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RealGamer :: PC :: Reviews :: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Review

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 7th January 2008

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We take a look at this MMORG based on Tolkiens works.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Details:

Goto The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Game Page

	MMORPG
	PC
	Turbine
	Codemasters

12+

Out Now

N/A

It’s been quite sometime since I’ve played a role-playing game, so it’s fair to say I was not relishing the job of reviewing this MMORPG. Expecting to encounter the common complexity’s of other online role-playing games. The Lord of the Rings Online offers a simpler approach that makes this game all the more enjoyable.

The game puts you in the role of a hero joining the fight to save Middle-Earth. The game allows you play as one of four races from Tolkien’s works, Man, Elf, Hobbit or Dwarf. Once you have chosen your race you then have to decide on your class, there are seven to choose from and these will be familiar to anyone who has played other MMORPG. The classes available are Champion, Minstrel, Guardian, Loremaster, Burglar, Hunter or Captain. As you would expect each class has its own strengths, weaknesses and unique skills. For instance Guardians are able to equip themselves with heavy armour for use during combat while captains are able to give rallying cries that increase allies’ moral and spur them on during combat, as you would expect loremasters are able to tame animals and take them as pets that will defend you against enemies.

Lord of the Rings online let’s you customise your characters appearance, you can also create several characters on one account, this is a nice touch which allows you to experience the game from the viewpoint of other races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

When you have created your character the game starts with a brief tutorial that covers the basics of combat and introduces you the various menus. Each race has a tutorial unique to them, for instance playing as Man sees you having to escape imprisonment, and rescue some hobbits that have been mistaken for the famous Bilbo Baggins. While playing as an Elf sees you defending Rivendell from an Orc invasion. While most people will choose to skip the tutorial it’s useful as there are several items to collect.

Upon entering the game world you are at first restricted to the immediate area around a small town until you complete several tasks. While this may seem a little annoying to more experienced role-playing gamers, it does go some way to preparing you for some of the tougher encounters you will face when the rest of the world is opened up to you.

Lord of the Rings Online features all the usual non-playable characters you would expect to find in a MMORPG, trainers that teach you new skills and help you improve your current abilities. There are the usual traders selling supplies such as weapons, armour and various potions and tonics that will heel you or give you a short boost of speed, energy or morale should you need it.

Getting around Middle-Earth can take some time. However, you are able to travel quickly to different areas by visiting a stable, and paying a small sum for a horse ride to wherever you want to go. This helps save a lot of time especially when you’re not sure of whereabouts you need to be.

Money is fairly easy to come across in LOTRO and is present in the form of bronze, silver and gold coins. This can be collected from the corpses of enemies or from selling meat, fur and various other parts from slain beasts. You can also sell excess equipment to the various traders in the game world.

LOTRO features both main and side quests that range from freeing towns from the threat of spiders to retrieving lost property from swamps, or can be as simple as delivering a message from one non-playable character to another. The time it takes to complete quests varies from a couple of minutes to about an hour. There are plenty of quests to complete on your own but many will require you to form fellowships and the success of these relies on working with other player, and you will usually require a mixture of classes in order to succeed.

There does seem to be few bugs in some quests, sometimes when you go to talk to some non-playable characters you simply cannot and so are unable to proceed with the quest. Having said that the game is well supported with several updates released during the time I spent playing.

Once you progress through the initial quests you then are able to choose an occupation, which range from woodsman, cook, weapons and armour smith. It’s a good idea to choose a profession that complements your characters class, For instance the armour smith is ideal for a guardian as they rely heavily on their armour during combat. You can change your mind about your characters profession at any time, although you will forfeit any experience gained in your previous job.

As you would expect from a role-playing game your character levels-up by gaining experience. LOTRO allows you to develop your character even further by gaining unique items or advance character traits, which evolve your attacks or defensive abilities. The game also allows you to earn titles of distinction, for instance getting to level 10 without dying will earn you the title “undefeated”.

Community is an integral part of any MMORPG, and I’m pleased to say that LOTRO has a great community. I never struggled to find other players to join a fellowship or offer help and advice when it was needed.

The Lord of the Rings Online looks stunning! Scenery is very impressive with good drawing distance. Character models are highly detailed and move realistically. Effects when using magic are impressive and fire effects are fairly realistic. Locations such as towns are nicely detailed, with lots going on adding a touch of life to the game world. There is some slow down when the servers get busy, especially in areas where there’s lots of other players, although its not enough to spoil the game.

Music in LOTRO really adds to the feel of the game, creating a dramatic atmosphere when necessary. Sounds effects have been done well from the clashing of weapons during battle to the crackling of a fire. Voice acting is also done to a high standard with various accents being portrayed well.

Playing a MMORPG can be quite daunting but the approach of Lord of the Rings Online makes it more accessible to new players, but there are still enough options to advance beyond the basics that will appeal to more experienced gamers. This is by far one of the better MMORPG and you will be hooked as you join the battle for Middle-Earth.