The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Preview

The folks over at Hooked Gamers let us know that they've penned a quick preview of Snowblind's next action RPG, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
It isn't just the extreme new level of action that makes this RPG unique. Another great addition to the genre is that any of the characters in your team can be played by friends in co-op mode. Your team consists of a Dwarf fighter, an Elf ranger and a Human wizard and they are all customizable. The co-op will be available both online and offline but if you prefer to play alone don't worry, you can play solo while the AI steps in to take control of the other two characters. Each character has very unique abilities and to stay alive you must work together.

The mage can cast offensive and defensive spells. A very useful one is called Sanctuary and creates a force-field like barrier around the mage. Other team members can benefit from this as well by seeking protection behind the barrier while it is active. The mage is the only character who can craft ingredients that would be used by your team. The Elf character is, naturally, best used as a ranged unit. She uses a wide variety of stealthy moves and abilities to gain advantage over the enemy. Finally, the Dwarf character can detect hidden doors and treasures, as well as being able to run head first into a battle and still have the ability to overcome the opponents swinging his gigantic battle-axe around him to keep attackers at bay. Teamwork is a big part of this game so you can work together with your team or, potentially, die really quickly when you don't.