This is the type of Intelligent infomed opinion I'm talking about . You find this opinion to come from a majority of people.
They don't provide any facts they just make ignorant comments.
Raven
What's ignorant about it? The word ignorant implies a lack of knowledge on a subject. Maybe he's just sumarizing the game into one word as he sees it? If you want facts, here's an attempt to provide them:
Fact: The graphics in LOTRO are nice, but there are nicer graphics out there
Fact: LOTRO is targeted at casual gamers, and by casual, I mean those players with about 10 hours a week or less to play it
Fact: LOTRO is practically WoW with the LOTRO skin, zones, and a few of its own special features
Opinion: LOTRO will most likely be swept by the wayside with upcoming MMO releases who's basic gameplay elements think outside of the box.
I think the game is a dissapointment. What we have to remember is that the fantasy genre as we know it exists because of Tolkien. So I would expect a game based on his work would be original and creative and completely break the mold of current MMORPGs. Instead LOTRO has too many similarities to the WoW/EQ mold. Yes it has a few unique features but nothing that really seperates the game from the other boring MMORPGs out there. The quest system, talent system and UI are just like WoW.
Turbine should have created their own game engine instead of using the same old boring engine responsible for WoW and EQ. Again, I really expected LOTRO to take the MMORPG genre to the next level and it's failed to do so. There are other games that are comming out in the future that will take the genre to the next level and it's a shame that the franchise that is responsible for the fantasy genre as we know it isn't the one doing it. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth that LOTRO plays like a lot of other games out there. I had really hoped for a game that was unique. A game where I knew exactly what I was playing. Instead LOTRO plays like generic MMORPG # 500 and that's dissapointing.
I for one don't care about PvP in an MMORPG. If I want to do PvP I can find a much better experience in a shooter. I've never quite understood the obsession with PvP in an MMORPG. It's supposed to be a "role playing game" something a lot of people fail to understand. There is nothing in character about people from the same faction fighting each other for no reason yet that's all some people care about. So as far as the PvP system in LOTRO goes, if there isn't an in character reason to fight other players then I'd rather not see a PvP system in an MMORPG. So for the record my opinion of the game has nothing to do with their PvP system.
I personally see it as a game that is out of its place in the next generation. I would probably have played this 3 ~ 4 years ago. But in 2007, I expect either big improvements or originality, And lotro does neither of those. I see it as a shameless rip off of previous MMO's.
Careful GL.
While this matters to you and I, history shows the general populace thinks differently.
Many people (myself included) said the same things about WOW's originality. Also let's be candid here technically it was graphically out of place even for 2004. Let us also not forget Blizz made no bones about taking the EQ1 model and streamlining it. WOW's subscription numbers prove that originality & big improvements are clearly secondary to fun for many.
While I don't subscribe to LOTRO myself it's a solid, well made title just like WOW before it.
I've been on an MMORPG hiatus for the past year. While it's been good, I kind of want to get back into the MMORPG scene. I've played EQ I, WoW, FFXI, EQII, Auto Assault, Eve, Vanguard, and a few others I can't think of right now. Now that I'm choosing an MMORPG again, two choices are left: Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online. I left Everquest 2 originally because the community was fairly snobbish and didn't really help out at all, at least on the server I played. LOTRO when I played the Beta seemed fun, but most gamers say that it is way too casual to enjoy for a long time. My question is, what do you guys think of LOTRO, and do you think it will stand the test of time? Maybe Everquest 2 really is the best choice for me, although if I join in it I hope I get a better community >_<.
