Why I buy this one ?
- The only MMO based on the extensive and beloved fantasy universe of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the first MMO to provide a compelling story behind players' actions
- Unique Combat and Advancement Systems -- game mechanics surpass skills and levels to include accomplishment, traits and titles to help you gain experience in a variety of ways
- Jump in as a monster and battle against other gamers in a fast, action-packed session of monster vs. player combat
- Besides in-game mail, chat, crafting and guild management tools, The Lord of the Rings Online uses next-generation features like integrated voice chat, instant messaging and automatically updated web pages with your characters' in-game stats

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What our customer's say!

"Solid, amzing graphics, fun filled, and deeply immersive", I have been playing Lord of the Rings Online (referred to as "LOTRO") since June 2nd, 2008 (as of the writing of this article, a month and a half). I purchased a boxed, retail version of the game.

Summary
Lord of the Rings Online is a solid, graphically lush, immersive and fun experience. The developer Turbine has crafted a game that is not only stupendous to behold on technical merits alone, but faithfully recreates much of J.R.R. Tolkein's fictional realm of Middle Earth.

Application Stability and Requirements
Stability and availability: In the month and a half that I have been playing LOTRO I have not experienced a single client crash. I have not been disconnected from the game servers. The one patch that has been released did not cause any issues. There was only one scheduled maintenance, and it occurred on a Monday and lasted from 7 AM to 11 AM EST US. In short the game is thoroughly stable and playable.

Requirements: I play on a quad core AMD Phenom 9500 system, 4 GB of RAM, running Vista Premium SP1, with a MSI Nvidia 8800 GTS video card. I am able to play the game at full graphical settings with very little loss of frame rate. In fact, performance degradation only occurs within major cities, when there tnds to be 20 - 50 other players in the immediate vicinity.

Audio Visual
LOTRO has, by far, the best looking graphics and highest quality of sound of any MMORPG on the market (massively multi-player on-line role playing game). The effects from DirectX 10 are amazing. Plants, even down to the tiniest blade of grass, sway and dance in the wind. Every object produces realistic and sharp shadows - they dance about your character, passing convincingly over the contours of your figure, as you move through them. Visual lighting effects are dazzling and colorful. The music and sound effects are top notched.

Game Play
Turbine has created the most immersive experience available for the MMO market. The world is beautiful and extremely well realized. You can lose yourself for hours just exploring The Shire, watching the believable hobbits frolic and engage one another in discussion and trade. The architecture and world design, inside and out, is nothing short of spectacular and intricate.

Since I can't find the words to accurately convey how immersive the game is, I'll give an example, from my own experience: You may find yourself trotting down the road through the Shire at noon, gazing out for miles up and down the hills, romping through realistic-looking streams and farms as other players and computer-characters alike convincingly act out in the world around you. You stop at an inn where other players have formed a small band, and like a session of Guitar Hero joke as they play familiar songs while on-lookers cheer and make requests (you are able to create and use your own sheet music in the game, or manually play a variety of instruments). Night may begin to fall as you pass over Brandywine Bridge and head into the land of men in Bree. You pass by Buckland and spy the Old Forest - its dark, menacing trees stretching into the sky. And that night sky is alive with moving clouds and twinkling stars. Shortly, the darkness closes around you, and where once you could see for miles, you now struggle to see but fifty yards away in the darkness - until the moon breaks the cloud coverage for a moment, and the eery landscape once again stretches out before you. Finally you see Bree, and the gates that the Hobbits passed through on their way to the Prancing Pony. The city is huge, with a thousand candle-lit windows sending dancing beams of light. This game is amazing in detail.

Combat is well realized, mature, intuitive, and fun. Quests are fun and diverse. A story line known as The Books, which can be followed as an optional component to the game, runs parallel to the events of the Lord of the Rings and features cut-scenes and scripted, personal experiences for yourself or your fellowship (party of players).

The crafting system is very deep. Each crafting profession consists of two trade skills focused on gathering and resource refinement, and one trade skill that focuses on crafting. Nothing feels like a chore as far as crafting is concerned. The economy of the game is very strong and is heavily influenced by tangible market factors that the players themselves drive.

Player versus player combat in LOTRO is novel, and approached differently - you have the ability to create monster characters and play them in their own, huge, PvP zone, complete with quests for the monster players. High level player characters can enter the zone and attempt to capture objectives and engage in combat. You can create a variety of orc classes, giant spiders, wargs (the wolf-like creatures goblins ride in the movies), and more.

Player housing is implemented.

The "end game" consists of a series of small and medium sized raiding instances.

You can easily see that this game has been polished for the better part of a year in the game play department.

In short, I cannot recommend this game highly enough. I have zero complaints.


"Great game!", I've played this game for a year now since it was in beta. I have a lifetime subscription for $199.

This is a fun game, I've enjoyed it very much. The graphics are awesome, better than most game as long as you have a video card that is fast and can support the higher resolution graphics... otherwise you have to lower the graphics quality if your card is older.

