Video Game Review: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Vitals: 
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Game Type: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG)
http://www.lotro.com/
The Sorty:
I started playing online video games more intensely about six years ago. Guild Wars was my first MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). I had heard of games like Dark Ages of Camelot, but I was turned off by the monthly payments. I reluctantly tried World of Warcraft and subsequently became quite obsessed with it. World of Warcraft has become, to myself...and most others, the game by which all other MMORPGs are measured.
Enter LOTRO stage left.
LOTRO has very large shoes to fit. WoW (World of Warcraft) is so massive, so rich, and so enjoyable that any game trying to compete would have to try to throw a curve ball and give players a reason to agree to paying another $15/month on top of their WoW $15/month, much less STOP the $15 WoW payments and convert entirely.
And this is the bottom line: The battle for the $15/month slot. Sure, many of us can afford this amount every month 5 times over, but some have just enough in their budget to afford the one, single $15/month payment.
On that note, LOTRO does many things very well and has a good fighting chance to take the #1 spot. These things include very beautiful scenery, an enormous world to play in, a massive selection of armor and weapons, a very impressive twist via the title system, Monster Play, and many other exceptional features.
But it has - in my opinion - two major flaws. One of these flaws can be fixed, and the other cannot.
The first flaw, the fixable one, is the fact that some cities are enormous and not organized well. It is very easy to get lost in them. I spent an excruciating 45 minutes looking for a Hunter Trainer in one of the main cities the other day. I finally found him, but I lost him again after having to traverse the city (a 7-8 minute run) to get to the auction house, since the game map does NOT memorize the position of most NPCs (non-player characters) you visit, only some - seemingly randomly.
To be honest, this is one of the main reasons I stopped playing and returned to World of Warcraft. In WoW, the cities are large, but very nicely sectioned into Class areas, making it easy to find your way to and back to your trainer/trader/whatever. In LOTRO, you are left wandering endlessly, especially upon entering a new capital city.
This, of course can be fixed with map notes - better ones that actually work - and other add-ons that make the user's life easier.
The second flaw, the unfixable one, is the player movement physics. Now, this is not a big deal to most, but it is to me. When I'm playing a role playing game, I prefer to enjoy the idea of actually being in the game...actually being that character. The problem is, why would I want to be an ugly, flat footed, leg-flailing, bad-postured freak whom I would not want to be in real life? Who designed these characters? They look depressed, unhealthy and unnatural. My human hunter runs like he has no control of his lower legs, flailing left and right as he runs. When standing, all game characters have visibly flat feet, and they slouch. What kind of a seasoned, well-trained "Champion" slouches, and hunches his shoulders forward when standing? Even the Elves...the elegant, graceful Elves: slouched, depressed and flat-footed.
And don't even get me started with "jumping" and other emotes. You can visibly see the "running" image of the character abruptly switch to the "jumping" one, with no smoothing transition at all. And the character looks absolutely rediculous in the process of the jump. This destroys much of the game-involvement, reminding you that you are watching a repeating 3D image of a computer generated figure with a wire-mesh world rendered around you. Due to this problem, I don't feel like I am in or a part of the game anymore - at least for a few minutes after I decide to never jump again.
There is no grace in any of these characters. If I met them in real life, I'd think they have a physical disability, and possibly a mental one as well. Clearly, loyalty and emotional attachment to the old player physics of Everquest has a dirty hand in this. A number of new games are also guilty of this. Everquest is outdated and ugly. Sure, cry about how it was the pioneer or the greatest or whatever all you want...the world has moved on, and so should you. Everquest simply looks ugly, and no game should be based on how it looks. Tell this to the makers of "Oblivion" as well.
All in all, this game is glossy, interesting and feature-filled; heck, it even borderlines revolutionary with some of its features. On the same footing, it is awkward, annoying and very confusing at times. Let's just hope that, in time, all the bugs will be ironed out. For the time being, it is in second place, if even that.
The Score:
Environment Graphics: 9/10
Player Graphics: 4/10
Userfriendliness 6/10
In-Game Features and "things to do": 9/10
Addictiveness: 7/10
Overall Score: 70/100
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Game Type: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG)
http://www.lotro.com/
The Sorty:
I started playing online video games more intensely about six years ago. Guild Wars was my first MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). I had heard of games like Dark Ages of Camelot, but I was turned off by the monthly payments. I reluctantly tried World of Warcraft and subsequently became quite obsessed with it. World of Warcraft has become, to myself...and most others, the game by which all other MMORPGs are measured.
Enter LOTRO stage left.