Its not a bad game, just not a very good one imo. Of all the mmo's to come out in the past while it was the most "finished" and polished. It seem very stable too. So technically, its very good. It just didn't find it very fun. Once you get past the initial joy of seeing Bag End, thee Shire, the Prancing Pony and Bree it becomes very boring very fast. Theres nothing really new or inivative either.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
I've been on an MMORPG hiatus for the past year. While it's been good, I kind of want to get back into the MMORPG scene. I've played EQ I, WoW, FFXI, EQII, Auto Assault, Eve, Vanguard, and a few others I can't think of right now. Now that I'm choosing an MMORPG again, two choices are left: Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online. I left Everquest 2 originally because the community was fairly snobbish and didn't really help out at all, at least on the server I played. LOTRO when I played the Beta seemed fun, but most gamers say that it is way too casual to enjoy for a long time. My question is, what do you guys think of LOTRO, and do you think it will stand the test of time? Maybe Everquest 2 really is the best choice for me, although if I join in it I hope I get a better community >_<.
Its not a bad game, just not a very good one imo. Of all the mmo's to come out in the past while it was the most "finished" and polished. It seem very stable too. So technically, its very good. It just didn't find it very fun. Once you get past the initial joy of seeing Bag End, thee Shire, the Prancing Pony and Bree it becomes very boring very fast. Theres nothing really new or inivative either.
i agree, when i first went around through the shire and saw the sites it was pretty cool, getting to be in the places that i had read about so many times...but after completing a bunch of quests it got pretty boring. the scenery is great, but the characters look....odd, they don't seem to fit quite right, they seem out of place--and then the character movement in my opinion is clunky and awkward. i didn't even make it to the end of the 30 days before i cancelled.
if you're interested in trying out LOTR, try to request a buddy key, here's a thread for requesting them on this site, and i would strongly suggest checking it out before buying it.
i also started playing EQ2 and it seems to be a pretty good game, i do enjoy it, but unfourtunately my brother couldn't get into it so i don't play it as often--he lives about 2k miles from me so MMO's are a way we get to keep in touch and hang out. so it's not for everyone, but it is a pretty solid and fun game. the community seems to be pretty decent, sure i've ran across a couple morons, but for the most part the people seem to be ok and helpful.
1000 things that set LotRO apart from EQ2: where are the other 987 things?
- Music system - yawn, mostly an annoyance hearing multiple people playing horribly at once. sounds like pre-school music class everwhere people gather. Half of it is now macroed and scripted.
- Coloring - Yes you can color bland gear that you only keep for a few levels. The same gear everyone else has. Everything looks the same, the gear in lotro is extremely bland due to the requirements of the licensing. Different color or not, bland and boring looking gear, you cant polish a turd.
- REAL deed system, like DOING something for achievement - See Collections in EQ2 which came before Lotro, same thing different name.
- Monster Play System - Should be called kids play. A sidenote to grab some more subs that like pvp. Not working out too well either.
- LotRO - Same classes and feel of typical fantasy mmo but specific to the Tolkien lore.
- scripted and exciting, partly instanced questlines - SCRIPTED is the key word. Game is on rails, and instances are standard fare.
- No goofy froggish lizardish races - Just goofy hairy foot Hobbits to replace them. And not much else to choose from.
- No goofy sparkling whizzing whirling overloaded effects - Nope, just typical melee and ranged bow attacks, with the lack of magic for all those that enjoy the sparkles and whirling effects. Once again standard stuff, but missing all the magic classes and effects.
- Top notch, very smooth gfx engine - It is pretty solid. Great graphics as well. Graphic hitching is an ongoing problem though for many.
- Top notch, very fitting sound engine - Sounds are good, especially the female brigands
- Top notch, very fitting lore implementation - If you really enjoy the LOTR lore and feel, then you will like the world. They did a great job implementing this.
- Zoneless, homogenic world design - Its ok I guess, i dont play any games where zones are an issue.
- Original crafting, from peasant to elder - Nothing original about it...actually quite similiar to wow's crafting system. Vanguard and EQ2 both have superior crafting. vanguards crafting is even better then the actual vanguard game itself lol.
