Player Review: Lord of the Rings Online

Your Introduction to Lord of the Rings Online and Creating your Hero

As you begin your game you're treated with an opening cut scene introducing you to the story of Shadows of Angmar. It's a visual treat to say the least and if you're lucky enough to have a 5.1 sound system, the intensity makes the scene even more enjoyable. For those players expecting an experience directly related to the movies, you may be let down, but don't let that be a deal maker. LotRO has a more overall feel and style of Tolkien's books, rather than Jackson's trilogy of films. However, Turbine has found a way, in many aspects, to combine the best of both.

Walking through the Shire and the lands of Bree posesses the original feel Tolkien presented in his books, but also brings to life the visual ideas we all gained from the films as well. This is only one example of how Turbine has stayed true to Tolkien, but also added the loveable movie elements we were graced with when Peter Jackson made the films. But before you can even walk the grasslands, or traverse the snow top mountains, you'll need a character to play.

Creating a LotRO gold character is not any different in basics than other MMO's. You have a selection of races and classes to choose from. Each with baselines, strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. What Turbine does offer is a recommendation to each class, rating them from Beginner, to Expert. This can help make the choice easier for new players getting started in LotRO.

Customizing your character provides a lot of choice. Hairstyles, eyes, nose, mouth, head shape, hair color, body sizes, and various other details. Even selecting your characters "Home Land" (ex: Gondor, or Rohan for human) will provide unqiue choices in eye and hair colors. It's a nice addition to customizing your own character within the realm. However, there is a downside.

Even with the wide range of choices, the noticable difference in the characteristics is minimal to say the least. This is to say that no matter what combinations you choose for your characters look, you will run into many Twins of yourself, or near-twins around the world. The character models themselves are also sub-par in comparisons to other online games. While it's not a significant drawback to the game, or does it effect the gameplay itself, it's not a secret that game players prefer to have a unique style to their creations. The models also have a "Doll-like" feel about them. A mix between cartoon and realism. While it's a nice style and, it should be noted, does fit into the world very well, it does have a sense that "it could have been better". Disappointed? Sure. It's a character I'll be spending a lot of time with and, being an MMO, customization and being unique is a big portion of the genre. However, it doesn't detract from the adventure you'll be entering.