My review of WITN !

[Marveleg]

Hello dear fans and forumers ,

Today I release my review of the game , which I bought by the end of January . I completed the game twice .


First , the graphics : there are good , perhpas not the best I've seen in the game , but everything is imazingly and incredbly fluid , even when they are dozens of ennemies . Some textures aren't really impressive , even blurry (rocks and floor I think ) . However , the characters , both from movies and the ivented ones , are well modelised and some are the closest counterparts of the movies' heroes (Frodo and Bilbo being the best ) . The landscapes are really beautiful , with stunning vistas ; I just love to watch over the cliff the mountains and slopes of Mount Gundabad , or just look forward in the far lands of the Ettenmoors . Weapons and armours are realistic , pretty well modelised . Finally , the animations are good , with some excellent finish moves .


The soundtrack is one of the most beautiful'made I've listened for a LOTR Game . The fact it doesn't come from the movies is a good thing , and all of the different soundtracks of the game perfectly fit with the environment . My favourites are the Nordinbad and Fornost ones . The combat counds are pretty good too, especially when slicing orcs or severing an head . I also liked the grunts , screams and suffering sounds of the ennemies , it adds a lot to the immersion .


Then , the gameplay is simple and perhpas the most adicctive and surprisingly easy to control . One simple attack and one brutal attack work very well . It's always satisfying to se the efforts of hitting an ennemy and finally finish him of with a brutal attack when the small symbol a bove his head popps out . The skills are varied , I really enjoyed to improve my kick-ass Ranger by updating his ranged attacks with devastating effects . However , I would have liked some combos , it would have given more depth to fights .
The loot is probably the other very stong advantage of the title : I'm just astonished by loads of stuff lmike armours , jewells and weapons that are in the game ! They are a lot more of them thabn in any other RPG I know , and that's merely wonderful ! I like the fact there are more and more good loot when you re-do more levels and just playing in more advanced difficulty . The customizatiobn , for the characters , is a bit too flat hough . There aren't enough variety in the options for changing the appearance of your hero .
The fast travel option is fine , even though a bit frustrating when you can't go away and having to wait for the next checkpoint or end of level .



Finally , the last paragraph is about the story and the lenght of the game . I dound the story interesting , true to the Lore , but I did not feel the Heroes very involved in the Fight against Agandaur . Okay , he's the villain , he must be destroyed ... There's not much clues about him , and except the fact everyone knows he wants to conquer all the North there is not much background behind . I think I can say the smae for the characters . We lack of informations about them , I think it was a bit disappointing to not know more of their own story . Other than that , the main quest is good , and fortunatly , the developpers made an excellent job with the seek and the research of the Lore , best seen in the side quests nad the dialogue with NPCs .
Las but not least ,the campaign is pretty hard in the beginning but I did not encounter any major difficulties for the rest of the playthrough . Nordinbad sieage and maybe Tharzog were the two big obstacles in my very first walkthough . However , the ennemies are more brutal in the other difficulties , though it's not nigh impossible to complete the game in Heroic mode . I completed both of the playthrough in 12 hous for each . It's pretty good for a linear game .
Plus , the multiplayer is really a great value , and having two friends to do it iss really entertaining .


Overall feeback : 7,5/10 .

The game is good , the best for the last six years , rather enjoyable , addictive , with a great soundtrack , a great dtail to the Lore , beautiful graphics and a solid multiplayer behind . I don't mean it's the best Action RPG which has been released , but I like it and it is a good experience for those who want to get themselves in LOTR's world .

[Marveleg]

Nobody wishes to comment ?

[crill]

For my part sorry… I’ve been toggling between Dark Souls and Kingdoms of Amalur trying to figure out both.

I agree about the graphics and the vistas. It’s a beautiful game. One area that impressed me was Rivendell by the long gazebo looking at the river. Water flow very realistic.

I like what some of the enemies say in combat: “That globe is elping her somehow” “ I don’t know what she did but make her stop!” Funny.

Fighting trolls was the best part. Those trolls were great. 7.5 sounds good. I gave it 8.5 cause I thought the combat was spot on.

I don’t know if you played it but Kingdoms of Amalur is a gorgeous game. Battles are tough. Dark Souls is hard and frustrating now but too early to judge. Sticking with it hoping it’ll sink in.

[Marveleg]

I tried the demo of KoA but I didn't get into the game . Combats were fun , yeah , but I find them less enjoyable than WITN .

[Abel]

I agree with most of your extensive review. Oddly, WitN is a game that I think will never bore me whatever the number of playthroughs I could do.

The animations, the sound effects, the game mechanisms makes it ever enjoyable. There are various and numerous kinds of foes that you can defeat with any playstyle. It is always possible to choose between close or ranged combat and there are many ways to support your playmates (online).

The stories and lore are also of great quality. The character customisation through items.

And as you say, the various locations. You can always stop and watch the landscapes. Or the Orcs realistically bleeding, falling off cleefs, losing their heads and being killed in other exotic manners.

This game makes you feel heroic!