Lotro is a decent game. Its quite average in gameplay but is pretty solid as well. I found it very bland and boring. This is the first mmo that had me heading for the hills in less than 1 month of playing. There is nothing gameplay wise that really stands out. Its functionally the same as wow, which learnedfrom everything else before it. Turbine did NOT go for an original and groundbreaking experience. they designed a solid rehash of the wow experience with some improvements,a different paint job, and targeted the casual and non pvp crowd. Monster play is the only somewhat original idea in the game and it just isnt working imo. Its like diet pvp or something, no real draw to it. Log in as monster and try to fight players much more powerful than you, then get bored and login as player and try to fight weaker monsters. Yawn.
No reason to play after 50, the leveling is fun, but end game is pretty boring.
You can easily get max level within a month.
It doesn't have much staying power, after hitting max level and doing the end game instances I felt no reason to continue playing and canceled.
It is a good game for casual players, if you don't plan to instance, the instances are very long dispite the fact that it is touted as casual game.
Was really fun to be the first to defeat the instances, but they are very long and slow.
Crafting is very boring imo.. nothing new there, the typical "grind" find tons of ore nodes that are scattered around and level your craft.
I enjoyed the look and feel of the game, though, it is very pretty, just not enough of it, is what I would say, a bland MMO. Worth playing to 50 though.
Currently waiting for - Perfect World English, Age of Conan
This is a good game, it was released when it was finished, very stable, excellent graphics, and easy to pick up.
This game suffers though, from the fact that while it has good qualities, it just doesn't do anything new. If you've played WoW, EQ, EQ2 or DDO then you've played this game.
I've been on an MMORPG hiatus for the past year. While it's been good, I kind of want to get back into the MMORPG scene. I've played EQ I, WoW, FFXI, EQII, Auto Assault, Eve, Vanguard, and a few others I can't think of right now. Now that I'm choosing an MMORPG again, two choices are left: Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online. I left Everquest 2 originally because the community was fairly snobbish and didn't really help out at all, at least on the server I played. LOTRO when I played the Beta seemed fun, but most gamers say that it is way too casual to enjoy for a long time. My question is, what do you guys think of LOTRO, and do you think it will stand the test of time? Maybe Everquest 2 really is the best choice for me, although if I join in it I hope I get a better community >_<.
I played in beta and did not like it. EQ2 is superior to LOTRO in every aspect IMO. Even in the ones they don't share.
One thing LOTRO did right. They polished it so much that reviewers had no choice... they had to give the game a high score cause the fluff and eye candies are there.... But they will last about a month IMO.
Loved the game for the first 10 days, canceled before the free 30 were up. Very boring, played like crap on my computer (and I can run WoW on high).
Nothing new in the game, and class roles don't even matter which annoys me. There are a couple of classes, and a fellowship can be any mix you want no problem. Tank and healer aren't mandatory, all you need is DPS.
Traveling on horses in the game costed waaay too much (at lvl 25 I had 500 silver, and it costed about 25 to travel across the map).
All of the characters in a class look the same and have pretty much the same gear.
No customization. Deeds were a good idea but it's not enough. Games like WoW have the talent tree to customize yourself, but in this game all you do is buy every skill.
I would say don't buy it. EQ2 is a great game but not enough players. I'm playing WoW at the moment to keep me busy til Age of Conan and maybe WAR.
1000 (+/- 900 and something) things that set EQ2 abovefromLotRO: - Music system - excellent soundtrack - Coloring - realistic and textured - REAL deed system, like DOING something for achievement - the achievements are amazing and have several ways to get points for casual and hardcore - Monster Play System - I'm glad EQ2 doesn't have this too. It sure is a mess in LotRO. - LotRO - makes a GREAT movie - scripted and exciting, partly instanced questlines - and TONS of them. Over 6000 and counting. The new one they put in last week is amazing. - No goofy froggish lizardish races - it's great that they're more realistic and lots of choices, not your standard humanoid races, how boring is that. - No goofy sparkling whizzing whirling overloaded effects - and actually have wizards to cast them. it's great to have a lot of choices in spellcasting classes, both good AND evil (misunderstood). - Top notch, very smooth gfx engine - they've done a lot of great things with it in the past 2yrs, I'm glad you agree - Top notch, very fitting sound engine - and the npc's ACTUALLY talk to you, sing, and tell you their stories. I can even talk, and the ambience is awesome. - Top notch, very fitting lore implementation - Well, they did get it from EQ1, but it is very well done - Zoneless, homogenic world design - the design of super zones to cut down on zoning was a brilliant change, makes things much better - Original crafting, from peasant to elder - never heard them called that, but the crafting is very good and useful, as ALL items made are useful and helpful to characters You forgot to mention: Housing, excellent raids (best in the genre), multiple endings to the same quests, guild leveling system, and mentoring, but those don't even exist in LotRO, so I guess they're not worth mentioning.
