Player Review: Lord of the Rings Online

Kinships, like any guild system, offer players the opportunity to find quick aid, good company, and a sense on involvement in the community. I was lucky enough to find a Kinship of such players who are fun to talk too, easy to get along with, and very helpful. Shout out to Lords of the West.

Instances

Your first in-game moment in LotRO is a solo instance that introduces you to the basics of the game, but it's not the only one you'll encounter. Along your journey through the Epic Quests, and even side quests, you'll be thrown into instanced world and dungeons that are free from the general public. This means you can't expect someone else to clear the path for you. You and your fellowship have work to do.

One area, the Great-Barrows (My first off Epic instance area) gives you your first taste at things to come in LotRO. A vast maze of passage ways, tight corners, large rooms, and a dark dungeon experience that feels as good as it plays. As you decend the multiple winding staircases, you get the sensation you're travelling deep into the ground, instead of having a linear path unfold before you. Enemies are also finely tuned with greater numbers, range of skills, and strength that will test your fellowships ability to conquer what's before you.

So far in my experience, these instances and areas are an unavoidable experience to take part in. Not only do they challenge you in combat and strategy, but they're extremely fun to be a part of. They offer a great blend to the freedom of the open world above your head.

Community

Leave your bad attitudes at home! The community atmosphere in LotRO is not only friendly, but protective of each other. It's been evident in my month of playing that the e-peen attitude isn't very welcome in Middle-Earth. What is welcome is a care free experience that looks for good company and great fun.

To expand on Turbine's desire to create a positive social experience, my.lotro.com has recently been launched in beta for subscribers to the game. In simple terms, my.lotro.com is a Myspace networking of player pages, character pages and kinship pages complete with blogs, albums, friends lists and the tools needed to find your buddies, promote your Kinships, and become more involved.

If you're a roleplayer, you will feel even more at home. The RP toggle allows you to identify and be indentified as a role player so you can engage in your own storylines created with others. LotRO also includes a family tree and adoption system, combined with your bio, to allow RP'ers to create a unique Kinship in a style they desire.