23.5.2008

There are so many reviews to choose from here and most seem so biased, it can leave a gamer feeling lost as to whether the game is good or not after all. So I decided the best thing would be to write an un-biased review of this game.First of all, if you want a detailed description of the game and what makes it good and what doesn't, read some reviews in PC magazines or on sites such as IGN etc. Those people know what they're talking about.Okay first of all, I am a Tolkien fan. So in that sense I was very excited about this game. But I wasn't getting my hopes up for as some of you know, this game was in, what they call, production-hell for a really long time! But when it came up for pre-order,I felt compelled to order the collector's edition. At this time I had been playing WoW for about a year. I didn't think anything could beat my love for WoW, how wrong I was...Lord of the Rings Online surpassed all my expectations. AT first I felt like I was playing a Tolkien wannabe game The reason for this is because I started in an area called Edhelion, which I had never heard of before, and I was under the impression that the whole game was not going to take place in the main areas from the book), but this only lasted for about 5 minutes. As soon as I saw the AMAZING attention to detail, I was blown away. When I got to The Shire (where the Hobbits live) I think I felt a tear to my eye. I felt like a tourist, because the middle-earth they created in this game is just so gorgeous! It truly feels like a living, breathing world. Before I realized it, my WoW account had been suspended because I hadn't paid for it. At this time I realized that saying to myself "I am not attached to this game" would have been denial. I was just enjoying it so much. The graphics are breath-taking, the music is flawless and the game is just plain fun!I still, however, play WoW. I love both games like they're my children... but LOTRO seems to be my guilty favourite.I feel some people have personal vendettas about this game. For example, a previous reviewer said that the community on LOTRO isn't friendly and they forced him back to WoW. Being a WoW player myself, I was shocked at the amount of WoW players logging onto LOTRO, just to moan about how much they hate the game. Does it make you wonder whether they provoked players of LOTRO? I think so. This is an online game after all so of course people will discuss which game they prefer etc. but I have never met people on LOTRO who will not help you because you're a WoW player. I'm sure if I went onto the WoW servers and moaned like that, they would kick me out too! That brings me to my next point... download times. I see many people complaining about that. This is an online game after all, you have to be aware that they make patches for it regulary! When I bought WoW I also spent a good few hours downloading patches. But I think the problem comes from one major difference between WoW's patches and LOTRO's patches: their size. And there is nothing wrong with that either! Now what I'm about to say may sound like a nasty judgement on WoW but one can't deny the truth. The LOTRO patches are by far, much better than WoW patches. The LOTRO patches add whole new areas to the game and amazing new features not seen in other games. Whilst it takes Blizzard a whole pay-for expansion to bring a new area into WoW, Codemasters does that for you, for free! If you read the game forums, Codemasters are always taking note of all in-game problems and in my opinion they do address them! Please take note that most negative reviews of this game seem to be vendettas rather than objective and logical opinions.Having said that, this game is not without its problems, but I suppose for a game with this magnitude, the game is still worth it!The updater in this game is awful. I must admit that I did have problems with the updating process. It kept giving me an error message about script not being read etc. However, this happened on my new Packard bell with Vista installed. I didn't have this problem with my previous PC so it makes me wonder where the real problem lies. Although codemasters are always updating the game and making sure bugs are fixed, their customer support is definitely not as well organised as the WoW customer service. They answer all problems very quickly but in the end, it basically seems like they can't explain some of the problems. They do try and help you but when they can't explain it, they really don't make an effort to try. However, I heard lately that their customer service has improved. I'm not sure about this because I haven't had to contact them since the previous problems I've had (those were all resolved) so that means they must be getting something right since I can still play the game without hiccups or problems!One last thing, the cost of a beautiful middle-earth is high! The graphics in this game are pretty intense which I assume can leave a lot of WoW gamers with a ... vendetta? Definitely. Because WoW's graphics are a lot simpler, more people have access to it and don't have to worry about their PC's not running it. On my previous computer, LOTRO was pretty slow and the PC wasn't a bad one at all. The person who bought that PC from me plays The Witcher at a decent graphics setting so the game definitely hogs lots of RAM. But it is so worth it to upgrade your PC anyway! There are many new games coming out that require better graphics cards etc. and once you see the beauty of this online middle-earth, you won't want to stop. Every time I play the game, I get side-tracked just so I can go run around the country-side looking for random small quests and admiring the landscape. This game is a lot of fun and if you look past its extremely miniscule issues, this game is basically flawless! Don't judge the LOTRO community before you try it. Remember, it's not the game that makes a rotten community, it's the people! This game is highly recommended... just look on the internet and in magazines. Major game reviewers have all raved about this game and Tolkien fans were left in awe! So Codemasters must have gotten something right. This game and WoW will forever be in my heart as the best fantasy games around... but like I said... LOTRO has that little something extra.

