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My First Impressions
Daedalus732
Member Posts: 589
I recently was able to install and play LOTRO after six hours of having update problems, and I have to say that I wish I had spent the time doing something more constructive. LOTRO online is a pretty game, but that's about all its got going for it aside from the LOTR lore which is the only shield this game seems to have from a complete fan abandonement. Don't take my word for it, go look at the official forums and watch as "IT'S LORD OF THING RINGS!!" becomes the only defense against complaints about the game's linear, reptitive gameplay.
While I'm a LOTR fan, I could care less about the game's lore if the baseline game doesn't include more to do than kill, loot, repeat. Or worse, kill, loot, deliver, repeat. Unfortunately, from what I can tell, that's the whole game aside from the linear storyline which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. In fact, it's a deterrent for me. If I wanted to play a linear story, why wouldn't I go out and buy any one of the already released LOTR games on the market?
I definitely get the impression that this game was intended for people half my age (I'm 22) or people who have not played an MMO since WoW. After all, while the game might not be a direct WoW clone, it was certainly made in WoW's image, and we all know why: The pursuit of the Almight Dollar
While I can't fault a company for wanting to make money and capitalize on a franchise that has brought so much joy to many of us, I can fault them for the lazy nature in which this game seems to have been assembled. The UI is pathetic, unclear, and at times can be difficult to manage. There are already some user created UI's out there, and they are linked to and supported by the Devs! Shouldn't that say something? The character creation process is simple and uninspired, and worst of all, the game world feels like a playpen. I can see mountains far away, but they're just an image in the background. I would have liked something more open-ended and a world in which you could go anywhere you could see.
But I suppose there's no point in crying over spilled milk. LOTO is basically WoW with a LOTR skin and a cadre of defenders who seem to think an assault on the game itself is a challenge to the world of LOTR.
Maybe I've just been spoiled by all the features SWG offered in its prime, but there's just nothing new here to keep me interested.
Comments
a) killed things
b) deliver things
c) Escort Things
d) collect things
If you know of an mmo that doesn't have those 4 things . Please by all means let us all know about it .
Anyway good luck in you next mmo , it should be set to release in 2020 , with all the features half the posters are looking for
Also want to say that , when I read posts from "PRO" SOE forum members, I pretty much disregard anything they say , for one , no one real likes SOE, And the post count pretty much tells me if I dig hard enough I will find a post just like this made bybyou in other game threads stating the same thing, while promoting SWG.
If you are an advert, i feel sorry for you.
who me ?
I've never played an MMO without those things either.
But I've also never played an MMO where those were the only elements the game had to offer.
The main point was that this game doesn't do anything new, and it lacks a lot of features enjoyed even by WoW players.
who me ?
Except that I don't like and am not currently playing WoW. Way to reduce my post down to the most basic level.
Maybe you would stop seeing posts comparing this game to WoW if the game stopped just copying WoW's elemtns straight into the game...
If you like LOTRO then fine, but this game is seriously over-hyped and that's a disservice to people who are trying to make a decision on whether or not to leave their well-established MMO for something new.
I do feel the pain of having a difficult time installing a game as I have been there myself. Not with this paticular game but I think we've all been there at one time or another. The points you bring up are quite valid as they are personal opinion. Different things appeal to different people and with the exception of the player music and MvP there is nothing new here on the game play level. There were two sentences that did raise my eyebrow however.
I can see mountains far away, but they're just an image in the background. I would have liked something more open-ended and a world in which you could go anywhere you could see.
With the exception of the edge of the map and areas that have not yet been completed I have found the world quite open ended. Granted it is not like SWG where you can walk up a mountain side better described as a cliff and suffer only run speed hinderance. Instead you are forced to find a way around the mountains or a not so obvious path through the mountains. I have done my share of exploring and have yet to find areas that were inaccessable. Perhaps you didn't venture out of the starter areas, they do seem a little play-penish with defined entrances and exits.
Anywho.....best of luck with your mmorpg search. Please let me know if you find that old-school SWG game as it is something I would be very interested in. Feels like I've been searching for years now.....
http://www.straightdope.com/
a) crafting
b) harvesting
c) playing music live
d) creating kinship
e) leveling kinship
f) Deeds
g) Traits
h) smoking Pipe Weed of different kinds, that create smoke shapes
i) drinking ale and getting drunk, you screen gets all crazy like beer goggles
j) gossiping in the tavern
k) balancing your stats
l)1600 quest at launch
I see a lot more then just the noob area, which you seems you didn't make out of , was killing Spider-bane to hard ?
