Idealized because I don't own all of these yet, at least, not in physical form. 

A lot of bad games exist in this good world. Without a little guidance from a review or friend’s recommendation it can be easy to stumble upon a pile of turds before finding a golden prize. Sometimes a game doesn’t click with reviewers and most of my friends give me fair warning, yet I’m still pulled towards the title and end up finding something very special. Sometimes you just need to find your own games to love and not worry what others think.

It's not everyday that PixlBit has the opportunity to run a contest, but we were lucky enough to receive a copy of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North on the PlayStation 3 to give away. If you haven't been keeping up, Jesse Miller reviewed the game favorably, awarding it three and a half stars earlier last month. In order to win this solid and likely overlooked game, you don't have to do too much.

It’s plain to see what Snowblind Studios was trying to do with Lord of the Rings: War in the North.  They wanted to create a game that would appeal to fans of the books and films while simultaneously creating something new – telling a tale that had not yet been told.  I applaud them for attempting to strike out on a new path, but there is a big difference between expressing the intent to do something and actually following through with it and unfortunately War in the North falls short of their self imposed expectations and fails to innovate in any real meaningful way.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North isn’t your average LOTR adaptation.  Even with a story that focuses much of its attention on war and the horrors that lie within that beast, the movies and books have always been rather accessible to even the youngest members of the family.  That’s about to change as it's best the little ones sit out what is shaping up to be the bloodiest vision of Middle Earth yet.