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Flame Bait: A Lord of the Rings Review
CleffyII
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 3,440
OK, so I finished running a magnet across an extra hard-drive to see what would happen. Lets just say its a goner. However, the next on my to-do list was play LotRO.
Short Version: The game is pretty average, just like the last gen of games. Its like a dubbed down wow clone.
Long Version:
Gameplay-
The gameplay is extremely generic. Attack speed per weapon is 1.2 seconds per swing and big weapons are close to 3 meaning the swings are slow. Link this with generic combat that is just like last gen games and you will pretty much let out a big yawn after 5 minutes. The skill system is also incredibly generic exactly like WoW. You go to the trainer and can buy every skill.
The quests for the most part are generic. Go kill X, go get Y, go talk to Z. However, there are a few well-planned quests which is a nice break from all the generic.
Additional generic portions also include the races, classes, and the towns pretty much look like counterparts in WoW.
Probably the one saving point I can find in the gameplay is the /music system where you can build your own.
Graphics-
The graphics in a technical aspect are well made. The poly counts are right on cue with an mmorpg, the textures are nicely detailed, and the options for graphics are pretty nice. Such as being able to choose Ultra Sharp filtering is a nice option.
Aesthetically, I don't think the graphics quite cut it. They just don't look like Lord of the Rings. They look like a slightly more detailed WoW. The saturation and spec maps just don't give the effect. The actual style that appeared in Lord of the Rings has transfered over to games, and base techniques to achieve that style have been used in Huxley, Project Offset, and Age of Conan. However, the style in Lord of the Rings Online didn't come close to matching this style. The saturation was high, and the spec maps weren't set at a low enough level to give that crisp look to the stones or the dustyness from the ground.
The character graphics are also pretty well done. Same mistake as above, but they had descently painted and detailed textures. One thing I particularly like about the armors is that the shoulder pads look like shoulder pads. Also the armors themselves just look like they fit well.
Animations-
Animations are just bad. The characters don't run with the basic movements of a person. The hip doesn't even lower.
Sound-
Sound is generic, I kinda tuned it out after 5 minutes since it was so dull. It really doesn't have that Lord of the Rings feel to it, and I am using a 7.1 channel surround sound system.
Overall-
This game is like a dubbed down WoW clone. If you ask me it ranks #4 in mmo's currently playable. 1. Granado Espada 2. Guild Wars 3. WoW 4. LotRO
There are many things that could bring it up in my book. Some of the engaging quests brings it up a little; but they are also linear with no choice making. Good PVP would make this game rank higher then WoW due to the better graphics, and the /music system. Also including Mordor factions in the game would be fun.
Comments
I personally LOVE the slowed down combat because it actually feels like a battle, hit animations and overall body position are excellent compared to anything released in the last 2 years
. The way all the animations in game are done are spectacular. Little things I noticed , Warg sniffing the ground for a sent as i approached. This crazy little bunny that was just running beside me down the green way was just like a story in a book "as i speed down the Green Way i notice a young rabbit racing by, then ..."
Other Things like overall sound in the game are way above what has been released, the amount of depth of sound in bree of hustle and bustle , makes the stale air of some mmo's towns shrink in comparison.
That is just off the top of my head, so much stuff that makes me happy to play
I'm glad you participated in the Stress Test we need every able body with a key to crash the servers, , though for me the game has been almost flawless , with only heavy lag in major corridors.
who me ?
I miss DAoC
ROFLMAO!
Sorry.. I thought that was incredibly funny
No offense to the OP who is certainly entitled to their own opinion.
_________________________________
JonMichael
Currently: AION, an MMO Beta under NDA
Played: WAR, LOTRO, Hellgate: London, CoX, GW, SotNW, DAOC, EQ2, SWG, WoW, AO, Horizons, Second Life, There, TSO
Beta'd: There, Second Life, EQ2, DAOC:LotM, LOTRO, Tabula Rasa, Gods and Heroes, Hellgate: London, Requiem:Bloodymare, AoC, WAR, DDO, Fallen Earth
this review is bull! LotRO is NOT a dubbed down WoW clone! it has monster play, a much better story, and the instanced quests r very well played out. and plus, WoW is an EQ clone so stfu about WoW clone WoW clone WoW clone WoW clone well guess what WOW IS AN EVERQUEST CLONE GET THE F^&% OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh and GE sucks just like all the other crappy korean MMOs out there
who me ?