"Granted thinking for yourself could be considered a timesink of shorter or longer duration depending on how smart..or how dumb you are."
LOTR Online is basically WOW set in Middle Earth. Except the classes are much more bland in LOTR than they are in WOW. The classes have no flash or pop to them, and most of them, from the casting class to the tanking class, play exactly the same way. There's no class level strategy since the skill sets are so basic and uninspired. A level 50 in LOTR has the same basic skill set as a level 10 in any other game. Actually some classes stop getting new skills in their 30s. The devs are like, hey you can swing a sword, what else do you need. Unlike WOW or any other mature game, LOTR ends at level 50. Once you've leveled up you're done. There's no raid structure, meaningfull PvP or any other mechanizm for extending the game.
One of the best things about LOTR is its attention to lore. It's Middle Earth and it feels like it. One of the worst things about LOTR, and the reason it will have a short life as MMOLS go is it's attention to lore. There's no evil race play because that would clash with the story, there's no pvp because that would clash with the story, there's no powerful or flashy classes because that clashes with the story, etc. Basically, if it ain't in the book it ain't gonna happen, and that has the dev team painted into a corner. They simply don't have many options for feeding todays content hungry, and content deserving, player.
Haha, a lot of people seem agreed on the fact that the game is not good for anyone but casual players. I'm actually surprised... I figured the highest rated game on this website would have a much more loyal following. Either way, I'd rather have a game that can keep me entertained no matter how much or how little I play it, so I'm probably better off just getting EQ 2. Seems like the best choice. LOTRO seems to get boring fast, according to most of the people I've heard from. It's too bad... it had so much potential.
Haha, a lot of people seem agreed on the fact that the game is not good for anyone but casual players. I'm actually surprised... I figured the highest rated game on this website would have a much more loyal following. Either way, I'd rather have a game that can keep me entertained no matter how much or how little I play it, so I'm probably better off just getting EQ 2. Seems like the best choice. LOTRO seems to get boring fast, according to most of the people I've heard from. It's too bad... it had so much potential.
Maybe 2007 should be labeled as the: It had so much potential year.
Perhaps Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Gods and Heroes should change their release schedules to 2008
Haha, a lot of people seem agreed on the fact that the game is not good for anyone but casual players. I'm actually surprised... I figured the highest rated game on this website would have a much more loyal following. Either way, I'd rather have a game that can keep me entertained no matter how much or how little I play it, so I'm probably better off just getting EQ 2. Seems like the best choice. LOTRO seems to get boring fast, according to most of the people I've heard from. It's too bad... it had so much potential.
Maybe 2007 should be labeled as the: It had so much potential year.
Perhaps Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Gods and Heroes should change their release schedules to 2008
That's a good idea! Although I don't think I want to wait THAT much longer for those games to come out. One of the games this year has to be able to live up to the hype... right!?!?
I found it to be lacking a quality which made it distinct. The game relies too heavily on the Lord of the Rings franchise (as a selling point) and seems to mimic many other games to a point which makes it feel very cheap. The game could have been a very involved sandbox game with skill sets instead of classes. The world of Middle Earth is very rich with content that could easily transfer to an MMORPG. Instead of harboring this, the game chose to copy the style of World of Warcraft with only a few changes (see also: gimmicks).
