The plot of Lord of the Rings: War in the North takes place within the time frame of the events experienced in J.R.R. Tolkien's books as well as the series of films from Peter Jackson. While the adventure in this game intertwines with that of Frodo and the Fellowship, it primarily takes place in other areas of Middle Earth map. The player's character and two companions (which can be either computer controlled or co-op controlled with two friends) serve to support Frodo's grand quest by battling Sauron's General and his minions in the north.
The three canonical character types are available to play, Eradan the human male ranger, Andriel the elf female mage, and Farin the dwarf male warrior. One of the three predefined characters is selected at the start of the game. There is no character creation, but within the game is an option to tweak the look by using mirrors in certain locations. Also at certain locations it is possible to switch to one of the other two characters to control or simply continuing on as the character that was started with.
The events are entirely linear, with the path set out before you with obvious goals and quests. It is not an open world game that can be freely explored and where given quests can be ignored. The game is segmented into areas that are accessed by clicking on the place name on the map screen. Many of them have central hubs for resting, trading, shopping and acquiring new quests.
The gameplay largely revolves around fighting creatures. Each area is filled with orcs, goblins, spiders, trolls, and other minions of Sauron. Melee fighting is handled with a combination of standard hits and special moves. It is also possible to block and dodge (rolling). Range fighting is handled in the same way. The two companions use their own set of skills to assist in the battle and can be instructed by the player in the solo mode.
Characters can be upgraded with new abilities through the game and there are often conversations with different options, but with no moral ramifications. Each character class has unique abilities such as mining gems and destroying walls for the dwarf for instance.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North was released on Xbox 360 on November 1st, 2011. The game falls under the genres of Action & Adventure.