Warner Bros has announced a brand new Lord of the Rings title being developed by Snowblind Studios. Called War in the North, the action RPG will have players fighting familiar franchise battles as well as new ones. Players assume the role of an Elf, Dwarf or Human character to combat the evil forces of Sauron.
Snowblind is famous for games like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on the PlayStation 2, which was a top down action RPG that's as close to a Diablo game as you can get on the consoles. What's interesting is War in the North promises a mature approach to the franchise with deep online gameplay for three players in co-op, something most Rings games haven't shown.
Here's the exact quote:
“This game is a natural evolution of the acclaimed RPG gameplay that Snowblind has consistently delivered over the past years. Players and fans will experience an innovative approach to online co-op gameplay, woven throughout every facet of the game in a way that only Snowblind can deliver.”
Whether SnowBlind can deliver on such a hefty promise is yet to be seen, the official site has launched without even a single screenshot - only a teaser trailer is available. Still the prospect of a seamless action/RPG game in the vein of the classic Baldur's Gate title on the PS2 set in the Lord of the Rings universe... it makes my Geek-O-Meter explode.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North will be out in 2011 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.