17.11.2008

Hmm, having read the previous reviews it seems the vast majority of the negative ones have issues with everything except the actual GAMEPLAY, and are mostly subscription based complaints.Well let me confirm straight away that as an MMO yes...you do have to pay a subscription. If you only wish to dabble and do not wish to pay a monthly fee then don't purchase it, but to be fair LOTRO is one of the cheaper MMO's out there and has a variety of packages to suit the pockets of most gamers, from month by month to annual to lifetime.I agree with the reviewers who were disappointed at the game's release back in 2007, it was unfinished which was a big problem. However I've been playing since January 2008,and now in November this game has really fleshed out. Bugs have been sorted and new areas and a multitude of quests have been added, it really is a different game to that of 18 months ago.The playing area is truly vast, with the quests contained in each continually updated as you level up. They're varied enough to mean you keep revisiting earlier maps when you're a higher level to discover new quests have become available. You really do travel the length and breadth of Middle Earth throughout your levelling up as you follow the epic storyline presented to you as chapters within books (of which there are 14, with up to 14 chapters within each), and take time out to complete one of the hundreds of solo and fellowship side quests to gain XP. Add to this the ability to obtain a profession and the game expands yet further.Currently I'm a Prospector, Metalsmith and Tailor. Track mines to prospect ore and use forges to craft them into ingots, use the ingots to create components which can be sold to other players via an auction system, kill creatures to obtain hides...all of which improve your skill through five proficiency tiers on your way to becoming a grand master. With each tier you will be able to craft better weaponry, armour, spells and potions to wear/use yourself or sell/give to other players to aid in your quests.Which brings me to the social aspect, there are literally thousands playing this game, with hundreds online at the same time, requesting for help via fellowships to complete difficult quests, recruiting for kinships who will look out for one another and arrange raid quests or go into the PvP environment of the Ettenmoors, or simply levelling up solo and grafting to earn gold hilst nattering away on the in-game chat channels.Graphics-wise the game is beautiful, and you genuinely feel immersed when you play. Contrary to what I've read here the game isn't too demanding on PC's unless you have one approaching a decade in age! I quite happily played on medium settings using a 5 year old PC with an ATI Radeon X700 card, bt currently use an XPS M1530 dual core laptop wich runs it on full settings, which is genuinely a breathtaking sight to behold. The audio is also excellent with the voice acting during the epic quests very atmospheric.The game has expended every couple of months since 2007 as a new book is added complete with new enemies, quests and map areas. The last book to be added was Book 14 during the summer, and Shadows of Angmar is finally complete...it has taken me 11 months of near-solid gameplay since January to take my Lore Master character to the level cap of 50, and become a grand master of all crafting, and still certain things need to be worked upon...completing raids to improve valour, completing class deeds etc. Tomorrow (18/11/08) the first proper expansion pack is released, Mines of Moria, which raises the level cap to 60. There'll be another tier of crafting to complete, many new areas, enemies and quests to complete. I also assume that throughout 2009 there'll be further books added every couple of months fleshing the epic quest and game out yet further, until this time next year when we'll have the volume 3 expansion. As you approach the end more gets tacked on for you to do.When you subscribe to this game you are guarranteed a huge variety in gameplay, one that is constantly changing and improving with the months, which is lovingly tended to with weekly maintenance and 24 hour in-game support and an ever expanding base of subscribers.Unlike WoW set in a mythical land which is made up as it goes along, we know how LOTR begins and how it ends, so dramatically over the fires of Mount Doom. The beauty is we know where Codemasters want to take us over the next few years, and to have the opportunity to play in Tolkien's lands, meeting Aragorn, Gandalf etc and fighting alongside them is truly spellbinding, something WoW or any other MMO at present cannot offer. The game is based on Tolkien's books, but looks like the movie trilogy, therefore we get the best of both worlds. The fleshing out of the minutest of details from the books, from Brandywine bridge to Tom Bombadil, but the visual and audio finery of Peter Jackson's trilogy, the result is a wholly immersive world that provides longevity, wonder, enjoyment, a sense of achievement and many friends to make along the way.

