My original reasons for buying this was to kill the last 2 months before the WoW expansion WotlK was released. I first tried Warhammer, which I hated so I came to this.

As soon as I logged in (after the hours of patching - same as any MMO) all I could do was compare it to WoW, I never even planned on giving the game a real chance so it wasn't long before i logged out.

A few days later I was back. This time I let the intro quests run their course. I must admit, I was impressed but how well the quests were structured. I was actually reading the quest text instead of "yeah, yeah kill 20 murlocs.. ok I get it, collect 20 wolf meat" The quests themselves aren't groundbreakingly original, they just seem more ineteresting. Especially the instanced quests (which WoltK copied) and the Epic (story) quests. The questing on this game is just far more compelling, far more believable. You actually believe in what you are doing, its not just gap fillers like in other games. I have been… more »

My original reasons for buying this was to kill the last 2 months before the WoW expansion WotlK was released. I first tried Warhammer, which I hated so I came to this.

As soon as I logged in (after the hours of patching - same as any MMO) all I could do was compare it to WoW, I never even planned on giving the game a real chance so it wasn't long before i logged out.

A few days later I was back. This time I let the intro quests run their course. I must admit, I was impressed but how well the quests were structured. I was actually reading the quest text instead of "yeah, yeah kill 20 murlocs.. ok I get it, collect 20 wolf meat" The quests themselves aren't groundbreakingly original, they just seem more ineteresting. Especially the instanced quests (which WoltK copied) and the Epic (story) quests. The questing on this game is just far more compelling, far more believable. You actually believe in what you are doing, its not just gap fillers like in other games. I have been enjoying this since level 1, there is no level cap on the game enjoyment here.

The graphics, well, having just played WAR this game had a fairly hard act to follow. So I was shocked when I realised that LOTRO blew it out of the water! This game is stunningly beautiful. I have run this game on 3 PCs from difference houdeholds and even on lower spec machines this game is good to look at. The character models aren't as good as WAR but everything else is flawless, I was shocked at how great everything looked. One of the things that really drew me into this game was the amazing attention to detail in absolutely everything there is to see in this game.

The game system itself isn't anything bold or different, if you have played an MMO in the passed 2 years you will feel at home with this game. But while there isn't anything new per sé, what we have is a very polished experience. I didn't want a bold new game system, I wanted a traditional MMO and thats what I got here. It does what it says on the tin and does a good job of it.

The characters are defined and refined via a trait and deed system. For accomplishing real world tasks (discovering ruins, killing lots of orcs) you are given rewards such as titles and traits. Traits ranges from stat boosts to ability enhancers and so on. At first I hated this, having grew up with WoW's talent system I wondered how this was meant to shape your character. After a while I realised it wasn't meant to do that at all. While traits make your character unique in spirit, they don't truly define them. If you don't know wht you are doing, you can still get by just fine. You get more out of them the more you learn.

After playing WoW for so long it was a great suprise when I realised just how matture the community is on LOTRO. Its so blissful to enter a city without having to listen to the trade channel argueing (WoW players know what I mean) and being called a "n00b" because I don't have "full epixx". People here seem layed back and just into the game they play without all the hassle. There are some idiots of course, just a much, much smaller ratio.

2 months on, WoltK is on the shelves. I don't even own it! LOTRO has made a true believer out of me. Truth is, I don't think im going back to WoW at all. I've been won over.

With an expansion just around the corner, there really is no better time to give this a go. Try it, you might just like it.

Ok i heard about lotro about a year before it was released and i was so excited when i got the free trail before it finaly came out, the game play itself is flawless and the graphics are stunning to look at , the enviroment is huge and there is so much to explore and discover from walking through the woods of the shire to walking the mountin paths through the misty mountins plus the in game music really helps to set the sceane no matter where you are, since i started playing at release i havent had any problems and if ever anything does happen then the gm are there to help in minutes.
After over a year of playing the quest are still as intresting and inventive as ever. The crafting is also a great way to spend a few hours trying to get to that grandmaster lvl, its also really easy to meet people and get fellowships going to help with tricky quests i dont think i have every had a problem with any one in game the comunity is fantastic and a lot more grown up then other games, the… more »

Ok i heard about lotro about a year before it was released and i was so excited when i got the free trail before it finaly came out, the game play itself is flawless and the graphics are stunning to look at , the enviroment is huge and there is so much to explore and discover from walking through the woods of the shire to walking the mountin paths through the misty mountins plus the in game music really helps to set the sceane no matter where you are, since i started playing at release i havent had any problems and if ever anything does happen then the gm are there to help in minutes.
After over a year of playing the quest are still as intresting and inventive as ever. The crafting is also a great way to spend a few hours trying to get to that grandmaster lvl, its also really easy to meet people and get fellowships going to help with tricky quests i dont think i have every had a problem with any one in game the comunity is fantastic and a lot more grown up then other games, the traits and titles are also creative and exciting, and now with the new expansion coming out the mines of moria its a no brainer that il be playing for another year.

Even if you are not a lotr fan then this is still a well made and put together game and you will love it,

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