The Lord of the Rings Online (2007 Video Game) User Reviews

Tolkien's vision imagined

[bouellet82381 · 10/10 · 2 October 2007]

Perhaps one of the most polished massively multi-player online games ever released at launch, Lord of the Rings Online stands firm on the ground for which it represents. LOTRO features all the bells and whistles of an established MMO, and offers almost unlimited potential, being relatively new to the market.

Though it may not feature groundbreaking graphics or game-play, LOTRO borrows its likeness from similar games and presents them with authority in the first ever MMO set in Tolkien's legendary Middle-Earth. The end result? Simplistic game-play and an ever-growing number of intriguing, story-driven quests set in a beautifully crafted representation of Middle-Earth appeals to both seasoned gamers and genre newcomers alike, even if only for the Tolkien legendarium it presents--I've met many people in the game who never even played an MMO before, but quickly found themselves immersed in the massive game-play environments just because they read the books growing up, and it's everything they imagined it to be. The game's artists make good use of landscape, lighting, textures, and colors to bring Middle-Earth to life.

Your story begins as Frodo and company leave the Shire. While you're not part of their journey, completing an ongoing "epic" series of quests advances the familiar story as you encounter and interact with many key characters from the books. Aside from the epic quests, traditional quests are offered in various places, ranging from the typical gathering or slaying quest, to more odd-job type quests. Quest rewards range from currency to items, and even abilities and beneficial stat-enhancing traits. The epic story quest continues with each free game update, usually every couple months. Aside from typical server maintenance and patches, the free updates offer more quest options, refines game-play for select player classes, and can even offer new features and game-play areas.

If you're a fan of PVP action, LOTRO features high level player-versus-player options at low levels---once any character reaches level 10 on any given server, you can play as a level-50 "monster" in the services of the Dark Lord Sauron. You can complete quests as a monster or engage in PVP raids. The primary purpose of "monster play" is to aid lower level characters in obtaining Destiny Points--spendable points used for short-term buffs. Destiny points are also earned by advancing in level. Once you reach level-40, you can access the same area you did as a monster, but this time in the services of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, earning various PVP ranks and titles.

The game's main group play feature is in the form of fellowships. You can enlist the help of others or join a fellowship if a quest is too difficult to do on your own--there's tons out there that almost require it--or you can fellow with friends and other players just for the sake of group play. Beyond grouping, the game also allows you to join or even form a kinship, LOTRO's main guild element, which often benefits you by offering aid or crafting supplies, should you need it.

LOTRO has several crafting options available in the form of vocations. Each vocation usually consists of 2 production professions and a gathering profession. Mastery of all professions within a given vocation is interdependent of other professions. Mastering a production profession like tailoring unlocks the ability to include trophy items obtained from looting slain enemies in a recipe, resulting in a finer crafted item, and in the event of a critical success, the best possible crafted item quality. Some crafted items can yield beneficial stat increases upon equipping it. Crafted items or components can go for sale on the auction house, or sold to vendors for quick cash.

All in all, whether you're a Tolkien fan or not, new to computer gaming, or just looking for a change of pace in this genre of games, Lor of the Rings Online is a solid investment. The recently made available 7-day free trial should not be missed, so check into it if you haven't already. There's also a referral program which awards free game-time upon your friends' paid subscription. Standard monthly rates in the US are $14.99USD and is billed month-to-month, unless purchased in annual or semi-annual rates. Have fun!

Very Good, Instantly Playable MMO with Depth

[IokFromTheCrypt · 10/10 · 26 August 2008]

As a pretty experienced player of Massive Multiplayer Online games, I was shocked when I realised LOTRO had slipped under my radar. After the bitter disappointment of Age of Conan, I found myself looking for another game and - finding the game at a knock-down price - decided to give it a go.

Fans of the genre will be very impressed with LOTRO. Developers Turbine have learnt from World of Warcraft's accessibility and quick-fix play but have not forgotten that a game also needs depth AND breadth.

What you have here is a game that gives players the opportunity to have their hack and slash fun but also backs it up with a strong community spirit, namely with a whole host of "trivial stuff" to entertain players. In what seems a throwback to older games, for example, players may own houses, something the WoW team looked at but dismissed. This may seem like a pointless exercise but here Turbine have gone back to the MMO roots and realised that for some people, Status Items are a big draw. Similarly, the title/deeds system - which is effectively LOTRO's take on Xbox Achievements - gives a further opportunity for bragging rights.