25.7.2008

MMOs are a strange bunch, they have their fair share of -ve's and +ve's from rubbish graphics to lame repetitive "Is this it until Level xx" kind quests, which gets them more critisism by the fact that you end up playing it to justify your £10 a month. I have played every P2P (Pay 2 Play) MMO on the market, so I have a little experience in this. Now its not my intension to slate WoW, because WoW in itself is a good gameplay experience, if a little dated graphically and repetitive quest wise, but the RAID and PVP portions are solid. Conan, unfortunately, has been let down by non excistent tech and community support and dev. Laziness to even acknowledge the community excists,so MMO players are crying out for something new.Although Lord of the Rings Online (Lotro) is not new, it has had its fair share of criticism, from being boring and too drawn out to being PC spec heavy, however, I have to say that these days, Lotro is incredible. Every 2 -3 months we get FREE massive contents updates in the form of "Books", such as believe in or not, entire New continents(Not the usual MMO update), plus New weapons, armour, skills, quests, bug fixes, graphic engine updates and streamlines, instances and raids, and a huge storyline arc in the "books", and has also improved since the addition of more solo support.As of the date of this review, We've just been given Book 14 today, which amongst the usual stuff has a huge new continent. Now I am like most people, very cinical when comes to giving away money to MMOs, but Codemasters and Turbine have done incredibly well with this, the developers keep us posted and are active weekly on the forms, listening to us, answering questions and even, if its possible, adding things into the "Book" updates we ask for.What makes an MMO though is the Player community and I have to admit, they are awesome, ranging from about 20+ but mainly are 30+, very helpful and respectful, they "ask" you for help, to join their group or even duel and no one takes offense if you say no. Dont get me wrong, we do get idiots, which MMO doesn't right, but on the whole 99.9% are really great and whats better than running through a lush green field or under the canopies of Chetwood, fighting for the fellowship of the ring with your group (kinship). Its amazingly atmospheric.PVP comes in the form of "monster play". When you reach level 10, you can combat PVP on the Entmoors, which is similar idea to WoW's Battlegrounds. You can play an ORC, Uriki or one of Saurons forces and fight on the side of Saruman, but Ive never much looked into this as there is so much to do in PvE, but Ive heard its great fun. Monster Play was Lotros bad weak point, but rom what ive been hearing from serious PVPers, its been fixed to amazing proportions.One of the great things that sets Lotro apart from other MMOs is the Deed system, basically, you get extra skills and points for playing the game, such as extra skill points for grinding on a particular type of mob or mobs, new skills for finishing all the quests in a certain area, staying alive for so many levels and loads more to find out, theres just so much to do and see.The quests are varied enough, but some early quests do suffer from the "fetch and carry" or "kill so many of X" type, but they are just to get you started into the story, and yes there is a story, albeit a big one with 100's of side quests, skills and areas to go to, but its there. And the greatest of all is, last time I checked, Codemasters were running the game for £5 a month.Lotro is a great game in every respect, Codemasters should be praised for what they've done for it in such a short space of time. If you want something New, exciting, Dx10 graphically beautiful and steeped in lore. LotrO is a great choice.