It took a long time to read the review because I kept having to deal with fits of laughter. "O lookiee u h4v3 3lv3z 2 its a wowzors clone lawl" Idiotic opinions abound on this site.
Well it looks like LOTRO will be a mega hit despite the OPs moronic rantings. It is currently the Number 1 pre order for Gamestop/EB , Go Gamer, and Best Buy. In fact many stores have it on back order already. Yep them WoW clones sure sell well.
Again with the "reviews", Cleffy how is it you are reviewing a game that isn't
I don't get it, I guess I'm an idiot. They lift the NDA only, they never said they were finished.
I'm playing Grando Espada also and yes its alot of fun but no its not the same type of game. In fact it has less in common with MMO's and more in common with a game like GW. Is that a bad thing? NO. But you can't compare the two. Apples and oranges.
Also a reviewer generally tries to look at a game from a more neutral perspective. Out the door, you have contempt for the title so you are giving an "opinion" because you obviously don't like it.
The remark "This game is like a dubbed down WoW clone" and the several other ones like it rob you of any legitemcy your opinion may have had. A good writer ALWAYS has the type of reader in mind. Since you titled the thread "flame bait" you knew you were trying to antaginize the reader. Again, that right there takes away and legitemcy you may have had.
Hey, not like I am saying its a bad game; just not the best.
Edit- Thier customer support has been great, also the chaining skills ontop of each other is a nice touch, they also transition between landscapes well. However, it really doesn't scream anything profoundly original. It also definetly isn't next gen.
I explored a bit around the starting continent for Elves/Dwarves. Its very bleh sceneray. Some areas look just like areas in WoW, even the same architecture. The music when you get out is very traditional fantasy and really is mundane. It really doesn't have an epic feel to it from 6 hours of playing. I mean when it comes right down to it, the game is very generic and limited. It really doesn't have a lastable appeal or a good end-game solution.
The way you guys discredit Korean Games is a little shallow. There are many great aspects to Korean Games. To label them all the same way cause you had a bad experience really limits your playable pool. Such as Scions of Fate was an excellent game when it was released. It's too bad its already several years old. Features such as the skill linking into a single macro is great at forming very custom combos, then the jukebox is awesome. Its a little unfair to say Korean Games don't compete with western ones when you compare a game older by over 2 years.
who me ?
Maybe so.....its better then any game released in the last 2 - 4 years depending on your taste.
You know me, I'm not anti-Asian or anything. I played L2 for a year and had a blast. I try to be open minded and judge games on their own merit. But Asian games are not the cup of tea in the west as they are in Asia. But lets face it MMORPGs NEED a win in the west. Asians can at least make MMOs that WORK. The endless flow of crap western made games is getting to be old and its going to KILL the western market. You can see it in the shrinking sub numbers in every MMO out there. The only MMOs really worth mentioning in the last few years are WoW and GW.
Vanguard did a great amount of damage to MMO's. Its going to be a good game when its finished but as you know,whether its fair or not, the launch of an MMO is everything. Vanguard is going to be this years poster child of why MMOs are bad. 10 years after the first MMOs we still can't get them to work. Its pathetic. On top of it, its not like the Vanguard crew was inexperienced or anything, they were suppost to be vets and know what they were doing.
Caveat: I'm not a LotR fanatic. I've read the books (including Sil) and enjoyed t hem, but I don't live and sleep LotR.
1) Game installed easily in WinXP Pro. I'm a little miffed that it installed .NET framework 1.1 when I already have 2. Not a big deal as long as it doesn't break anything else i have or need.
2) Game plays beautifully on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the graphics and sound
3) I played for a couple of hours, got through the intro quests, did a few quests after that. All of the quests were simple enough. i didn't like spawncamping for Frostmantle, even for a few minutes, however. Hopefully, this changes when the game goes live.
