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The Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar Review (continued)
More User Submitted The Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar Reviews
Date: 2008-01-28
Dont waste your money on this...
...Unless you like endless hours of grinding for crafting materials and gold to pay the insane costs of everything. Or like being constantly under attack just traveling from point A to point B. Or like Boss fights where you're always fighting hordes of adds. Or like to be endlessly stunned, disarmed, crippled, snared, poisoned, bled, diseased or otherwise impeded whenever you fight anything. Did I mention the quests that have you running all over Eriador taking hours to do just for a few experience points and crappy rewards?
Getting to level 50 is long and frustrating because in order to level reasonably fast you need to do the quests and most of the quests require a 6 person group to do, and it's difficult to get such a group together. Leveling up solo is your only other option and that takes a tremendously long time to do.
So... If you like being frustrated and bored then this game is for YOU!
Date: 2008-01-28
I will be playing this game for a long time to come!
If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings, this is a game for you. In my time playing this game I have found it to be a pleasant alternative to other mmorpg's that have been released in the last 3 or 4 years who's social make up seem to be rude for the most part.
Along with the Lord of the Rings story running through this game, it also has the attraction power of pulling Lord of the Rings fans, who bring with them polite, family friendly attitudes. (this game is FAMILY FRIENDLY.)
This game is geared for both the hard core grinder as well as the part time gamer. With plenty of stuff for both types of players, this game will be around for some time to come. For those who have never played this kind of game before, this would be a great one to start with.
Like other mmo's this game can be played solo or by grouping with others in temporary groups or banning together to form a guild or Kinship.
Battles & fighting in this game has suggested violance but do not display graphics unsuitable for children and unlike other mmo's of this type Lord of the Rings Online does not have sexually charged characters barely dress.
Date: 2007-12-18
Average Gamer's Nightmare
I really looked forward to playing this. I read the books, own the movies, even tried with Dungeons and Dragons once. I have really enjoyed playing World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Oblivion and other games like that.
I only played LOTRO for a little over two hours. Both hours were frustrating, tedious, boring work for two reasons:
1) It was difficult to control my avatar. The direction buttons were so sensitive, if I turned a little, I turned too far. I weaved constantly, falling off steps and running into walls. I have never played a game before in which this was an issue. I checked the interface options, but couldn't figure out how to change this.
2) The four quests I finished were boring and tedious, and yet seemed to be the only way to advance in the game. Guild Wars quests are engaging like a good book. WoW quests are easy and optional. LOTRO quests made me feel like like a dog doing tricks to entertain a mindless robot.
Dungeon Runners is much more fun, and 100% free. This game is a huge disappointment.
Date: 2007-11-30
Average, Average, Average
If you're a long time Tolkein fan, this is your chance to explore Middle Earth. As an exploration of Middle Earth, LOTRO is excellent -- Stunning visuals, a beautiful soundtrack that captures the feel of each area, being able to participate actively in the storyline, etc.
However, as an MMORPG, LOTRO doesn't do anything innovative. Character classes, while original, are pretty mundane. Stat points are completely autodistributed with no customization whatsoever. Your character can spend hours grinding out various 'deeds' in each zone to get some slight bonuses to their stats, but you are extremely limited in how many deeds you can equip at any one time. The result? Two characters of the same level and the same class are basically identical clones of each other, and your equipment doesn't make that big of a difference. LOTRO has the usual assortment of storyline quests and fetch quests, but being kinda heavy on the fetch quests. Monster XP is really insubstancial so you're forced to go fetch water from the well and kill 6 boars and 8 bears over and over again as you move from zone to zone. And after you reach a certain point, you -will- have to look for a group to get any of the 'worth doing' content done. The community is a mix of mature, older gamers/LOTR fans and WoW-exile kids who just want to 'kill stuff' and don't give a crap about the story.
Despite the need for grouping and XP being weak, you can still hit the level cap and become very bored in just a few weeks. So as an MMORPG? Average. Its about the same as everything else out there. However, if you're a roleplayer or just an extreme fan of middle earth, it is worth picking this up for that immersion and to meet others who feel the same. Just turn off the global channels. Trust me, turn em off.
Date: 2007-11-21
At first enthusiastic, then discouraged, and now love the game!
LOTR Shadows of Angmar Review
LORTSOA is the only MMORPG I have played to date. At first I was a bit overwhelmed: learning the controls (still learning) and finding the locations of some quests. After six days I'm getting a handle on a number of the controls, but the location of some quests are given so vaguely that it takes awhile and much patience to find them. I think it is designed that way to force you to explore.
I have created one hobbit (hunter), 3 elves (hunter, champion and guardian) and one man (guardian). I was hoping to play a strong little hobbit warrior at first - but the hunter hobbit seemed weak. So the second day I created two elves and then on the third day a man and then also an elf guardian. I liked the elf guardian best so far and have continued with him to level 11. Later I might create a hobbit guardian. Picking a race and type you like to play with AND are having fun with are two important aspects of this game. Make sure you experiment to see which race/type works best with you.