30.11.2009

I thought I'd given up on games. What with all the consoles branching in directions with no appeal to the core gamer (either casual or hardcore), I thought that I'd left gaming behind for good.It's odd, then, that I found myself hopelessly addicted all over again with LOTRO, a MMORPG. Surely this is the most demanding, time-consming and 'hardcore' genre of the lot?Well...no, not really. True, you'll find yourself playing for hours on end, but only out of sheer enjoyment rather than droning, vacuous addiction. Unlike WoW, where I found the game descend quickly into dullness and banality, LOTRO holds my attention, and I genuinely LOVE playing it.The reason for this is for two things. First,it's The Lord of the Rings, so it has an incredible basis for a landscape, and it's all so perfectly and faithfully realised. It's based on the books, so it has all those details the films skipped over and then some, yet echoes the visual brilliance of the films, so you get the best of both worlds. In fact, in many places it actually expands and enriches the lore and legend of Tolkein's work, adding in new backstories and minor points of interest, to the point where Middle-Earth is a living, breathing world of it's own. A major part of the joy of LOTRO is simply exploration, visiting famous places from the books like Bag End. I dare anyone not to step through that round green door without a big grin on your face. It's as close as you can get to being there.The second reason is, like the books themselves, the game follows a properly good story. Unlike Wow where it follows a vague narrative, there is a 'spine' of main quests called 'Epic' quests, which tie-in with the main story of LOTR. It's genuinely interesting and engrossing, and just like any story, you want to continue to see where it takes you.And I haven't even mentioned the gameplay! Granted, LOTRO isn't going to win any awards for originality, though conversely players from WoW could slip easilty into LOTRO with minimum instruction. But applause must be given for the fact that the game is pretty much 'grind-free': basically, there's so many quests up for grabs that you're rarely left drudging aimlessly through the wilderness killing anything that moves for the sake of a handful of XP. No, there's always something going on, and there's a real sense that the heads behind LOTRO had a real good go at streamlining the cumbersome MMO experience whilst retaining the challenge. And, by a large majority, they've succeeded.The online community is important, though to be fair, if you bump into an idiot online, it's hardly LOTRO's fault. That said, 99% those you meet and join fellowships with are mature, fair and level-headed gamers who want to enjoy themselves as much as you do. Within days of joining, I'd joined a kinship (a guild) and made half a dozen proper friends whom I chat with - not just about LOTRO, but anything that takes our fancy. And you can chat whilst sitting in the Prancing Pony in Bree with a pint. Or atop weathertop. Or in the mines of Moria. Or whilst riding horses up to the Misty Mountains. Tell me that doesn't sound awesome!There's so much effort, care and attention in this that it's impossible not to recommend it. Yes, it has flaws, but they're so minor in the grand scheme of things that they quickly melt away and you forget about them. If you've even considered LOTRO, or are on the fance about it, seriously, don't delay. You must give this a chance: it deserves your attention.

19.8.2007

OK, first off, this game is NOT WoW! It was never intended to be WoW, it will never be WoW and people comparing LOTRO to WoW and finding it short are not seeing the bigger picture. When WoW started out it was nothing like what it is now. I have played WoW for around 2-3 years and when I moved to LOTRO it was like going from watching a film on a hand held TV to a cinema screen, was breath taking.Right, got that out of the way, this game is beautiful to look at (I have it on medium settings and it looks amazing). There are things in it which need fixing, but Turbine really are constantly working on things. The Book 9 update fixed things and added a hell of a lot.Book 10 update is due in 5 days of writing this and it has taken me an hour to read the full update list and I'll say 90% of it I was thinking "yes!" and "wow!" I've been playing since beta and I can tell you its not just about Turbine and CM getting your money, they listen to the LOTRO community. For example, in the Book 9 update they removed some sounds players made when using an attack, almost everyone in the game complained about it (not complaining in a we'll leave way, more like a we miss it but hey). Turbine saw this, and put the sounds back in in a following patch. That to me is a developer which cares about the players. Just a small note, the Book updates (content patches) are completely free. Since I bought the lifetime subscribers pre launch pack no one (even monthly payers) have had to pay extra for content.The crafting system may seem strange if you have come from another MMORPG, but when you see it in action it makes really good sense. You don't choose your specific three profs, but you choose a set vocation which has three specific profs. So, for example, you may choose to be a Yeoman, which is a farmer, cook, and tailor. Now, here is the really clever bit, tailors need boiled leather, which only foresters can make, so they need to either buy boiled leather off someone who has the forester profession, or ask them to boil hides which they may have collected. All 7 vocations in some way will have to rely on a separate vocation. This will keep trades going between people and an active AH.Battle is easy, click on the enemy, attack, click buttons, easy peasy. Obviously each class has benefits and drawbacks. My main is a hunter, benefits = strong distance attacks, can travel to towns straight away, can lay traps, drawbacks = weak close attacks, no health boosts, and not sure if its just me or not, but I seem to get stunned quite a lot. Each person will have their favourite class, just a case of try each one.When you hit level 10, you unlock Monster Play, which is a feature I've not really tried that much. You can start a monster character which you will get to keep. This monster is situated in Angmar and you do quests just like your main character, only high level players will be around in Angmar to fight. This wasn't a big thing at first as obviously when the game launched there were no level 50 players for a while, but now there are quite a few, the battle is really kicking off. Book 10 is adding a hell of a lot of new MP features and updates, so it is becoming a real major feature in LOTRO.All I can say is give the game a go, don't compare it to other MMORPGs, and if you don't like it at first, try a different class :)The community is really helpful so if you get stuck just ask in the advice channel.Enjoy :)

