PC Review: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

PC Games Reviews

By Babak Setayesh Apr 26, 2007, 19:28 GMT

Welcome to Middle-earth. Or Azeroth. Or even Norrath. Or whatever you want to call it.

For years, the promise of frolicking freely in Tolkien’s fantasy lands was left dangling just out of reach. And after about a decade of various rumblings and whisperings, Turbine Entertainment has finally delivered on the concept with Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar. This game has been widely anticipated for obvious reasons but ultimately, the novelty of running around Middle-earth soon wears off, leaving a game that, given its potential, is a feeble and mediocre attempt at greatness. It is not that LOTRO isn’t an entertaining and fulfilling experience, it is that there is nothing here that hasn’t been done before and more importantly, nothing here that truly keeps me coming back.

Play alongside well known characters from the novels like Elrohir and Dwalin.

First of all, a note on expectations. If you, like me, thought that such a great work of modern fantasy (and indeed, the first work of modern fantasy) would provide an excellent role-playing environment, you were right. If you, like me, thought that this type of environment coupled with compelling gameplay and great graphics was a match made in heaven, you were right. Lastly, and most importantly, if you harbored expectations that this game might advance the genre past WoW and into a future filled with enthralling, nuanced, and compelling multi-player gaming, you were dead wrong. Put another way, LOTRO is an attempt to capture the mass market appeal of WoW, one that completely ignores those of us who would have preferred it differently. In one respect, one can’t blame Turbine for trying to emulate WoW, because in all honesty, who wouldn’t? However, LOTRO could have been, and still can be, so much more than it is and that fact alone is enough to disappoint. Thorins Hall with a massive statue. Pretty impressive.

Thorin's Hall with a massive statue. Pretty impressive.

While Middle-earth as described in the novels, and brilliantly visualized in the movies, was an expansive world with a rich and interesting history, the environment of LOTRO feels small and incomplete. The first (free) content update was recently announced, and promises new areas, new items, and new monsters, so it remains to be seen how far this will expand things, but as it stands now, the explorable game world is limited to Eriador. This is of course a logical and well-intentioned choice, as it is where Thorin’s group set out in The Hobbit and where the Fellowship set out from Rivendell in The Fellowship of the Ring. Turbine does justice to the architectural elements, landscapes, and spirit of the various locales of Eriador, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some element, not necessarily quantifiable, that was definitely missing. The graphics are a well done evolution of the standard MMORPG, although there is nothing very impressive about them. In fairness to the development team, the point of an MMORPG is to make it accessible to the greatest number of players, and thus the game has to run reliably and efficiently on the widest range of PCs possible. That said the engine is relatively scalable and some of the water and shadow effects are pretty nice, especially at night. The music is one of the only elements that truly stand out, as they are done in a style reminiscent of Howard Shore’s truly spectacular movie score. In addition, the various musical instruments present in the game add a level of ambiance.

The auction system enables you to purchase goods from other players.

Combat turns out to be only marginally entertaining. The standard skills, modifiers, and weapons apply, and because of the crafting system there are a wide variety of weapons and armor to obtain as your character advances levels. There is nothing inherently interesting about the combat system, and it only serves as a conduit to gaining experience. Closed beta purportedly featured an active combat system, a la Dungeons and Dragons Online, that allowed a degree of dynamism like hiding behind objects and ambushing opponents, but this was taken out early on. Death is handled in a number of ways, the least severe being the option to retreat and be “defeated” with more severe penalties resulting from subsequent defeats. This element of the game contributes greatly to the boring nature of combat, because there are no real semi-permanent consequences or challenges and thus no sense of fear or danger. Your character essentially risks nothing when they go hunting, and as a result the experience is less than rewarding. Somewhat more exciting is the ability to play as monsters and engage in PvM combat. This ability is gained at level 10 and provides a good diversion to the tediousness and monotony of gaining skills for your main character.

Look at that moon. The visuals are decent, but not spectaular.

The questing system is pretty standard as well, with nothing to set it apart from WoW other than being able to interact with characters from the novels. You may form “fellowships” consisting of up to 6 adventurers, or 24-person raiding parties for larger quests. You may have up to 40 active quests at any one time, and embarking on some of the longer quests gives you the opportunity to explore the game world to a great extent. The experienced gained is well tempered and allows you to skip standard combat for the most part, if you so choose. The crafting system is well done and mildly thought-provoking, and it is the only element of training that provides any sort of sustained excitement. A scholar for instance, can not only make weapons but reassemble ancient relics. In addition, there is a built-in auction system that allows you to purchase items crafted by others.In the end, despite the best efforts of Turbine, LOTRO is nothing more than a Middle-earth-themed World of Warcraft clone. While this may change with time (and I’m perfectly willing to give it a chance), at this point, LOTRO settles for a cookie-cutter, candy-ass implementation of a game world with limitless potential, and does nothing to take advantage of the source material. Perhaps Turbine was comforted and made complacent by the fact that no matter how uninspiring and bland their game turned out to be, they would have both the built-in audience of hardcore Tolkien fans and the massive number of new fans generated by the successful movie franchise. That said, it is hard to characterize Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar as a failure (if one can even do so at such an early stage), only a game that falls flat in the fun department.2.5 stars out of 5 stars

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JohnMay 1st, 2007 - 01:15:53

Are you kidding me? A WOW clone. Spend some time in the game and see what it has that WOW does not have. A good story that pulls you in, realistic graphics, deed and traits and it plays more like an rpg which is great. Actually play it without the thought that WOW is so great that nothing can be better.

