Been testing the game for months now, and In summary, its a very good game. What do I like about it? What are the strong points and weak points? Read on!

1. The graphics are great, and the world has a very 'realistic' feel. Its not like playing in a cartoon (WoW) or a cartoon hell on sterioids (Warhammer). You really do feel like you are in middle-earth. The Shire is awesome, Rivendell is spectacular, you have to see it.

2. You can run this game on an average computer. I am using a 2.4ghz, 1gig RAM, 128MB videocard, and have few if any problems. Whereas when I was in the Vanguard beta, the lag made it virtually unplayable on that set-up. I plan to get a new computer later this year,but I am happy and a bit surprised I can play LotRO so well :)

3. The quests and the story-arc pull you into the world in a way no other mmorpg comes close to doing. But there is so much to do, it doesnt have the linear feel of a single player rpg. I mean, you dont have the do the main storylines at all if you dont want to, there are plenty of other quests. When you do quests, the NPCs will react different to you later, and when you run by, they will say things like 'Our town is safe from the orcs now, thanks to you Eol!". It really does help with the ambience of the world, and make you feel a part of it rather than a spectator.

4. I was skeptical about putting players into contact with the fellowship of the ring (Gandalf, Frodo, etc). But Turbine does it in a really smart way. You meet those npcs and interact with them as the story progresses,  but YOUR storyline is so separate from the fellowship's, that it doesnt feel forced or pre-ordained. Its more like the LotR NPCs will tell you, 'can you help us with something, we are very busy elsewhere'. And you interact a lot more with other names from LotR that arent in the fellowship, like radagast , halbarad, gildor and glorfindel.

5. The mechanics are reminiscent of WoW, which given WoW's success, makes sense. It makes the game more accessible to more players. What sets this game apart isnt the mechanics (whch are fine), its the story and the world. And after all, most of what you see in WoW was from other games - they didnt do new things so much as take old ones and streamline them and polish them.

6. In havent done monster PvP but the people I talk to seem to enjoy it. It opens up a whole new arena of things to do, and will add a lot of player-made endgame content. But you could avoid PvP altogether and it wouldnt impact your character.

7. This game can be played group or solo. It is VERY accessible for the solo player. As you advance in level, many of the quests are group based, so you will probably want to group sometimes, but I played solo much of the way and had NO problems.

8. The game is also very accessible to the casual player. In fact, casual players and LotR fans are probably the games main audience. I personally am not quite a hardcore player, but play a lot more than a true casual player, and I love the game.

9. But if your main goal is to advance in level as fast as you can, then this game might not be the one for you. If you dont read quests and try to enjoy them, but only do them for the fast xp, and if you run by the sites without looking because you dont get xp, and if you dont interact with other players unless it gives you rp, then this is not the game for you. (And if you play anyway, please try not to play on my server ;) )

10. This has all the potential to be a great game for roleplayers. But I am concerned that Turbine doesnt plan to have RP servers. So a lot depends on how they implement the naming rules and chat-spam rules for all servers. It is very clear that the player-base for this game is more mature and older, which is a great thing IMO. I mean, if you look at the WoW boards, and compare them to the LotRO boards, there is no comparison. But immersion is so important in this game (the world is one of the big selling points), and I sure hope Turbine doesnt let the few 1337 d00dz ruin the environment for many of us.

11. I havent done much crafting, but the general feel I get is that its OK but not great and needs a lot of work. I get the impression that Turbine is working on that a lot, they still have over two months so I expect to see a lot of refinement on crafting.

12. I have played three of the 7 classes: Guardian (tank), minstrel (healer), and Loremaster (mage/pet class). All 3 were very good. I think I will stick with the loremaster, but all three were fun - I tried the guardian first, and if you had asked me then, I would have sworn I would play a guardian because I liked it so much. The minstrel actually plays instruments and you hear the music, although it still needs work. Also you can buy instruments in-game and play your own music, and they are working hard to refine that - people are actually writing songs!

13. This game looked better in alpha then some games look and play upon release. When I was invited into testing, I couldnt believe how good the game looked and how playable it was, even back then. If you dont like this game, it sure wont be because the game isnt playable or unbearably buggy or 'unfinished'. I think Turbine learned a lot from the DDO release,and is really trying to do this game right.

14. Turbine worked very hard stay within the lore of Tolkien. So you wont see spaceships or mage pyrotechnics or bizarre monsters that dont belong in middle-earth. For the most part, thats a good thing - a great thing even - because it really helps with immersion. But one drawback is that you see an awful lot of orcs, goblins, wolves, bears and boars - over and over. Its more realistic that way but some people get a little frustrated fighting the same mobs so often. There are some monsters and things not in the books, but Turbine (correctly) doesnt go overboard with them. Its a tough balance for Turbine, on all kinds of issues, especially  creatures, magic and the 'world' - they have to strike a balance between playability and staying true to Tolkien lore. And overall they have done pretty well - for every person who complains that mages cant cast more awesome magic attack spells, there is someone else who says Turbine went too far with what they have. Most fans and players will be happy I think, but some on both extremes will not.