18.1.2011

I grew up with the Hobbit and Lord of The Rings and it was read aloud for me when I was a child and when I could read myself I started out with the Hobbit and later on Lord of The Rings. When I played any kind of role playing game I would always have the books in the back of the head. I have tried games like The Hobbit made by a small Italian firm and before that I played WOW. When LOTRO came out it was like my prayers was heard. As soon as I had installed my special edition of Mines of Moria with the shadows of Angmar included I had to play a hobbit. The starting area was rather strange as I would expect to be able to run around in Shire from the very beginning,but that would not happen before I had saved some poor hobbits from an Black Rider in a small human settlement... Yeeeks! Anyway after that small very scary encounter I came to the wonderful Shire and the view simply just knocked me out, I was dazzled with the amazing view of the great Shire. The landscape and Hobbits there pulled me right into the world of my childhood. The quests in Shire was fun and cute and would be increasingly more scary and dangerous as I grew in levels. So here my great burglar hero Fredos would start out by running eggs along the road for other Hobbits while trying to keep away from nosy Hobbits only to confront evil goblins more north up in the forest of Shire. He even had to investigate a strange incident with a black cloaked figure as he took on the role as a sheriff. In the end it was time to leave Shire and travel towards Bree in order to meet Strider(yaa you know Aragorn!). Since my first character I have also had the pleasure of playing the race human, elf and dwarf. I have tried out the classes Guardian, Champion and minstrel. All the races and classes seems pretty fine and balanced with their own unique touches. The landscapes of LOTRO is some of the best I have ever seen in any games, the music is indeed very much in the spirit of the Books. Indeed I think or at least hope that J.R.R. Tolkien would had been proud if he could have seen this masterpiece of work. Whether it was bad or not for LOTRO to implement the f2p system with turbine points and V.I.P accounts vs normal accounts is hard to say, but I have tried it before and after this change and for me who is a life time subscriber it makes no differences(beside more people now and better revenue for Turbine, which I guess is good). The game also support the DirectX 11 which is a good little eye candy for us hardware freaks with the new Nvidia/ATI cards! My conclusion must be that such a wonderful game, with such a huge world, with SUCH a nice graphic with such a great story is a must for any Tolkien/fantasy fan. Buy it, dream about it, play it and remember to rest and eat as well as attend your family and friends from time to other... I can only say that I deeply regret that I was not aware of this game's existence before the expansion package "Mines of Moria" came out :o(

23.2.2007

I am presently beta testing this game and the NDAs have been lifted so we are free to report on it and so I thought I would just give some feedback in case anyone was interested in.playing.Pros:- friendly community, most people you meet are helpful and pleasant.- it is VERY accurate to the books (though you can see heavy influence of the films in the look and feel) though it is too quick to travel about the place so you lose something of the feeling of scale, i.e I can run from Bree to the Shire in about 5 minutes.- monster play - you can play as ebil mosters in a particular region and fight pvp style against player characters - i have a nice warg character :)- the graphics are nice,

21.5.2007

That's the question most people are probably asking themselves.I've played both. I was a late comer to WoW and my character is still only a level 34 so you could argue that I have yet to experience the full wonder of the epic raids etc.But at the same time, my Guardian in LOTRO is only a level 15, so the same could apply.I like WoW a lot. It's huge, big community, cool ideas and load of choice in terms of race and class. But as with a lot of MMPORG out there, it's slow as hell. This is to be expected. They charge you a monthly fee to play the game, so they're obviously not going to want you to finish it in a week. The same is true of LOTRO. It starts off with quick levelling,

