My Review

Hi there.



Before I begin, let me start by saying that while i'm sure i'd enjoy to be a hard core gamer and play for most of the day and night, I do work a full time job 5 days a week, but maybe one day.



I've played many games for much of my life, starting out with a simple apple2e, progressing onto commodor 64's, from consoles like the atari to the master system, and more.



I'm in my very late 20's, have a girl friend (who is not into games unless its the sims or playboy mansion) and like to fit in some sports when i'm not too lazy.



I really wanted to enjoy this game, but couldnt.



That line should be enough for those of you who are not inclined to read more.



Here's the expansion on my statement.:



This game is beautiful to look at, but is somewhat lacking somewhere.



Hate WoW all you want, but being one of the first people to play the game, and creating an elf, the world was just, magical.  It felt alive, and i really was walking though with wide eyes and my jaw dropping... this game made me take a few weeks leave so i could do nothing but play it.



Getting of the elf island and landing on the dark shore of the next area (forget the name, been years now) and i was again gob smacked...



These moments were one of MANY that ensued for countless months... until i eventualy got bored.



LOTRO fails to capture that feeling... yes its great to see tolkiens lore brought to life, but i'm not sure the lore itself is enough to hold me.



Firstly, the classes, well, while interesting, dont really seem to know what they do themselves, and race wise, well at the moment you can pick from only 4, which is very pitiful for any game.



We are ment to be at war here, so why not be able to create an evil character and fight it out eventualy against elves, dwarves, men and so on.



There is something called Monster Play, where you start out at level 50 and go around getting bigger and badder... but its a much lesser version of what could have been in my opinion, others will defend it, but thats the point of opinions.



I've made all classes but a minstrel so far, and around the level 15 mark, they all get boring.  The community seems intent on soloing and only getting into groups when needed for tough quests, and there is precious little talk or chatter, it seems very lonley at times.



I tried very hard to enjoy and like this game, because i've been waiting for a long time to get the same sort of joy out of online mmorpgs.  So far the only thills online gaming is giving me is from Battlefield 2142, Some counter strike, and checking my stock portfolio.



Boring, mundane, and while vitrues and deeds are a nice touch, they're a little to complicated to be useful unless you research how it all works, which you shouldnt have to.



PS: crafting isnt bad, but so far, weaponry is usless as any weapon you can make at the crafting levels seem usless compared to what quest rewards offer.



Cheers,



Ginetti.