My thoughts?
All-in-all, the experience was very nice, but there wasn't anything that made me go 'wow!' The first time I saw the original EQ (1999) after having only ever played console RPGS and AOL NWN, I went 'wow!'. After seeing City of Heroes for the first time over 2 years ago, I went 'Wow!'. This game? Nothing.
As I mentioned before, I'm not a LotR fanatic, so I'm looking at this game in regards only to looks and gameplay. IMO, it looked nice and played nice, but there wasn't anything that struck me as 'really cool'. I'd have to agree with the OP's comments of 'generic'.
~Ripper
I'd have to say this is what my experience with the starting area was also. It's pretty generic. Combat also. Outside the starting area is far from generic though. And once you have more skills in combat than the generic starter skills..it becomes quite fun. then you get into traits and crafting and the non-newbie quests that are there for the challange..not the learning experience. I changed my mind quickly when i saw the real part of the game. It has been alot of fun. that was just my experience.
As far as spawn camping. You only would want to do that for loot. In lotr the spawns are for quests..so you group with the people that are there if there are others doing the same quest and you all get credit. Its only like that now because people are starting the game at the same time because of how the beta invites or stress test keys go out. Its not like once its live 5000 people are joining at the exact same time as you(except for launch). So the issue of spawn camping really isnt anything you should worry about IMO.
I dont think i went 'wow'! until i went to the barrow downs. And after that i was going "wow" quite a bit.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
you should at least play till lvl10 and try monster play/check out the bigger citys/look into the trait system for both your main char and the monster skill/trait system before even try to give an opinion. To many kids that play for 1 hour and think they have seen all because "I played MMO's for like 10 years, how can I be wrong?" or "Look at my cool signature with all the games I've played.....I'm a MMO specialist".
I don't quite understand. What is that Lord of the Rings look you're missing?
Same about sound. What's a Lord of the Rings sound this game supposedly doesn't achieve?
In Lord of the Rings, each set was designed to envoke a certain mood, and it followed a base color scheme. Such as Rivendall is suppose to be warm, so it uses golds and soft reds. While Gondor is suppose to be cold which is why the colors are desaturated and bluish. So the first thing is an analgous color scheme which Lord of the Rings Online uses a Split Complimentary.
Also there is something missing in the technique of building the textures in the scene. The way the light spreads across surfaces can be imitated using a spec map. However, only rescently has it become popular to light a scene in a game that way. The spec level map should have a low contrast and brightness. Also the lighting cannot be white. This technique is evident in Huxley, Age of Conan, Ragnarok Online 2, and Project Offset
I could swear Tolkien never mentioned anything about spec maps, textures, contrast and brightness but if you say spec maps are necessary to make the game have that mysterious Lord of the Rings look you keep writing about then maybe you're right
/agree, for me it was Star Wars Galaxies when it first came out. AT-ST's and the such. WOW. I play EQ2 now and LoTR is nice but nothing special really.
playing eq2 and two worlds
Hey. Let me point you to a link.
Here
You see the game looks like Lord of the Rings as the guys at Turbine thinks. They are not making a game of the movies, they are making a game of the books. I believe in the movies there is a really nice mood and a very characteristic visual style. From the game I don't miss the look of the movies, I rather miss the visual style... it's not (yet) entirely compact. If someone gives me a shot, I can not tell it's from lotro.
I have a 3ghz duo core and an X1650...still having performance difficulties on medium settings. I hope it is the servers.
In a nutshell, the problem with your review is that you make no mention of Traits, Accomplishments, Crafting, or Conjunctions.
who me ?
Oh, and of course the starting area for the Dwarves and Elves is bland.... Almost all of it is situated on a bleeping snowcapped, mined out mountain! Dee dee dee. Try visiting the Shire.
Currently: Playing EVE Online
Previous: FFXI, Dragonrealms, sad little stint in WOWland.
Awaiting: Fallen Earth, Hero''s Journey, Tabula Rasa, Age of Conan.