20.6.2007

When played on a high end computer with the graphcs set to High or Ultra High this game is absorbing and very atmospheric, although when played on the lowest settings even World Of Warcraft on the lowest settings looks better (in my opinion). It seems the players enjoyment of this game is very dependant on how powerful their computer is.My partner played this on his PC, which is just your bog standard PC world computer with an old graphics card, but as he couldn't have the graphics very high it looked bland and rough and he couldn't get the 'feeling' for the game. Whereas on a more powerful computer the world is just stunning and alive. I don't think the gameplay is that great,

30.4.2007

I recently purchased Lord Of the Rings Online - Shadows Of Angmar as I was intrigued by the prospect of a Lord Of The Rings Online Game. I have played a couple of online MMO's before (World Of Warcraft And Final Fantasy XII) both of which I enjoyed. I had thought that World Of Warcraft was a very godd game, with its good graphics, deep and interesting quests and good community, would not be knocked off as the number one MMORPG game. Until I installed and played Lord Of The Rings Online.I had heard many different reviews about Lord Of The Rings Online, and heard lots of questins being asked about whether it would work on just the top end PC's. Well I can tell you that I have a computer that is about 4 -5 years old,

27.3.2007

I have had a brief beta test of this game and it is a very good game. What people need to do is stop comparing it To WoW and realise that WoW was not the first MMO game but the first one with appeal to mass kiddy markets and with a good cult following of previous games. For this reason I predict LotRO will do very well.The graphics for a start, while requiring a rather hefty system spec to view at full detail, are breathtaking. The scenery is very realistic and the props are great and add that touch of realism. What you will notice is that the very small details have had attention paid to them to immerse the players into the world of Middle Earth.The game play itself is quite similar to WoW,

27.4.2007

I've been an avid player of World of Warcraft for over 2 years now and I honestly thought that NOTHING would top it as an online game... until now. Lord of the Rings online is essentially the same game as WOW, but it has pushed boundaries and created a potential monster. It's early days yet, and Turbine/Codemasters couldn't have picked a bigger fish to take on. I was doubtful that LOTR would offer anything at all and would gain interest purely on the strength of its name. I read a few reviews and must confess i've been very impressed. So much so that i've not logged into WOW since. I've been playing for the past few days and it's the small things that have been making the big differences for me...With regards to gameplay,

30.5.2007

Based on characters from Tolkien's epic but not slavishly following its storyline, this multi-player online game is contemporary with the events of The Fellowship of the Ring as Frodo and friends set out from The Shire.Conceived as a direct challenge to successful MMOGs such as World of Warcraft, the game adapts the methodology of those computer worlds to Tolkien's characters and events. You play as any one of four races - man, elf, hobbit or dwarf. There are plenty of quests to complete and you can customise your character with different traits and skills - a minstrel, say, or a hunter, and these are abilities that the game offers plenty of opportunities to develop. It's not all fighting and quests - and yes,

12.11.2007

Before I get in to this review I'd just like to point out that I have only played the 7 day trial and I have played both Everquest 2 for 2 years and WoW for 1 year and I tested this on my iMAC 20" in widnows XP 32bit.What makes this game so great?Well, firstly the graphics are groundbreakingly real and they took my breath away, the facial espression on NPC's are so real, the flowers in the fields move with the wind, The entire gameworld makes you wish it were real and the leveling in this game so far is just perfect, not to fast and not to slow (unlike WoW where it took you months at a time jsut to level up 1 level)I would have said it's very like Everquest 2 as in the graphics and AI.

26.12.2008

Background: 3 years Everquest II; Guild Wars beta; Vanguard beta; many solo RPGs.Having become disenchanted with the lack of purpose in EQ2 questing, and wanting a generally *sandbox* exploration experience, I moved in to LotRO and have never been disappointed by my choice.Solidly built (if not especially original) from the beginning this MMO has slowly developed a distinct character and diverse content that will appeal to those players who want an immersive, rather than 'power-play' experience. Yes there are raids, yes (despite reviews saying otherwise) there is PvP content - through 'Monster Play', yes there are plenty of grouping opportunities from about level 10,

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC) - Reviews

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