There's also an element of intelligence required in quests. Unlike other MMOs where quests involve going from one blip to another on your map, LOTRO leaves it up to the player to figure out the finite details. Don't worry if that sounds sloppy - it's not. It simply means that the game requires you to give consideration to your quests and effectively turns them from simple blip-chasing karaoke into something that actually engages you.

Then there's the Epic Quest line. Very cleverly the developers have integrated the events of the books into the storyline, with the player assisting the journey of the Ring and the defence against the Enemy, but in a very subtle manner that compliments the original in a well thought-out manner.

As for gameplay, it's pretty much as you'd expect - combat is based around auto attacks with a queued special move system, loot can be taken from creatures and used/sold and various characters give you quests to complete. There's nothing particularly revolutionary there but that's not a negative comment, as what is there is done very well.

Quests are well thought-out, interesting and suited to the setting. For example, a frontiersman may ask you to defend his homestead against attacking bandits, whereas a Hobbit farmer may ask you to help him woo his neighbour. Although these quests are really only based around a few basic concepts - kill X number of creatures, collect X number of items, go talk to X - the difference in LOTRO compared to other games is that they're very well-balanced.

Unlike many games, playing isn't a chore and you don't feel yourself battling constantly to advance. Instead, the quests are pitched just at that right level of being challenging but not impossible (I find the comments about "forced grouping" to be rather strange here, as that's not my experience of the game at all...) Visually, the game is very impressive and the engine rattles along at a cracking pace. There's very little slowdown and the game looks great, even on the lower settings. Not that you'll need to lower them (unless your PC is really out of date) as the engine is capable of rendering multiple characters without any slowdown (unlike some other MMOs I could mention) and even the massive task of drawing the cities barely causes the engine to sweat. It's a great achievement.

Sound-wise the game also excels, with great ambient audio. The only downside is that the ambient music is VERY ambient, being little more than a slow guitar strumming or low -rumble. It works, but it lacks the oomph of World of Warcraft's or Age of Conan's choral pieces.

Overall, LOTRO delivers on what it promises: great visuals, fun gameplay, depth and a lot of systems in place to keep you playing for a long time. It's also one of the most polished, professional MMOs yet.

And if you want proof of how good this game is, I've cancelled my World of Warcraft account! Yes, it's THAT good.

LOTRO is constantly evolving

[yamy-18683 · 10/10 · 2 February 2016]

This game is a huge immersing travel inspired on the world that Tolkiens created. If you want to feel this lands through the eyes of its people while exploring Middle Earth & grow into a hero that help others during your travels, this is a game for you. Be ready for months of fun.

The images are just gorgeous. Its map have grown a lot since its release & it is still doing it. So far LOTRO covers the territories from Eriador to Gondor.

It is also constantly upgrading the game play. You can choose to play either of 4 races & 10 classes. LOTRO is friendly to players new to MMORPGs & the requirements to gear you characters are between reasonably terms.

Varied kinds of side progressions allow you to improve beyond just reaching a level. Many kinds of play style are catered & you can play at your own pace.

If you haven't play LOTRO before, give it a try. I did since 2007 & have never being sory.

Really quite good.

[zabotage · 6/10 · 28 April 2007]

Now, the reason i score this so high so soon is because as a new release the game is better then 99% of the MMO genre and on top of that is far more polished then any other moo out there, and its only just been released!. This game has HUGE potential to build upon, there's no limit to how big this game could get, I'm talking wow scale. for the die hard MMO fans out there it may seem a tad simplistic compared to likes of EVE or EQ2, its along the lines of wow/gw. but with far superior graphics and of course is set in the Tolkien universe, which they have pulled of very well, what with the taverns and quests involving items and things from the books and films.

WOW = World of warcraft GW = Guild wars MMO = Massively Multiplayer Online

Graphics - Cross Guild wars with Oblivion and you have LOTRO, very good, i have an

P4 3.4GHZ 7800GT X-FI fatality 1024 DDR2 533 ram

and just struggle in towns on Very high with 4 AF no AA, @ 1680 x 1050

Sound - This is a real stand out point for this game, the game sounds are very much like the films, very good atmospheres they seem to be able to create, plus you have the option to learn an instrument so there's always loads of people practicing on the streets, through out this i may mention wow (world of warcraft) a lot, i do this because i believe this to be its only real competition

Gameplay - Very good! maybe a tad simple to begin with, but worth it if you like the Tolkien universe!

