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OW (World of Warcraft) took the lead for being the most addictive MMORPG(Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) to date and it still has not reached the end of its lifespan. On the negative side, however, once one has embraced the end game content and has seen the world of Azeroth things start to become a drag.
LOTRO(Lord of the Rings Online) is definitely the best alternative to the massive world of WOW and we at GEAR decided to pack our mouse and keyboard and head towards an unknown world. One can’t help feeling a bit nostalgic about the place. There is no Draenei or a Nightelf for Kilometres on end and the landscapes a little bit more on the juicy side than the cartoonish world of WOW. This is eyecandy on a different scale and obviously if one does not carry the bragging rights to a brand new display card or the proper gaming equipment then one can forget about entertaining the eyeballs.
Technology perks like the ‘fantasy like’ bloom effect and the excellent shader technology is enough to present the gamer with an accurate representation of Middle Earth. As far as the eye can see there are trees, mountains and landscapes that will give one goosebumps on the forehead.
From the magical Hobbit holes of ‘The Shire’ to the dreamlike structures of ‘Rivendale’ there is enough to make anyone a fan of the book itself. The sky rotates and changes between night and day while weather enhances the atmosphere with snow or a rainstorm,
Codemasters have thought of everything except for footprints in the snow and on the dirt roads. Nothing serious when one can experience detail like birds taking flight and the grass swaying in the wind. An outstanding achievement is the fact that nothing looks the same - each tree and brush is placed at random with no distinctive pattern. Each area is unique and they flow into each other with grace with the only exception that huge areas like ‘The Shire’ and ‘Rivendale’ are only accessed through a portal to avoid a graphical overload on small systems.
Various graphical bugs also provide for a bit of frustration at times but the admin is very supportive and the latest patch has already resolved many issues. The bugs are monir when compared to fantastic quality of the animations. There are hundreds of emotes to utilise making the characters more lifelike which come in very handy for the role-playing community. For the fans of Lord of the Rings nothing beats the emotional experience of sitting in front of the fireplace at the Prancing Pony or admiring a sunset on Whearthertop where the dark riders almost took Frodo’s life. The world is bustling with people and three new servers had to be installed to keep up with demand - so there is no time to be lonely.
Playing the game is a totally new experience – very different from that of WOW. Some areas have been copied from other MMORPGs but these are truly necessary to keep the game flowing smoothly. One still has the power of the auction house and there is still the option to spend one’s life perfecting the crafting skills which vary from woodworking to mining. Like in WOW one can use each other’s skills to make an extra buck or to improve one’s equipment. The one unique feature many will find lacking is that there are no PVP servers. Instead one can access an area called Ettenmoors and play as a creature taking on anything that crawls and walks without any restrictions.
Unfortunately one can only select four races with each selected class. There is still the Hunter, the Minstrel (a healer character), Captain (a strategist character), Champion, Guardian and the Burglar (yes this is a thief). They may have different names and have the same skills as other characters in other MMORPG’s but the new characters provide hours of playing fun.
The game is also story driven and one participates in ‘Epic’s’ which give one the opportunity to assist characters such as Gandalf and Aragorn. The Epic can be continued whenever the player feels like it - this makes it a good tool to gradually introduce new areas to the player.
There are hundreds of quests to feast on but they seem a bit more involved than your regular ‘grinding’ we have come to hate from WOW . Instances are still a popular pass-time where one gathers a group of friends called a Fellowship and ventures out on death-defying quests for glory and fortune
For our local friends the game costs around R110 a month. Buying the game will haunt the wallet by a terrible R350+. LOTRO is expensive but it is worth it as one can experience connection speeds of no more than 450m/s which provides a solid gaming experience even for a shaped DSL line. For those interested also prepare yourself for a insane 800mb file download which is all good as this introduces extra content (a small expansion pack) for the game. To sum it all up we at Gear can promise an endless amount of hours in Middle Earth. Lotro will never compete with WOW but then again WOW will never compete with LOTRO due to its unique new features. Don’t take my word for it, spend a few extra pennies and experience LOTRO the way I did, with a smile on my face.
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