It's sad isn't it? The game was originally called Middle Earth Online. It was a sandbox game, it had an interesting dark/light system kind of like KotOR, and the whole premise was "Live in Middle Earth." However, after an information blackout in 03-04, the next news announcement was that Turbine won the rights to the game from Vivendi. Turbine had always been developing, but felt they were being held back by Tolkien Enterprises.
After that, everything changed in a VERY short amount of time. Corruption system was scrapped, sandbox was scrapped, Middle Earth was sort of dumbed/watered down significantly. The name changed to Lord of the Rings online to reflect the new direction and it became a linear, hold your hand, quest driven game.
Now, I enjoyed LotRO for what its worth. It was too much like WoW for my taste, but its a good game. I just felt they didn't do justice to Middle Earth by forcing you to follow these paths made of fake hills and making sure you were guided along every step of the way. Now, Middle Earth Online, a sandbox game like SWG, Vanguard, and AC1 would have been amazing. Unfortunately for most of the old MMOers, WoW was a success.
I found it to be lacking a quality which made it distinct. The game relies too heavily on the Lord of the Rings franchise (as a selling point) and seems to mimic many other games to a point which makes it feel very cheap. The game could have been a very involved sandbox game with skill sets instead of classes. The world of Middle Earth is very rich with content that could easily transfer to an MMORPG. Instead of harboring this, the game chose to copy the style of World of Warcraft with only a few changes (see also: gimmicks).
It's sad isn't it? The game was originally called Middle Earth Online. It was a sandbox game, it had an interesting dark/light system kind of like KotOR, and the whole premise was "Live in Middle Earth." However, after an information blackout in 03-04, the next news announcement was that Turbine won the rights to the game from Vivendi. Turbine had always been developing, but felt they were being held back by Tolkien Enterprises.
After that, everything changed in a VERY short amount of time. Corruption system was scrapped, sandbox was scrapped, Middle Earth was sort of dumbed/watered down significantly. The name changed to Lord of the Rings online to reflect the new direction and it became a linear, hold your hand, quest driven game.
Now, I enjoyed LotRO for what its worth. It was too much like WoW for my taste, but its a good game. I just felt they didn't do justice to Middle Earth by forcing you to follow these paths made of fake hills and making sure you were guided along every step of the way. Now, Middle Earth Online, a sandbox game like SWG, Vanguard, and AC1 would have been amazing. Unfortunately for most of the old MMOers, WoW was a success.
now that sounds like it would've been cool, i would've loved a sandbox LOTR MMO, it's a shame that they changed it.
This is a good game, it was released when it was finished, very stable, excellent graphics, and easy to pick up.
This game suffers though, from the fact that while it has good qualities, it just doesn't do anything new. If you've played WoW, EQ, EQ2 or DDO then you've played this game.
Right guys?
That is a fair assesment, I would add that it is not a very 'deep' game, either in mechanics or character development.
Comments
What's ignorant about it? The word ignorant implies a lack of knowledge on a subject. Maybe he's just sumarizing the game into one word as he sees it? If you want facts, here's an attempt to provide them:
Fact: The graphics in LOTRO are nice, but there are nicer graphics out there
Fact: LOTRO is targeted at casual gamers, and by casual, I mean those players with about 10 hours a week or less to play it
Fact: LOTRO is practically WoW with the LOTRO skin, zones, and a few of its own special features
Opinion: LOTRO will most likely be swept by the wayside with upcoming MMO releases who's basic gameplay elements think outside of the box.
EQ2's only problem is that no one plays it. I would think there is a reason for that, but that is just my humble opinion.
I think the game is a dissapointment. What we have to remember is that the fantasy genre as we know it exists because of Tolkien. So I would expect a game based on his work would be original and creative and completely break the mold of current MMORPGs. Instead LOTRO has too many similarities to the WoW/EQ mold. Yes it has a few unique features but nothing that really seperates the game from the other boring MMORPGs out there. The quest system, talent system and UI are just like WoW.
