Taking a break from the sandbox style PvP (Player versus Player) paper rock scissors and capitalism simulator version 2.0 that is EVE-Online, I decided to try a game that is more focused on PvE (Player versus Environment) style gameplay.

Reading around I came across The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO for short) as a more casual based PvE style game that also doesn’t require the massive 20-40 man raids like you hear about in a certain other Warcraft variant of a game, instead relying on small groups and 4-5 man fellowships even in end game content. Rather than to make this a comparison post between different types of games (since I actually don’t think WoW is that bad of a game), I’ll put what I like about Lord of the Rings so far in my limited experience with it.

The Questing: You end up spending your beginning leveling time running quests to gain XP so you can level up. Some are doing the standard kill X enemy and bring their treasure to Y person, others lead you into game “instances” where the more difficult encounters occur. I’ve found that the quests actually aren’t that grueling, but the style still boxes LOTRO into the mmo format that some don’t like. If this isn’t your gig, then don’t be surprised when you don’t enjoy the leveling process in this game. I actually really enjoy LOTRO’s quests, as they feel quite fast and do move the story along at a brisker pace than I’ve experienced in other similar games. The part I enjoy is the actual journey and exploration, the fighting for me is just added bonus.

The People: If I could describe the user base of any game as the absolute antithesis of the old Halo 2 crowd it would be The Lord of the Rings Online. The game has multiple areas of the map that were designed for multiple person groups, and being that I’m mainly playing the game solo I ended up posting up in the regional chat channel for some help.. In not long I’d have one or two members willing to help a new player out and get through some of the difficult quests. On numerous occasions one of the players would stick around and run around the huge world with me showing me tips and just generally how to play the game. One of the more helpful player bases I’ve ever experienced hands down. I think the reason for this is the more PvE and casual gameplay oriented approach of the game. People seem to be just playing to enjoy the game and explore rather than just to level up a character so they can PvP or run end game content. There is end game content of course, but it doesn’t seem to be the only emphasis the developers focused on.

The Graphics: Turbine decided to make Middle Earth a more realistic world than other MMO’s I’ve played before. This could be somewhat limiting in how much leeway they can take to design the scenery, however exceptional modeling and level design added with the realism end up actually adding to the immersive experience. It seems to be the general opinion amongst the people I’ve played with that, at least in MMO terms, Age of Conan has a slight edge graphics wise over LOTRO, but what small gap is between them is more than made up in gameplay mechanics, overall content, and lore in Lord of the Rings Online. Character’s features and clothing/armor are fairly customizable, enough to make you feel you’re character is somewhat unique.. Of course the first time you run into someone with the same haircut/race/facial hair combination it still leaves you with the feeling that there could be more choices. Direct X 10 adds a little to the experience with the dynamic lighting. This game will push your hardware if you let it, however also can be toned down to run on slower systems. All in all the scenery is what keeps me interested.. Nothing like running through the Shire for the first time after only envisioning it in the movies. In the beginning of the game there’s also a Dwarf mine that appropriately mimics the scale you’d envision from seeing the movies. As this is just a preliminary review, there are also many other areas I haven’t explored yet, not to mention the areas added with the “Mines of Moria” expansion. The world is huge and gives the sense that you’re actually running around in the Tolkein universe.

The Lore: If for nothing else, Turbine did a great job replicating Middle Earth in pretty respectable manner. Often when making a game based a previous work of art, the lore can be restrictive to the point of affecting gameplay negatively. Considering that almost all games of this genre somewhat branch ideas off of Tolkein’s original works anyways, it’s actually quite refreshing to see what the “real thing” turns out like. There’s less straight magic and more “power of words” and intimidation type abilities, no health but morale, etc. Everything in game is explainable by going back to the Lord of the Rings and reading about it. Whether or not it’s your cup of tea, it’s still a fairly impressive achievement in itself that the game follows the book so closely. Now, Turbine has taken some graphical leeway when it comes to what your abilities appear like on screen, and even stretch the original meaning of some of the lore when it comes to adding classes such as the Rune Keeper (which we won’t get to right now because of the massive flame wars amongst the purists). Overall, the lore is another fun aspect of the game that is left to explore.

The Conclusion: There are so many aspects to this game that I can’t possibly go into all of them right here in a reasonable size article. But I will say that the main reason for this review is not to convince someone to play the game, but because I actually enjoy writing about games I feel are worthy of being written about, and Lord of the Rings Online is definitely worthy so far. I’ll will say that if your not into the MMO or RPG genre, your not going to find LOTRO much different than many of the other ones. With WoW mimicked control style and quest based gameplay, it’s a predictable game. But if you’re into the story and into exploration and RPG type games, it’s definitely worth a look.