Best of luck in your next mmo, which will obviously not have any of the features listed above because you deem them as "no content"
who me ?
http://www.straightdope.com/
Okay, /rant on
Actually, many of those can be found in other MMOs, and the other ones seem like they would be entertaining for about 5 minutes. So I can smake tobacco in a game and make smoke rings? Big flippin deal. And I can get drunk and make it impossible to do anything at that point in time because my screen is all hazy? I'm 22 years old. I can buy my own liquor and tobacco and experience both of those things for myself if I so choose.
I've never seen someone trying to pass off chatting as content. And you mean to tell me I can balance my stats? You mean I can do something in LOTRO that I've been able to do in every RPG EVER released?
/rant off
If you like LOTRO, then have fun. I just don't see anything I haven't been able to do before and done better by other MMOs.
Okay, /rant on
Actually, many of those can be found in other MMOs, and the other ones seem like they would be entertaining for about 5 minutes. So I can smake tobacco in a game and make smoke rings? Big flippin deal. And I can get drunk and make it impossible to do anything at that point in time because my screen is all hazy? I'm 22 years old. I can buy my own liquor and tobacco and experience both of those things for myself if I so choose.
I've never seen someone trying to pass off chatting as content. And you mean to tell me I can balance my stats? You mean I can do something in LOTRO that I've been able to do in every RPG EVER released?
/rant off
If you like LOTRO, then have fun. I just don't see anything I haven't been able to do before and done better by other MMOs.
Drinking and smoking will kill you in real life . Just so you knowJust another tip , the developers never said it was going to be a new innovation to the mmo market, and they set out what they said. Made a great game .
Don't get the words "content " and "innovation" confused. I know it is hard sometimes to tell the 2 apart. LotRO has plenty of Content . I doubt you will find any LotRO fan / player saying the word "innovation" as a descriptive of LotRO .
who me ?
I think its a fine game to play but the OP is right it really is just that a fine game. And the argument between content and innovation does matter. i ask you much much new content did TBC x-pack offer. Some people would say 10 more levels new raids, bgs, and outland. Other would say it added nothign its the same junk that ws their before. See when all your content is the same , it doesn't matter if you add enough so that it would take you 10 lifetimes to complete it all , if you have already "been there done that". That is the argument, you log into LotRO and wow ... no really WoW , been there done that. This is the arguement , i would say the classes are some what different so is the pvpm (player vs prime minister
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
There are tons of quests in this game, you can do the ones you want and skip the rest. There is incentive with the deeds system to do quests outside your starting region. The main storyline quests are linear, because they tell chapters of a story. The other quests are great jumping off points for your own adventures.
There are quests that don't focus on killing. The diversity of the quests is the best I've seen and even the mundane ones are well written, which can make them more interesting for anyone with a bit of imagination.
The game is casual friendly, in that it's not too difficult to learn and can be played productively in small bites. However, that does not mean it's a game targeted at young players, not at all. It's a game that probably requires a level of maturity (mental, not chronoligical) to enjoy more than just about any MMO I can think of. I think you probably have stumbled on a game of which you don't rise up to it's level, rather than vice versa.
The game has teaken many lessons from WoW and other games, used a lot of what works and skipped a lot of what doesn't. The newbie areas are meant as an introduction, just like any game. Those levels may feel to some a little WoW like (only barely to me, to be honest), but by the time you hit level 13, if you take some time to actually go out and explore the world, it's very clear this game has little in common with WoW except the fact that they are MMORPGs and share the same, most fundamental elements that all MMORPGs share.
Your entire post is some wierd diatribe that betrays a lack of first hand investigation into the game.
The irony of your last statement for me is that I have found this to be the first MMO since SWG (pre-NGE) that has really allowed me to tap into my enjoyment of exploration. I've fallen into the achiever mind set with other MMOs, because exploration was fruitless and unenjoyable. Not here, I level as I go, but leveling is not my focus.
So, you are still bitter over the NGE? What the heck does that have to do with Turbine or this game?
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
I'm happy this game is good enough that it provided an outlet for my MMORPG "needs", while letting me completely forget how burned out I was just days before. It would have been easy to figure that WoW had also completely burned me out for the entire genre, not so. For me, it's been a nice reset button and I've been able to enjoy playing this game from the perspective of Explorer, rather than Achiever, which is a very welcome breath of fresh air.
(Oh and from my perspective, the problem with TBC wasn't that it was same old, same old, Outlands was very enjoyable to me. However, Blizzard took over two years to produce an update that would probably have to be repeated every six months to be sufficient. Their lack of productive, efficient development tools and process, along with an obvious lack of sufficient reinvestment of money into continued development for me is just a sign that WoW is pretty much dead, it just doesn't know it yet).
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