Turbine should have created their own game engine instead of using the same old boring engine responsible for WoW and EQ. Again, I really expected LOTRO to take the MMORPG genre to the next level and it's failed to do so. There are other games that are comming out in the future that will take the genre to the next level and it's a shame that the franchise that is responsible for the fantasy genre as we know it isn't the one doing it. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth that LOTRO plays like a lot of other games out there. I had really hoped for a game that was unique. A game where I knew exactly what I was playing. Instead LOTRO plays like generic MMORPG # 500 and that's dissapointing.
I for one don't care about PvP in an MMORPG. If I want to do PvP I can find a much better experience in a shooter. I've never quite understood the obsession with PvP in an MMORPG. It's supposed to be a "role playing game" something a lot of people fail to understand. There is nothing in character about people from the same faction fighting each other for no reason yet that's all some people care about. So as far as the PvP system in LOTRO goes, if there isn't an in character reason to fight other players then I'd rather not see a PvP system in an MMORPG. So for the record my opinion of the game has nothing to do with their PvP system.
Careful GL.
While this matters to you and I, history shows the general populace thinks differently.
Many people (myself included) said the same things about WOW's originality. Also let's be candid here technically it was graphically out of place even for 2004. Let us also not forget Blizz made no bones about taking the EQ1 model and streamlining it. WOW's subscription numbers prove that originality & big improvements are clearly secondary to fun for many.
While I don't subscribe to LOTRO myself it's a solid, well made title just like WOW before it.
Dutchess Zarraa Voltayre
Reborn/Zero Sum/Ancient Legacy/Jagged Legion/Feared/Nuke & Pave.
I personally think it was a boring clone. But that's just my opinion. Plus it wasn't even a good clone.
Its not a bad game, just not a very good one imo. Of all the mmo's to come out in the past while it was the most "finished" and polished. It seem very stable too. So technically, its very good. It just didn't find it very fun. Once you get past the initial joy of seeing Bag End, thee Shire, the Prancing Pony and Bree it becomes very boring very fast. Theres nothing really new or inivative either.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Its not a bad game, just not a very good one imo. Of all the mmo's to come out in the past while it was the most "finished" and polished. It seem very stable too. So technically, its very good. It just didn't find it very fun. Once you get past the initial joy of seeing Bag End, thee Shire, the Prancing Pony and Bree it becomes very boring very fast. Theres nothing really new or inivative either.
i agree, when i first went around through the shire and saw the sites it was pretty cool, getting to be in the places that i had read about so many times...but after completing a bunch of quests it got pretty boring. the scenery is great, but the characters look....odd, they don't seem to fit quite right, they seem out of place--and then the character movement in my opinion is clunky and awkward. i didn't even make it to the end of the 30 days before i cancelled.if you're interested in trying out LOTR, try to request a buddy key, here's a thread for requesting them on this site, and i would strongly suggest checking it out before buying it.
www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/128781
i also started playing EQ2 and it seems to be a pretty good game, i do enjoy it, but unfourtunately my brother couldn't get into it so i don't play it as often--he lives about 2k miles from me so MMO's are a way we get to keep in touch and hang out. so it's not for everyone, but it is a pretty solid and fun game. the community seems to be pretty decent, sure i've ran across a couple morons, but for the most part the people seem to be ok and helpful.
1000 things that set LotRO apart from EQ2: where are the other 987 things?
- Music system - yawn, mostly an annoyance hearing multiple people playing horribly at once. sounds like pre-school music class everwhere people gather. Half of it is now macroed and scripted.
- Coloring - Yes you can color bland gear that you only keep for a few levels. The same gear everyone else has. Everything looks the same, the gear in lotro is extremely bland due to the requirements of the licensing. Different color or not, bland and boring looking gear, you cant polish a turd.
- REAL deed system, like DOING something for achievement - See Collections in EQ2 which came before Lotro, same thing different name.
- Monster Play System - Should be called kids play. A sidenote to grab some more subs that like pvp. Not working out too well either.