LOTRO has very large shoes to fit. WoW (World of Warcraft) is so massive, so rich, and so enjoyable that any game trying to compete would have to try to throw a curve ball and give players a reason to agree to paying another $15/month on top of their WoW $15/month, much less STOP the $15 WoW payments and convert entirely.
And this is the bottom line: The battle for the $15/month slot. Sure, many of us can afford this amount every month 5 times over, but some have just enough in their budget to afford the one, single $15/month payment.
On that note, LOTRO does many things very well and has a good fighting chance to take the #1 spot. These things include very beautiful scenery, an enormous world to play in, a massive selection of armor and weapons, a very impressive twist via the title system, Monster Play, and many other exceptional features.
But it has - in my opinion - two major flaws. One of these flaws can be fixed, and the other cannot.
The first flaw, the fixable one, is the fact that some cities are enormous and not organized well. It is very easy to get lost in them. I spent an excruciating 45 minutes looking for a Hunter Trainer in one of the main cities the other day. I finally found him, but I lost him again after having to traverse the city (a 7-8 minute run) to get to the auction house, since the game map does NOT memorize the position of most NPCs (non-player characters) you visit, only some - seemingly randomly.
To be honest, this is one of the main reasons I stopped playing and returned to World of Warcraft. In WoW, the cities are large, but very nicely sectioned into Class areas, making it easy to find your way to and back to your trainer/trader/whatever. In LOTRO, you are left wandering endlessly, especially upon entering a new capital city.
This, of course can be fixed with map notes - better ones that actually work - and other add-ons that make the user's life easier.
The second flaw, the unfixable one, is the player movement physics. Now, this is not a big deal to most, but it is to me. When I'm playing a role playing game, I prefer to enjoy the idea of actually being in the game...actually being that character. The problem is, why would I want to be an ugly, flat footed, leg-flailing, bad-postured freak whom I would not want to be in real life? Who designed these characters? They look depressed, unhealthy and unnatural. My human hunter runs like he has no control of his lower legs, flailing left and right as he runs. When standing, all game characters have visibly flat feet, and they slouch. What kind of a seasoned, well-trained "Champion" slouches, and hunches his shoulders forward when standing? Even the Elves...the elegant, graceful Elves: slouched, depressed and flat-footed.
And don't even get me started with "jumping" and other emotes. You can visibly see the "running" image of the character abruptly switch to the "jumping" one, with no smoothing transition at all. And the character looks absolutely rediculous in the process of the jump. This destroys much of the game-involvement, reminding you that you are watching a repeating 3D image of a computer generated figure with a wire-mesh world rendered around you. Due to this problem, I don't feel like I am in or a part of the game anymore - at least for a few minutes after I decide to never jump again.
There is no grace in any of these characters. If I met them in real life, I'd think they have a physical disability, and possibly a mental one as well. Clearly, loyalty and emotional attachment to the old player physics of Everquest has a dirty hand in this. A number of new games are also guilty of this. Everquest is outdated and ugly. Sure, cry about how it was the pioneer or the greatest or whatever all you want...the world has moved on, and so should you. Everquest simply looks ugly, and no game should be based on how it looks. Tell this to the makers of "Oblivion" as well.
All in all, this game is glossy, interesting and feature-filled; heck, it even borderlines revolutionary with some of its features. On the same footing, it is awkward, annoying and very confusing at times. Let's just hope that, in time, all the bugs will be ironed out. For the time being, it is in second place, if even that.
The Score:
Environment Graphics: 9/10
Player Graphics: 4/10
Userfriendliness 6/10
In-Game Features and "things to do": 9/10
Addictiveness: 7/10
Overall Score: 70/100
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- Consumer #1337
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- Consumer #1337
1 comment:
It is hard to find your way around sometimes. As long as I'm in the Shire, I keep finding myself running back to Michel Delving to train, as it's the only place where I actually know where the trainers are.
The player characters I do enjoy. The fact that you lean and move your legs differently when turning in a run or swim shows there was actually thought put into character movement. Unlike WoW, where no matter what you're doing you are making the same repeated movement. Run in a circle and it looks identical to running in a straight line. When you swim do you pivot on a central axis? No.
What I don't like is that my admittedly limited system chugs like a Widowed Dwarf any time I come within a mile of another PC. WoW does no such thing.
Still, I haven't even touched the WoW icon since I bought LOTRO, so Turbine wins. It was only a matter of time before Middle Earth was opened up to us fantasy/MMORPG geeks. Blizard needs a new strategy to take my $15 a month. But being such a fan of the subject and books, I doubt they'll be able to do so for quite some time.
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