The gameplay is very good. There is a death penalty in this game, but its not a bad one like a lot of other games. You don't end up feeling like you just wasted hours playing due to having died like many other games do.

I see negative reviews most likely from WoW fanboys. They try to claim this game is a copy of WOW. Well its not... for one thing this game has 100x better graphics than the cartoon graphics of WOW. All of these online games will take ideas from other online games... I'm sure WOW got most of their ideas from Everquest1, which was the original king of Massive Multiplayer Online Games

Another nice thing about this game is they give out a LOT of free content updates, unlike other games that charge you for every single update. They have one yearly major expansion that requires you buy the expansion. All the free content updates, along with the great lifetime subscription costs, show that Turbine is a great company.

No game is perfect, but this game I have enjoyed playing most.

"Great Game", A very good MMORPG, I've been playing only WoW has an online game so I decide to make a change, so if you're tired of playing WoW this is your second choice on the market cause the graphics are great and the gameplay is very simple to learn.

"Would've been better if I wasn't a WoW vet.", I had a lot of hope for this. The screenshots looked beautiful and I've always loved Tolkein's Middle Earth. Further, I was looking for something to replace World of Warcraft, which I'd quit several months previous citing boredom and repetitive gameplay.

This was pretty cheap, so I picked it up and got started on my trial period. I rolled up a Burglar and logged in. The game started off great. Epic quests are the one excellent feature of LOTRO, and when you create a new character, you're dropped right in the middle of one. Epic quests are heavy on stories and scenes acted out in front of you, and they eventually tie into the main storyline of The Lord of the Rings. As a Man, my character started off imprisoned by thugs, and escapes with the help of a Ranger named Amdir. He's stabbed by a Ringwraith, and you set off to find him help. It all feels very personal, even though every other character goes through the same quest. Still, I was starting to get sucked in.

Then they turned me loose, and I started noticing little similarities.

My character had a handful of skill trees. As I earned levels, I would get a point to spend on those skills. If I progressed high enough, I would earn enough points to fill out one of the trees with a few left over for a couple skills elsewhere, thus giving my Burglar a specialty. Wait...I've seen that exact model of character development somewhere else. Where could it have...oh, right. World of Warcraft.

But that's ok, right? At least the items system will be diff--wait. No. Looting, crafting, gear storage, banking, auctioning, the paperdoll screen, the inventory screens, the menu system, the reputation system, the quest system, the minimap, the chat system, and travel were all identical to World of Warcraft.

After a couple days of playing I realized I was just playing a repackaged WoW. The graphics were different, the backstory was different, and the names of places were different--but everything else was the same. Heck, even class skills are just renamed class skills from WoW. The UI is identical.

Now, don't get me wrong. There is good here. Not EVERYTHING is identical. Like I said, epic quests are a great feature.

I also like the inclusion of player housing. I was a big fan of this in the opening days of Ultima Online--at least until houses filled up all empty space on the entire face of Britannia. LOTRO handles it better by zoning you into "neighborhoods" where a certain number of pre-placed houses are available for purchase. Thus, all players can have a chance at a house, and the wilderness remains unpaved.

The world also feels much larger than WoW's. The newbie area felt like a full region, and a region felt like half a continent, and so on. There's much more to explore. The inclusion of things like artifacts and ruins that can be activated to earn deeds is great. It gives a soloist more to strive for than just grinding away for rep. And it really encourages you to check out all corners of the map instead of just doing your quests and moving on.

All in all, I can't say this is a bad game. It's not. It's rock solid. It just felt very derivative. If I'd come into it without having played WoW, I probably would have loved it. As it is, I got bored very quickly, because I felt as though I'd already played it.



"PvE - 4 stars, PvP 1-star", Overall , the game is fun, and visually very impressive. The questing is not a grind like some onlines. The one serious drawback is once you have maxxed out your character at 50, the game is effectively over. Unlike a lot of online games where PvP kicks in at upper levels, the PvP in LOTRO was added as an afterthought, and in order to feed the fires, once your first character hits either 10 or 15, you can roll a level 50 monster player and go into the ONE PvP map and fight the players who have taken the time to level their main character to level 50. No time limit, no limit on sides being balanced -- whoever shows up fights for their side.

Needless to say, there are very few times where sides are what you would call even close to being balanced. And, since it takes a lot longer to level a non-monster to 50 than it does to roll a level 50 monster, the monsters usually have many more players.

And usually own every keep in the PvP map.

If you want to play a mindless game, this is a good one. If you want PvP, this game's PvP is bad.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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!




"Excellent MMO", I've been playing this game since closed beta and it continues to impress me. Turbine has done a wonderful job and the speed at which they release free updates (also known as Books) is amazing -- Blizzard, take note. They do a good job of listening to the wants of their users without dumbing down the game itself.

Tolkien's world is beautifully rendered in this game, and I look forward to seeing more of Middle Earth as the game world continues to grow.