- LotRO - Same classes and feel of typical fantasy mmo but specific to the Tolkien lore.
- scripted and exciting, partly instanced questlines - SCRIPTED is the key word. Game is on rails, and instances are standard fare.
- No goofy froggish lizardish races - Just goofy hairy foot Hobbits to replace them. And not much else to choose from.
- No goofy sparkling whizzing whirling overloaded effects - Nope, just typical melee and ranged bow attacks, with the lack of magic for all those that enjoy the sparkles and whirling effects. Once again standard stuff, but missing all the magic classes and effects.
- Top notch, very smooth gfx engine - It is pretty solid. Great graphics as well. Graphic hitching is an ongoing problem though for many.
- Top notch, very fitting sound engine - Sounds are good, especially the female brigands
- Top notch, very fitting lore implementation - If you really enjoy the LOTR lore and feel, then you will like the world. They did a great job implementing this.
- Zoneless, homogenic world design - Its ok I guess, i dont play any games where zones are an issue.
- Original crafting, from peasant to elder - Nothing original about it...actually quite similiar to wow's crafting system. Vanguard and EQ2 both have superior crafting. vanguards crafting is even better then the actual vanguard game itself lol.
Lotro is a decent game. Its quite average in gameplay but is pretty solid as well. I found it very bland and boring. This is the first mmo that had me heading for the hills in less than 1 month of playing. There is nothing gameplay wise that really stands out. Its functionally the same as wow, which learnedfrom everything else before it. Turbine did NOT go for an original and groundbreaking experience. they designed a solid rehash of the wow experience with some improvements,a different paint job, and targeted the casual and non pvp crowd. Monster play is the only somewhat original idea in the game and it just isnt working imo. Its like diet pvp or something, no real draw to it. Log in as monster and try to fight players much more powerful than you, then get bored and login as player and try to fight weaker monsters. Yawn.
No reason to play after 50, the leveling is fun, but end game is pretty boring.
You can easily get max level within a month.
It doesn't have much staying power, after hitting max level and doing the end game instances I felt no reason to continue playing and canceled.
It is a good game for casual players, if you don't plan to instance, the instances are very long dispite the fact that it is touted as casual game.
Was really fun to be the first to defeat the instances, but they are very long and slow.
Crafting is very boring imo.. nothing new there, the typical "grind" find tons of ore nodes that are scattered around and level your craft.
I enjoyed the look and feel of the game, though, it is very pretty, just not enough of it, is what I would say, a bland MMO. Worth playing to 50 though.
Currently waiting for - Perfect World English, Age of Conan
How to play Perfect World in english
Currently messing with - Requiem Online
So to sum up everyones opinion(including my own):
This is a good game, it was released when it was finished, very stable, excellent graphics, and easy to pick up.
This game suffers though, from the fact that while it has good qualities, it just doesn't do anything new. If you've played WoW, EQ, EQ2 or DDO then you've played this game.
Right guys?
One thing LOTRO did right. They polished it so much that reviewers had no choice... they had to give the game a high score cause the fluff and eye candies are there.... But they will last about a month IMO.
eqnext.wikia.com
You mean, except for the half a million that do play it...
You said, "just my humble opinion", but tried to state a fact.
"Granted thinking for yourself could be considered a timesink of shorter or longer duration depending on how smart..or how dumb you are."
Loved the game for the first 10 days, canceled before the free 30 were up. Very boring, played like crap on my computer (and I can run WoW on high).
Nothing new in the game, and class roles don't even matter which annoys me. There are a couple of classes, and a fellowship can be any mix you want no problem. Tank and healer aren't mandatory, all you need is DPS.
Traveling on horses in the game costed waaay too much (at lvl 25 I had 500 silver, and it costed about 25 to travel across the map).
All of the characters in a class look the same and have pretty much the same gear.
No customization. Deeds were a good idea but it's not enough. Games like WoW have the talent tree to customize yourself, but in this game all you do is buy every skill.