If you made it this far, I hope that helps. In summary, I will say that what you think of this game will depend a lot on what type of player you are. If you are super-hardcore or PvP types, then this probably wont keep your interest for a long time. If you are a middle of the roader, or a casual player, or ESPECIALLY if you are a Tolkien fan, then chances are, you will like this game. And if you do, look up Eol the elven loremaster and say 'hi'!

Forgot to add one thing about characters: at this point they lack a lot of customization in terms of different skills and ability. A lvl 35 guardian is  pretty much the same as any other level 35 guardian. Sure you wiull be able to dye armor and cloaks and LOOK different. But they still need to do a lot of work with the trait system, so that you are able to have different abilities than other characters of the same class. They may not finish that til after release, I dont know. Look at WoW and how many total revisions for classes it went through. But that is something the game needs, and I think the developers know that and are working on it. I can understand though if polishing up the game and fixing more fundamental things is a higher priority at this point.

They ARE doing a lot of tweaking of the classes to balance them, and they seem to be getting there. The classes are much more balanced than a few months ago.

Originally posted by Eol-

9. But if your main goal is to advance in level as fast as you can, then this game might not be the one for you. If you dont read quests and try to enjoy them, but only do them for the fast xp, and if you run by the sites without looking because you dont get xp, and if you dont interact with other players unless it gives you rp, then this is not the game for you. (And if you play anyway, please try not to play on my server ;) )

 

(Can't get out the quote box darnit!)

I don't read quests. But it's not because I want the fastest xp. I don't read them, because they don't matter. Whether I do the quest or not doesn't change the gameworld. That's why I don't read them. Kill ten badgers, bring back the hides for XP. That's the quest.

You can tell any story you like, that if I do it I'll save the Shire, prevent Gandalf from being killed, the badger hair will make a potion that destroys the one ring, whatever you want to make up. But after I do the quest the gameworld will be exactly the same as if I didn't do it. Oh sure, maybe some NPC's will say something different to me, but that's about it.

Why should I read the quest, if it has no bearing on the game world?  It's not about the speed of advancement, but whether or not the story matters, and if it doesn't change the gameworld, it doesn't matter, IMHO.

The only thing that changes after I do the quest, is that I get xp. So that's the only thing I care about. How many badgers do I need to kill, and where are they?

On the other hand, if you gave me a quest and whether I did it or not would determine if a bridge across a ravine would exist in the game world or not, I'd want to hear all about it. Or, let's say that the quest would determine whether or not the short cut thru the mines of Moria was open or closed to all players in the game. In that case, I'm all ears. Not that I'd have to do it by myself or with my party, but maybe I could contribute in some small way. That would make a difference. Otherwise, just tell me where the badgers are, and how many I need to kill.

The OP is right-on-the-money.  I'm not trying to flame you, but you're sounding a little like the "1337 d00dz".  This is not just another midievel mmorpg. It is the Lord of the Rings!  Seriously though, it is a story that you are participating in. If you didn't love the books and movies, then you may not like this game. The devs restricted themselves in many ways to stay true to Tolkien which enhances immersion and roleplaying.  You can pretty much know any book by reading the first 10 pages and the last ten pages, but you won't enjoy it nearly as much as if you read the whole book.  Sorry to get philosophical here, but life is similiar: its not about the destination, its about enjoying the ride.  LOTRO is the same: its not about finally arriving at level 100 (or whatever max is) it is about enjoying the journey getting there.  Roleplaying with others, figuring out the quests in fellowships, the little nuances and storylines is what makes this game awesome.  If you just want to complete the quests and get to max level....and or don't enjoy Tolkien Lore.....I don't think you'll like this game.  It is really meant to be a role playing game IMHO. 

As an example (feel free to flame me) when I met Strider at the Prancing Pony I was goin' "WOOOT!!".  The quests that followed and the cut scenes were like being in the movie.  It was awesome. Meeting Kuuaakua Maleiva for my umpteenth mission in EVE (and I still like and play EVE) just cant compare. Its all about identifying and participating in the story even though it has nothing to do with your game stats.

I think a good test would be to ask yourself "do I enjoy sitting down and reading a good story book from start to finish"?  If you say no, then pass on this game.