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SolMay 1st, 2007 - 18:41:46

Agreed with the above poster.
I myself have been a WoW player since the day it came out and just recently made the jump to LOTRO, and I must say It's not a WoW clone, there may be a few aspects in the game that may qualify as a WoW clone but in general the game itself is not.

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ExitMay 11th, 2007 - 22:36:16

A WoW clone? you have to be kidding?? i havnt yet had to grind 50k+ rep to get a key for an instance i've already done so u can do it on 'heroic', to get another key for an instance i'll be grinding for the next year just to get some kit .... that is well.... pretty naff really. And then wait for the next big 'expansion' do grind some more rep :(.

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BallzzMay 15th, 2007 - 20:06:20

In some respects the WoW clone comments are warranted but I think it's mostly cosmetic. This like the questing system, the dressing room etc..seemed to have been plucked directly from WoW with no attempt to change them but so what? I have no problem with this type of game using what works if it doesn't need fixing/changing. All these games do that to a degree. I think there are enough unique things about LOTRO to keep it from being a true WoW 'clone'. The game world is very well done and I think much better laid out. Small touches like how the mobs are spread out and wildlife doesn't automatically just attack you when running in their proximity. I hate how games like WoW and VG have mobs spread out equidistant from each other across every square inch of the game world such that it's impossible to travel without creating a huge train of mobs. I will agree that the game world has a small-ish feel to it but it's not poorly designed and that is something easily fixed (and with the early planned content patch seems to be something they are aware of). It wasn't mentioned in this review but I'm also a bit concerned/disapointed in the classes to choose from. I realize they have tried to keep to the actual LOTR lore as much as possible (and that is comendable) but it feels like there is something missing with regards to healers and casters (ie. mages/wizards).

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GaryMay 21st, 2007 - 19:42:09

I am new to online RPG but disagree. I am 61 & have read Tolkien's works numerous times & love the game. I find the graphics very good for that type of game. Perhaps my love of Tolkien colors my opinion but the developers have captured Tolkien's Middle Earth very well. I look forward to playing the game for a long time & exploring Middle Earth. I play many PC games but this one has got me hooked!

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TechleoMay 24th, 2007 - 22:12:20

The game was exactly what I expected it to be. Fun, slightly slower paced and generally well designed. What impressed me most was how the quests feel. There's a sense of urgency and opportunity to explore the surroundings. The quests suit there surroundings as well. Combat was easy to get into and fun. I love the art direction they took with the models and the environments. I cant tell you how many times Id just stop during a exploration and gaze out my surroundings.

Generally I think the game is a foundation I expect turbine to build a wonderful story upon. To be dead honest I expect ill spend most of the next two years farming, making bows and running my little brewery when the time comes:D

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VhulheimJun 20th, 2007 - 12:38:52

This game is a total WoW clone. It's name should be World of LOTRO. Weeks before I read this article, I was warning my friends and clan-mates away from this game telling them it is nothing more than a WoW clone in the worst sense. This reviewer got this game dead on!

We'll see how long companies keep cloning that ever-so-popular WoW interface and as long as they do, there will be users like me who'll pass it by waiting for something original to come about. Can anyone say Age of Conan?

Until such time, you can keep your WoLOTRO and your WoVanguard and all the other useless clones. Nuff said...

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gJun 25th, 2007 - 20:56:46

Well; WOW didn't create their interface either, they just expanded upon others...do some research Mr.Clone...

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BallzzAug 22nd, 2007 - 14:24:55

lol. Mr. Clone doesn't have a clue what he is talking about. Vanguard was a WoW clone? Are you kidding? Sure it adopted some of the innovations and features from WoW but that is par for the course for these games. They ALL do it as they should. Why reinvent the wheel if it's not necessary? AoC will be more different than most and that's cool but they are also taking a big risk in deviating from what has proven to work. I will also bet that there are more than just a few familiar things in AoC that you could say they 'cloned' from other games but that won't make AoC a WoW/EQ/VG/LOTRO clone.

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echostaticMar 23rd, 2008 - 09:30:20

I played world of warcraft before i played this, and i noticed as well that a lot of it seemed like it was taken from world of warcraft and made into a lesser form. the whole game seemed inferior to world of warcraft, it seemed cramped. the advertising for gold farming was more severe than in WoW and there werent as many other players around. the whole world just felt smaller and cramped. i did not like how you were unable to tame the creatures of the world with any class. ultimately, there was nothing to keep me coming back. i have happily returned to world of warcraft.

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PC Review: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

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