Not a WoW killer, but still one of the best MMO's out now. Fans of the books will love it.
The Bad: Handful of character choices. Limited PvP. No custom GUI support.
Lord of the Rings is perhaps the greatest work of fantasy ever written. It's often cited as being the second best-selling book of all time behind only the Bible. J.R.R. Tolkien's story of the War of the Ring is the foundation for everything from Dungeons & Dragons to World of Warcraft. There have been many games based upon this masterpiece, and now Turbine's MMO "Lord of the Rings Online" is finally here, and it doesn't disappoint.
It should be noted that LotRO is based on the novels, and not the recent films. Therefore, don't expect to see Ian McKellen running around as Gandalf. However, this also gives Turbine the ability to expand the story to areas barely mentioned in the novels. It also allows the game to have a rich lore that's already been established. Which is something that is lacking in most MMO games. Because of this, there are limits to what goes on in the game.
GAMEPLAY
LotRO takes place during the first novel, the Fellowship of the Ring. While you can't play as any of the main characters from the books, you will be able to meet them at certain intervals, and even fight along side them.
LotRO will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played MMO's in the past. Upon signing in, the GUI looks a lot like the one used in WoW. At this time, there is little customization you can do to the GUI, but that may change at a later date. Otherwise, nearly everything about the gameplay is very similar to past MMO games, and that's not really a bad thing. This means you can immediately jump right into the game without having to learn a new control setup. Combat in the game is especially fun when in a group. Certain items and classes can start "fellowship attacks" that allow the group to perform combination attacks and gain benefits such as healing, or extra damage when performed correctly. Some abilities can only be used after blocking an attack, or on certain enemies.
LotRO also features a robust crafting system similar to that found in WoW. You can pick a profession like weapon smith, and are granted certain raw material gathering abilities for that craft. You can also enchant items to make them more powerful, and give them unique visual effects. For example you can equip an anti-orc enchantment on a sword so it glows when orcs are near, and deals extra damage to orc-kind enemies.
Some people are not going to like LotRO because of the limits the lore places on gameplay. This game is clearly focused on the PvE game. While there is consensual PvP, it's limited in scope. The characters you create must be one of the 4 races of the Free People of Middle Earth, or "freeps" as they're commonly known. Man, Elf, Dwarf, and Hobbit are your only choices, but this is how the lore is. Once your character hits level 10, you can take part in PvP battles, and create an evil character, or "creep" to fight against other players. As far as classes go, there aren't as many here as some MMO players are going to be used to. But again, this fits in with the lore, and all the usual classes are covered. Champions are the offensive melee class, while Guardians are their defensive counter-part. Burglars are your typical stealth character, while Lore-masters are the mezzing class. Captains are similar to paladins in other games as they get heralds that act as pets, and can use group-friendly rally cries to provide various bonuses. Hunters are LotRO's long-range high-damage class, and Minstrels act as the healing class.
Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of LotRO is the game is very focused on the story element of Middle-Earth. You'll frequently encounter quests that take you into single-player instances, and even present you with cut-scenes that follow certain story arcs within the game. Some of these instances will actually alter the game. Such as town burning down, and the charred remains being all that's left. GRAPHICS
While the graphics in LotRO aren't breaking any new ground, they are still better than WoW's low poly, cartoonish graphics. What makes LotRO stand out is it's artistic style. It's very subtle, yet gives the graphics that mystical quality to fit in the world of Middle-Earth.
The characters, armor design, and the environments all pull you into the world Tolkien created. There're no pop-in visuals, and in some areas you can literally see for miles. The only really lacking area is the GUI. While it looks good, it's not customizable like in other MMO's. This could be addressed in a future patch, but I felt like the toolbar at the bottom of the screen got in the way a little too much.
SOUND
The sound effects in LotRO are average. There's nothing special about the combat sounds, which is a shame considering how good everything else is. What is nice is the music and voiceovers.
Music played a big part in the books, and it's fitting that it does in LotRO too. The background music fantastic, and on par with the movie soundtrack. Best of all every player, regardless of class, can use musical instruments to play songs just for fun. This further adds to the Middle-Earth feel of the game.
VALUE
Value is a hard thing to judge in an MMO because there's technically no end to it. So value is usually defined by the game-world. That being the case, LotRO is probably one of the best values in the genre. The lore is the selling point of this game. Players who aren't familiar with the books will probably not get as much value of it. But if you've enjoyed the book, or the movies, this game will be hard to put down.
With that said, some of the more competitive players are not going to like the limited PvP gameplay. It comes in the form of what the devs call "Monster Play" or PvMP. The idea sounds good: being able to create a level 50 "creep," outfit them with special abilities, and fight other good players or "freeps." There are several monsters you can play as including orcs, wargs, and trolls.
The PvMP is confined to a single area in the game world, so you can't take your creep and go hunt Hobbits in the Shire. At this time there are no plans for PvP dedicated servers, and likely will never be since it goes against the Tolkien lore. While this might not be bad for casual PvP players, the hardcore ones will likely stick with WoW or Guild Wars for their player-killing fix. On the positive side, LotRO does offer a unique reward system for PvMP play in the form of Destiny Points. These are points that can be used to upgrade your creep, or be used to buy temporary boosts to your freep.
While the end game value has yet to be thoroughly explored, there is a lot of potential for expansion. The initial launch of LotRO only includes the lands west of the Misty Mountains. With future expansions, the game could easily become three times larger, and still fit within Tolkien lore.
Also highly rewarding are the traits and titles systems. Traits are bonuses to your character's stats, and allow you to customize your character. You frequently get them from finishing quests, or accomplishing deeds. Some traits are unique to certain classes, while others come from your characters race, or slaying epic monsters. Titles tie into this, and are seen by other players. For example, if you kill a large number bandits you get the "Watcher of Roads" title. If you survive to level 10 without dying you will get "the Undefeated" title. From then on players will see you as Playername, the Undefeated.
Lord of the Rings Online is a welcome addition to the MMORPG genre. It's designed to appeal to fans of the books, but anyone can pick it up and enjoy it. It barrows ideas from past MMO's, but also does a lot of new things for the genre. Because of its focus on PvE over PvP, it wont appeal to everyone. It's not going to dethrone World of Warcraft, but it will likely become the second biggest MMO on the market. If you're a fan of Tolkien's work, you must buy this game. It fits so perfectly into the lore he established that it feels like an extension of his writings. This is the game Lord of the Rings fans have been waiting for.