed, thanks. The link is still hosed in the first post.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 10:39
|
|
|
Anyway, Grond had a name because it was huge and because it was named after the giant hammer Melkor used when Fingolfin (the best elf) got sick of his poo poo and called him out.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 10:47
|
|
|
I played a bit of this a couple of months ago- I was struck by how much worse it is than the movie tie-in games that have the same style of gameplay. I think the way the game starts, as you wander around Bree before you get to the action, doesn't help/ Still, I like LotR so I'll be interested to see where this goes, and three player action is always fun.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 11:03
|
|
|
chrisoya posted:Anyway, Grond had a name because it was huge and because it was named after the giant hammer Melkor used when Fingolfin (the best elf) got sick of his poo poo and called him out. it's a loving stick
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 13:22
|
|
|
Great Joe posted:it's a loving stick
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 13:43
|
|
|
hi this is my screwdriver brundžvagr it's named after my great grandfather's screwdriver he used to unclog a toilet in the world trade center at the battle of 9/11
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 13:51
|
|
|
Great Joe posted:hi this is my screwdriver brundþvagr it's named after my great grandfather's screwdriver he used to unclog a toilet in the world trade center at the battle of 9/11 If your screwdriver looks like this, you can name it whatever you want man
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 16:15
|
|
|
Well, the Ranger is voiced by Nolan North. The elf and dwarf sound familiar, but I can't place them. Steve Blum is in this game somewhere, right?
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 16:51
|
|
|
Quiet Python posted:Well, the Ranger is voiced by Nolan North. The elf and dwarf sound familiar, but I can't place them. Steve Blum is in this game somewhere, right? As far as cast list goes it's actually pretty impressive. We've got Laura Bailey and John Cygan as Farin and Andriel respectively, Jennifer Hale is the girl we dealt with in the sidequests video, and Steve Blum shows up later on.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2016 17:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:35 |
|
|
Update on the episode: The original recording had the game crash losing the video recording, so I went through it again and we recorded post commentary over it. Unfortunately, my audio vanished off the face of audacity, and the project is corrupted. So small delay to getting it up, hopefully I'll have it soon.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2016 16:16
|
|