Anyway, at first I didn't think I would like the fellowship component so I tried to go solo in all the quests I tried including my last area of play in the elf land of Ered Lurin. However, at beginner levels (lvl under 10) I found myself unable to finish certain quests because the enemy was too strong or too numerous - I needed help!
So, after my third day, now playing as the elf guardian on level 8 I became very discouraged and quite tempted to give up the game once and for all. However, on my fourth day I decided to take the leap and to learn how to chat and to give fellowship a try. After all I just paid $30.00 for the game + $15.00 for a month of play. And so I said "yes" to the next fellowship request when asked and I finally learned how to ask others to join me in fellowship. I am SO GLAD that I did as the others players are really a great bunch! Now I am definitely going to continue playing this game just for the fellowship aspect. Fellowship is a very temporary thing lasting through one or several quests if players are up to it and you can quit any time. KINSHIP PLAY is for long term efforts - which I have not yet tried out.
Even before I learned how to fellowship some players saw that my elf guardian was having a hard time killing a bunch of orcs, bad dwarves, spiders or whatever so that I not could finish a quest such as gathering grapes, obtaining wine bottles or retrieving a stolen elf bow, etc. and they came to my help without being asked - later, I did the same for others as I leveled up. You can see the level of other players and can tell that some are real pros and can help you and others are just newbies and could use your help. This is now what I like most about the game - fellowship!
Last night I joined a fellowship (at the hunter's lodge near Gondamon) to rescue an elf prince in a QUEST INSTANCE and then I asked for help from one member of my fellowship to finish one of my quests in finding a mountain cat's cub in some cave north of the hunter's lodge. My elf companion was a BIG help in locating the cub cave that I would not have easily found and I was able to return the cub to the hunter's lodge.
Right after this I then helped a dwarf guardian player at level 7 - I was now at level 11. He was seeking fellowship from anyone to get to some place in Bree Land. I responded "yes". And off we went - him leading. I soon learned that he didn't know where he was going. We ended up in a dead end and fought many creatures and finally got killed by a band of orcs. I asked again where he wanted to go and he clarified by saying "The Shire". I knew where that was because I had been there a few days ago. It was then that I felt really helpful to another player and showed him how to get into the Shire crossing over a bridge near Duillond and going through the gate. When we got there I told him: "We are in the Shire." He responded: "Neat." He immediately wanted to begin the hobbit mail run quests. I did one with him to show him the ropes and then signed off after saying good bye as it was past bed time. He thanked me and was sorry to see me leave. The other players in this game so far have been very polite and gracious. It is helpful in this game to learn how to wave and bow (emote) to others after they have helped you as they often do this to you when you have helped them - and no one in Middle Earth wants to be rude. You just have to type: /wave (or whatever) and hit ENTER and your player will do it.
The CUT SCENES and QUEST INSTANT action parts are really enjoyable. With the Cut Scenes the game takes you to an action moment (usually a battle) and the NPCs ask for specific help from you. The music and action is great - tense and dramatic! If you die it repeats over for you. The Quest Instant action parts occur during the quests where once again a NPC will ask you to help them recover something or rescue someone. Other players can join you in fellowship or ask for your help in these Quest Instant actions, as some require several players to succeed. After each player talks to the NPC the game actually transports all involved to the proper place where the action begins and then transports you back once it has been accomplished. You can repeat these Instant Quests with others if you visit a Reflecting Pool which again I have yet to learn about.
Sparring is also a possibility in this game where either yourself or another player wants to spar. Once on the fourth day another elf player wanted to spar with me but I didn't know that the fancy red ring he placed on the ground and the crossed swords over my head indicated this. All I had to do was click my opponent and type in the chat bar: [/spar] + ENTER and the fight would have begun! Unfortunately, I just kept starring at this player wondering "Whats up!" He was dancing and clapping (emote) trying to get my attention - oh well sorry about that. I went to the manual after that to see what he was doing and found out about sparring. No one dies in sparring, but there is a winner and loser - the loser falls down. Weapons and clothing usually need to be repaired after sparring. Whenever you die in the game usually you need to get your gear REPAIRED which all merchant NPCs can do.
There is still so much in this game to understand: crafting (which is getting mixed reviews) traits, skills, deeds, books, virtues, etc. Patience and time will be needed. Owning a House looks neat but is SOOO expensive! Others have spoken of the beauty of the sights and sounds. I have a decent rig: Pro Gamer series Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz / 2.67Ghz, 2.00GB Ram & a GeForce 7600GT card. The game runs real smooth and looks and sounds great. Hope this review helps those yet hesitant to give it a shot and those becoming discouraged at the beginning to continue on!
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