Price - 24.99 GBP in shop if you look around, and 7.something, a month (already cheaper then wow)

Lag - Very little at all, although this does somewhat depend on your ISP

People - Very friendly! send out a shout to the region your in with a question, and it promptly gets answered

Quests - Good, Story driven quests, with the option of the traditional MMO type quest there as well

Population - Load of people are constantly roaming around, far more then i noticed in wow and

Overall probably the best on release MMO ever made, already at a standard it took wow nearly 2 years to master

At the end of the day, this game really might be for you, and by you i mean 99% of MMO fans, and by might i mean probably is, so go try it out!

A Game of Two Sides

[Fiplerrr · 5/10 · 15 January 2018]

This game really has me torn in half. One half of me wants to scream in anger and the other admires at it's attempt to bring Middle-Earth to life.

Let us get the gripes out of the way first. Gripe the first is the in-game currency. The currency is expensive and you have to pay quite a lot of money to get enough LOTRO points to be able to afford anything decent from the shop. I understand the in-game currency as it is a free-to-play but the in-game currency could be just a little bit cheaper. Gripe the second is random difficulty slope. You'll start the game thinking it is quite easy and then you are slapped in the face by a dry kipper called ridiculous difficulty. I have literally had to get a player double my level to help me with a mission once. The real kick in the mush was that I went through about a dozen missions after that were really easy. Gripe the last is the glitches, my goodness, the glitches! I will now list the glitches I have experienced during my travels around Middle-Earth. NPCs glitching into walls so I can't speak with them, screen freezes, being stuck on the spot, getting stuck in a tree, enemies freezing and my favourite of all a horribly pixelated Dwarf. Now for the good bits. The game really does have some stunning locations. Despite a poor draw distance, you can get some pretty nice views from the top of mountains and Moria is just voluptuously delicious for the retina. The graphics are not too shabby either which enhances the majesty of your surroundings. Also you really do sometimes feel you are on an adventure, that is when your not grinding away, slaying wild boars. Discovering new locations is really exciting for me and entering caves, dens and lairs can sometimes have an unsettling atmosphere. Talking about atmosphere, this game has quite a lot of it. Especially in areas such as the Barrow-downs, Fields of Fornost and Imlad Balchorth (and the whole of Angmar in general). This game is an experience that sometimes has me opening my mouth to swear at the unfair glitches, difficulty and exorbitance. Other times I am opening my mouth in awe of the beauty and excitement of my adventures in Middle-Earth. A must play for die-hard LOTR fans but not for those who don't like MMORPGs' down-sides like lag and grinding.

some nice ideas, but gets boring quickly

[g_brayshay · 5/10 · 24 May 2007]

I've been playing this for about a week now, and to be honest it's not quite as good as I expected it to be.

There are plenty of reviews around saying how great this MMORPG is and this may give you the impression that this is a WoW beater. Afraid to say, quite simply, it's not.

The first ten levels can be completed relatively quickly, and the way it works it's exp rewards is wonderful, with a much much higher exp increase from quest rewards than grinding. This works great for those 'go there and talk to that person' type of quests.

It's a pity that much of the quests you complete will at some stage invariably see you grinding your way to your target.

It's also currently riddled with some rough edges. The auction house is a nightmare to use, with a very unreliable search function and no way of searching through all the item categories at once, ,leading to pretty much having to search for items yourself. It's also poorly categorised.

The quests themselves are also absolutely no different from standard mmorpg fare either, go here, kill that, talk to him, fetch that, get 20 of them..... it's a massive pity that the game cannot keep up the pace of the intro levels throughout. There are times when it does, but these are far too infrequent.

Furthermore, a massive difference between Lotro, WoW and say, guild wars, is the kind of game play that it tries to force upon you. Lotro from early on tries to force players into playing in groups. Not just for instances but for general quests too. This is fine in Asian communities (all the mmorpgs in Korea for example,) but this system doesn't work too well in western culture. so it's again a pity that Lotro didn't learn from guild wars example of being able to buy a group for instances, and keeping group quests confined to those instances as well. It doesn't help either that the chat system is a very clumsy version of Warcraft's.