Originally posted by TEDMOLLY0

 Sorry to get philosophical here, but life is similiar: its not about the destination, its about enjoying the ride.  LOTRO is the same: its not about finally arriving at level 100 (or whatever max is) it is about enjoying the journey getting there.  Roleplaying with others, figuring out the quests in fellowships, the little nuances and storylines is what makes this game awesome.  If you just want to complete the quests and get to max level....and or don't enjoy Tolkien Lore.....I don't think you'll like this game.  It is really meant to be a role playing game IMHO. 

This game is just another example of why producing a mmorpg to cash-in on a famous brand always results in a load of unfinished crap. Failures like DDO, SWG etc spring instantly to mind.

Very, very dull game, poorly designed, completely unoriginal. Total lack of any customisation in character development hits you from the first 10 minutes in the face like a brick. I'm sure it will be a big success simply because it's LOTR, but behind the name the core game is very average and a thoughtless rip-off of a list of other mmorpgs as so many "new" fantasy mmorpgs are nowadays.

This game made me immediately think of SWG, except SWG was quite immersive when released, this is not even slightly immersive. Quests have been mentioned here several times, the quests in this game could have been ripped wholesale from any other mmorpg and no-one would know the difference. Dev's simply have not learnt yet that pointless and/or repetative quests make for a pointless and/or repetative game. It is also painfully predictable, been through many quests where I simply knew what was coming next because it's identical to every other mmorpg ever made, no thought put into them whatsoever.

Graphics are pretty, but it's all fluff to hide the huge list of core problems this game has. Sum it up in 3 words, shameless cash-in.

I think the OP did a fine job on the review.

All I will add is that the game is fun and entertaining, runs great on my box, and is entertaining. It's polished and gets better by the day. If you want trollkins with railguns doing open PvP look elsewhere. If  for whatever reason you desire a meaningful (read painfull) death penalty again look elsewhere. I f you are looking for a solid, polished, entertaining way to spend a few hours then by all means give it a try.

I'll post some screenies later.

I am now free to say that I have been testing LOTRO since August -- Alpha Testing.

I agree with the OP's comments and will add that PvMP (Monster Play) is similar in concept to the DAoC Battlegrounds -- and it is fun.

I also agree that "hardcore" MMORPG players will probably not gravitate to this game.  You CAN powerlevel, but you will miss most of the charm of the game if you do so.

This game tends to feel like a pleasant Sunday drive in the country ... the slower you go, the nicer everything is.

Take your time.  Enjoy it.

Originally posted by TEDMOLLY0
I see these types of complaints constantly in every game, but I've never seen a solution.  How do you propose to keep someone like you entertained?  There are a lot of people like you out there and I'm sure the devs would cater to you if you were specific other than "this is just the same old WOW grind".

Originally posted by TEDMOLLY0
Yes I read your post. Did you read mine? If you're skipping a story and not even attempting to read it for the sake of entertainment value then that says you don't care about reading, you only care about the xp. What other conlusion could I make?  I don't see how reading the story could ever make a difference in the big picture. If the kill "10 badgers because" had a good reason, you could still skip reading it if you wanted.  I'd like to see examples where there would be a reason to read it other than roleplaying/entertainment. 

I agree that the story means nothing unless it affects your gameplay. Quests should at least make you think.

I really miss the way quests were designed originally in EQ1. Questgivers were not identified with stupid floating icons or glows. Any NPC had potential to offer a quest and if they didn't they still may have had information that you could use in another place and time in the gameworld. You had to listen to what the NPCs said in order to extract information and engage them with keywords they either offered, or you made logical guesses based in part on your knowledge of the gameworld and lore. That was the only way to prompt them for additional information and a possible quest.

All these 2nd generation MMOGs have simple scripted canned responses from their NPCs. You don't need to think or problemsolve. It's boring and dummied down trivial questgrinding. Developers are just spoonfeeding the quests as tasks now. It's sad.

Originally posted by gillvane1

Originally posted by TEDMOLLY0
Yes I read your post. Did you read mine? If you're skipping a story and not even attempting to read it for the sake of entertainment value then that says you don't care about reading, you only care about the xp. What other conlusion could I make?  I don't see how reading the story could ever make a difference in the big picture. If the kill "10 badgers because" had a good reason, you could still skip reading it if you wanted.  I'd like to see examples where there would be a reason to read it other than roleplaying/entertainment. 

The entertainment value is not in reading a story in an MMORPG. It is in having an affect on the gameworld. I wouldn't care if there was no xp involved.

An example where reading would matter would be if the NPC said, you have to kill x amount of orcs in this area. If you don't, the merchants will be killed and all the shops will be closed. Then, if you didn't kill x amount of orcs, you log in to play the next day, and guess what? The shops in that area are closed, and you have to go somewhere else to buy items.

THAT would make reading the quest worthwhile.

Not, do this, and you'll get xp, and I'll tell you a story. I don't want to hear the story if it has no relevance on the gameplay.