The lost chapter
From a pure fantasy literature lover's perspective, Lord of the Rings Online is a stunningly well-crafted game. The developers make every attempt to keep to the nuances of Middle-Earth lore as written both in the primary novels and the Silmarillion, as well as taking some small, smartly written liberties to expand the world and make it into a full-fledged game beyond just the realm of the Fellowship. It's not entirely successful as a game, however. The game sticks mostly to a tired MMO formula, relying primarily on fetch and kill quests to pad out the game beyond the otherwise interesting main quests.
It's been four years since the game's release, and being an MMO designed to run on all sorts of computers to allow as much access as possible, it's not exactly the prettiest girl at the ball. And the staid tried-and-true formula of years past is leaving me with a little bit of frustration as I repeatedly revisit the same areas time and time again to kill boars, collect plants, go on pixel hunts for obscured little knick-knacks, and the usual things you'll find in an MMO styled after World of Warcraft. Thankfully, the game has been streamlined to push players forward at a much faster rate, making those obscure instances a breeze to get through if need be, or boss fights just a little less difficult. Some parts are certainly not easy, but you won't find a lot of frustration in the quests as you can almost assuredly move on to a different area and find something else to do.
The free-to-play subscription is a little tough to swallow. You'll get a good idea of what the game is and if you'll like it or not, but I really do recommend ponying up for a VIP subscription if you want to really get into the game. Without it, you'll be able to do the main quests and some of the side-quests, but it won't be easy to progress far into the game.
Sadly, the community, which used to be the big draw for the game, has become somewhat subdued and quiet. My Kinship is usually fairly active in the evenings, but unless you're a part of a similar group, you won't find a lot of friendly chatter on the OOC channels. That's not to say that the people are rude or juvenile by any means. They've just all mostly found themselves a kinship and keep to themselves. Turbine's attention to housing has also somewhat fallen by the wayside, as few changes (if any) have been made since the housing units were first introduced. Houses tend to be nothing more than storage units, with very few real uses and an eerie, empty feel to the neighborhoods. This is a massive problem that can't be easily fixed, but it should be one that developers take note of in future MMO's - try to adapt your housing to the number of active players to keep those who actually visit and frequently use housing together.
All in all, though, Lord of the Rings Online is a triumph. If you've any love of Tolkien's work or are looking for a more literary-minded game to play, Lord of the Rings is certainly going to be right up your alley. For everyone else, you might want to give it a shot too. Hey, it's free, so why not? Just don't be expecting them to set the world on fire with staggering new changes any time soon.
