What is War in the North, the M-rated Lord of the Rings game?

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a 2011 action role playing game developed by Snowblind Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, released in North America on November 1, 2011 and in Europe on November 25, 2011. An OS X port followed in 2013. It does not retell Frodo's journey. It follows a trio of adventurers whose quest runs parallel to the main narrative, occasionally intersecting with it.

The trio is original: Eradan, a human Ranger built around stealth and the bow; Andriel, an Elven lore master who fights with a staff and offensive and defensive spells; and Farin, a Dwarf champion built around melee combat. Their enemy is Agandaur, a powerful Black Númenórean whom Sauron has employed to lay waste to the northern regions of Middle-earth while Sauron himself concentrates on Rohan and Gondor. The game opens with the three reaching Bree and taking their mission from Aragorn.

It was built for company. The game features online co-op for up to three players, each controlling one member of the trio, and in co-op every character's unique secrets can be found in a single playthrough. In single player, AI companions fill the other two roles and take the player's orders.

The rating was the headline. War in the North is the first Lord of the Rings game rated M (17+) in North America, PEGI 18 in Europe and BBFC 15 in the UK. Snowblind founder Ryan Geithman said the M rating let the developers depict a grittier and more violent Middle-earth than had ever been seen in a video game, while remaining authentic to the films and to Tolkien's work.