Items, one of the good things about WoW, is that whilst it may seem like a rare occurrence, often something shiny and of value will drop from a mob, this is akin to fishing, and it's these little sparks of excitement that tells you 'just a few monsters more, something might drop'. which encourages further play, Lotro's drop rate of such items is frankly terrible, and makes the player just want to finish the quests as fast as possible as there really isn't any point to killing those mobs. Which just adds to the frustration when you get attacked. Although a point where Lotro scores over WoW is that at least every pig you kill will have a liver. These type of quests are made so much more relaxing because of that.

Walking...there is a huuuuge amount of walking involved in this game. Far too much at times. yes it's possible to get a ride from a mount vendor to various places, such as like in WoW. The big difference is the crippling price this game charges for it so early on. 110 silver to travel across the map, which is pretty much guaranteed to wipe all your saved money by level 14 is a bit much.

Couple all this together and you find yourself generally wandering around for long periods of time looking for something exiting to do. It often feels like a computer game version of wandering to the shops, and frankly, I'd rather do that in real life and keep my gaming life for escapism to something exciting.

Used to be my favorite thing in the world

[jami-imaj · 5/10 · 13 November 2022]

I would come home from work and play this for hours every day, do raids on the weekends, for years, started in 2011 and finally quit in 2021. Loved the game and everything about it, it was a beautiful world which rewarded hard work.

Then standing stone games took over.

This may be my own personal animosity about these type of companies/people so maybe a little explanation; I was 14 mowing lawns raking leaves and shoveling snow around our neighborhood for money and behind one of my customers houses was a 69 dodge dart. It was beautiful, flat tires, mice living in it and rust like a colony of termites attacking from the ground up. I worked for that old lady for a year to get that car, and then I had to get tires, battery, brakes, some weird porcelain thing on the firewall as well as a bunch of other things just to get it going, took another six months for all of that. I was so proud when 16 year old me was able to drive my own car to school, but then the very next day some kid with rich parents came to school with a brand new 1985 mustang who did nothing to deserve it but be placed in the right newborn nursery basket at the hospital. All my friends were oooing and ahhhing over that car and forgot about mine, I told myself I didn't care but it still hurt, taught my whole life that hard work will pay off. Turns out being rich pays off more, and much quicker.

I had 5 characters I took to level 85, burglar, hunter, rune keeper, guardian and captain. That's 5 times I wanted determination for a character so I killed hundreds of worms in the trollshaws for the deed (plus fifty other deeds), 5 times I would grind instances like the grand stair or the mirror thing or ... I forget the names, just so I could get enough tokens to get the cool moria armor. The watcher in the water ! Forgot about that one, 5 characters I repeatedly did that brutal instance with. 5 characters I quested as much as I could to become friends with the elves enough so that I wouldn't die in Lothlorien when I step into the woods (remember that one?). 5 times I did mirkwood. I hate mirkwood. 5 times I would grind that fangorn instance and do all of great river so I could get the cool jewelry and the spider eggs to make ... ok I forget what I had to make but it was cool and took a lot of grinding. 5 times I rebuilt Hytbold. <--- that was a time consuming ordeal back in the day. Then you had to get some blank ring drop from warbands, max out your crafting ability and trade your finished product to some guys outside the snowbourn great hall. Then there's trading all the turbine points I've acquired to get the west rohan expansion, doing almost every single quest there 5 times over to get enough deeds. Doing all of gondor, mordor, dale lands and dwarf holds. It wasn't until I had finished all of Ered Mithrin on my 5th character (I stopped working on my guard and took a beorning all the way through the whole thing without all the grinding I did on the others) again, wasn't until I was completely done with 5 characters capped and thinking about working on one of my lowly alts that it really got to me. Aria of the valar. I put in years of work, YEARS of work on my characters and rich people come along and not only are they instantly the same level as me, they have better gear, better virtues, better everything.

Yes this game is free to play, just like life, and just like life it's better to be rich so you can get what you want quicker and with less effort. Or no effort at all in the case of some people. I haven't quit life yet, still hold onto the delusion that my hard work will pay off some day. I have quit this game though, as beautiful and fun as it was for a decade I am done.