I would say don't buy it. EQ2 is a great game but not enough players. I'm playing WoW at the moment to keep me busy til Age of Conan and maybe WAR.
"Granted thinking for yourself could be considered a timesink of shorter or longer duration depending on how smart..or how dumb you are."
LOTR Online is basically WOW set in Middle Earth. Except the classes are much more bland in LOTR than they are in WOW. The classes have no flash or pop to them, and most of them, from the casting class to the tanking class, play exactly the same way. There's no class level strategy since the skill sets are so basic and uninspired. A level 50 in LOTR has the same basic skill set as a level 10 in any other game. Actually some classes stop getting new skills in their 30s. The devs are like, hey you can swing a sword, what else do you need. Unlike WOW or any other mature game, LOTR ends at level 50. Once you've leveled up you're done. There's no raid structure, meaningfull PvP or any other mechanizm for extending the game.
One of the best things about LOTR is its attention to lore. It's Middle Earth and it feels like it. One of the worst things about LOTR, and the reason it will have a short life as MMOLS go is it's attention to lore. There's no evil race play because that would clash with the story, there's no pvp because that would clash with the story, there's no powerful or flashy classes because that clashes with the story, etc. Basically, if it ain't in the book it ain't gonna happen, and that has the dev team painted into a corner. They simply don't have many options for feeding todays content hungry, and content deserving, player.
LOTR is a great MMORPG for a casual player.
Haha, a lot of people seem agreed on the fact that the game is not good for anyone but casual players. I'm actually surprised... I figured the highest rated game on this website would have a much more loyal following. Either way, I'd rather have a game that can keep me entertained no matter how much or how little I play it, so I'm probably better off just getting EQ 2. Seems like the best choice. LOTRO seems to get boring fast, according to most of the people I've heard from. It's too bad... it had so much potential.
Perhaps Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Gods and Heroes should change their release schedules to 2008
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
Perhaps Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Gods and Heroes should change their release schedules to 2008
That's a good idea! Although I don't think I want to wait THAT much longer for those games to come out. One of the games this year has to be able to live up to the hype... right!?!?
After that, everything changed in a VERY short amount of time. Corruption system was scrapped, sandbox was scrapped, Middle Earth was sort of dumbed/watered down significantly. The name changed to Lord of the Rings online to reflect the new direction and it became a linear, hold your hand, quest driven game.
Now, I enjoyed LotRO for what its worth. It was too much like WoW for my taste, but its a good game. I just felt they didn't do justice to Middle Earth by forcing you to follow these paths made of fake hills and making sure you were guided along every step of the way. Now, Middle Earth Online, a sandbox game like SWG, Vanguard, and AC1 would have been amazing. Unfortunately for most of the old MMOers, WoW was a success.
Darkfall Travelogues!
Pretty game... nothing new. So i give it a 3 out of 10, 10 being the best.
LOTRO is an absolute waste of a gem of a franchise.
Why? There is no content!
Kill 25235985 Boars and you get to level 2!
Multiply that by 2 and you'll have level 3!
But don't worry, it's not a grind because its hidden behind the oh so interesting facade of a quest!
Dulce et decorum, pour my heart out on the forum.
After that, everything changed in a VERY short amount of time. Corruption system was scrapped, sandbox was scrapped, Middle Earth was sort of dumbed/watered down significantly. The name changed to Lord of the Rings online to reflect the new direction and it became a linear, hold your hand, quest driven game.
Now, I enjoyed LotRO for what its worth. It was too much like WoW for my taste, but its a good game. I just felt they didn't do justice to Middle Earth by forcing you to follow these paths made of fake hills and making sure you were guided along every step of the way. Now, Middle Earth Online, a sandbox game like SWG, Vanguard, and AC1 would have been amazing. Unfortunately for most of the old MMOers, WoW was a success.
now that sounds like it would've been cool, i would've loved a sandbox LOTR MMO, it's a shame that they changed it.
That is a fair assesment, I would add that it is not a very 'deep' game, either in mechanics or character development.
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Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
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