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The Lord of the Rings Online  Hot PDF Print E-mail
Game Reviews MMOs
Written by ioo   
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Editor's rating
83.8
out of 100
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Reviewed by:
ioo

Average user rating : 0.0 
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Genre: Fantasy
Developer: Turbine, Inc.
Status: Beta
Price: $48.99
Monthly Fee: $9.99
buy now By using the link to the left you support AbleGamers, Amazon gives us a 4% kickback when you buy from them

The Lord of the Rings Online
The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢: Shadows of Angmarâ„¢ is the world's first and only MMOG based on the Books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Players can experience the most famous fantasy world of all time, exploring and adventuring their heroes through the vast reaches of Middle-earth in the fight against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron.

Editor review : Accessibility Review of Lord of the Ring Online
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Overall rating
83.8
Easy on the Right Hand
66
Easy on the Left Hand
84
Chat Interface Flexibility
85
Key Mapping Flexibility
95
Easy on Mouse Hand
75
Flexable Sound Controls
100
Visual Controls
88
Alternative Input Support
85
Tracking Needs
75
Font Control
85
Well it almost here, the much anticipated MMORPG Lord of the Rings, Shadows of Angmar is about to go live. Ablegamers has had the privilege of being in beta for some time thanks to a friend of the website who donated his buddy key so that we can take a look.

My first impressions of the game were mixed, on the one hand the environment was amazing. Every building, every blade of grass, and even the rocks and trees were absolutely incredible. What fell short, to me, was the avatars themselves. Watching myself move in the game was disturbing, best described as a futile attempt to keep my legs underneath my giant lead-filled head. I was always leaning forward just a little too much and felt the ground was a far worse enemy than anything found in the forest. The avatars looked flat and almost out of place in such a rich environment.

I took break from beta, mainly because my guild mates did not make the cut, but now that release is close at hand I thought I would dust off my beta account and see what has changed, and boy did Turbine not disappoint. The avatars in the game are much better than they were just six weeks ago. Well proportioned and not nearly as awkward as they were before. While still a little flatter than I would expect in a game of this generation, they are not bad. The richness of the environment has only improved, the sounds are engrossing, and I think, but I'm not sure, but I can smell a roasting pig when I walk past the tavern.

There are a few features of this game that I would like to point out mainly because they stand out to me, a lover of this category of game. The first thing I noticed, and really liked, is the quest system. Nothing frustrates me more than a few sentences in the quest journal attempting to give me directions to a far-off place I have never been to meet someone I have never met. LOTR is kind enough to give you an arrow on your little compass, pointing you in the right direction, saving you hours of aimless running around, and needless deaths. I also liked the title system, this is a system that grants you titles based on quests or honors that you earned from towns and villages. It does give you a sense of accomplishment as you progress through all the quests available in particular areas. Now I'm sure that someone out there is thinking, "but Ioo EQ2 also has a title system" and you are right, they do, but in my 58 levels and 2 plus years in EQ2 I had bestowed on me three titles, two of which were time-based. At the end of my first 10 levels in Lord of the Rings online I had know less than five titles to choose from all of which I earned by birth or through my brave actions (mainly the latter).

Acceptability Information

Now the controls in Lord of the Rings online are what you would expect from any game in the genre. You can navigate through the world using the arrow keys, as well as the ASDW combination. Spells are attached to hotbars that has numbers associated with the button, in very much the same fashion you see in EQ2, or WOW. I did find the hotbar far too small to utilize one through zero meaning it does not take long before you need to bring up a second or third hotbar, and the Alt+Number or Crtl+Number issues that come with that. A pain for someone who suffers from motor issues, and lacks alternative input devices. Keyboard mappings is good in LOTR, from what I can see most functions have the ability to be mapped to keys, this means players who are using alternative input devices made be able to map frequently used actions to your device. It is unclear what Turbines stance is on the use of alternative input devices, we are currently working to speak with a representative.

The chat control in the game is pretty standard fare for the genre. There are tabs across the top that are predefined as well as customizable. Each chat type, be it a tell or open chat, is marked to a different color so they are easy to pick out of the general noise often found in a check box.

While I know the game is still in beta but do not foresee anything drastic change in between now and release. If you enjoy the lore behind Lord of the Rings and you are a fan of the MMORPG you should give this game a solid chance.
Platform: PC 
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