[Oyabun]

Very interesting the graphics look smooth and the game just looks awesome

The history behind the development of the game is as intricate as it comes. The game was first announced ever since 1998 by Sierra On-Line stating a Middle-earth MMORPG on the way. At the time not even the movies were released so the fans got all excited. Nothing was heard about it anymore until 2003 when Vivendi Universal Games (the parent company of Sierra) agreed with Turbine to produce Middle-earth Online. Two years later, March 2005, another shocking news came out – Turbine had bought the rights to make MMOs based on Tolkien’s literature and was assuming the publishing duties of Lord of the Rings Online from Vivendi and once again delayed the release date until Spring 2007. This whole story brings us to the Beta testing that started September 2006 and that we could get our hands on to present you with a quick inside preview.

Story
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the first MMORPG set in the fantasy world of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It was originally an independent project from the trilogy movies (and it still is as far as we know), based on the written works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (Turbine’s license doesn’t include The Silmarillion – thus far, anyway). The game takes place in the Third Age, during the War of the Ring. The whole big (even huge from what I’ve seen) adventure begins about the time that Frodo leaves The Shire with the One Ring. The background story goes something like this: as Frodo departs on his dangerous journey, many adventurers from all the races of the Free People of Middle-earth rush to clear the path up ahead. You – the player – will assume one of these roles. The friendly NPCs in the world will guide you on this challenging mission – make yourself useful to the Fellowship of the Ring. You’ll even have the chance to encounter the Fellowship and many other important characters in the books such as Barliman Butterbur (at the Prancing Pony) and Tom Bombadil (in the Old Forest). The aspiring hero will be able to challenge the Middle-earth on his own or join a fellowship that will make battles seem easier and provide the extra fun that is specific to a MMO.

Gameplay
The game proceeds with the creation of a character (what else?). After quickly choosing a race, class and borrowing it a personal touch of colors and an appropriate name the big adventure can finally begin. Your virtual life in the Middle-earth can prove to be as quiet or as challenging as you may wish. After a brief introduction to the great world that you just stepped into, you may choose your own way here. Follow the epic storyline and wonder through the vast region of Eriador confronting the forces of the Nazgul Witch-king in the North, protecting The Shire and destroying the evil on Weathertop. Your journeys will allow you to collect valuable Tolkien lore, knowledge and artifacts of immense powers. Ambiguous quests of courage will unravel compelling character traits. Settling down to create mundane as well as legendary items that will help other players in their fight against the Dark Lord Sauron is also an option. You can even enjoy more peaceful activities such as farming or cooking.

Interacting with others is the salt and pepper of this game (it’s a MMORPG, remember?). Feel free to express yourself anywhere in the world through a vast choice of emotes that enable your character to bow, salute, dance, beg, act angry and tons of other actions. An in-game chat is also available, addressing a selected part of the world or to everybody. Feeling tired? Set off to relax and socialize at the Prancing Pony in Bree, the Green Dragon Inn in The Shire and many others throughout the land.

Each settlement has lots of interactive NPCs that will reveal secrets, teach you new things about the Middle-earth or set you off on quests. Some quests become active once the completion of others but usually most of the townsfolk will ask you to attend to nearby jobs. Some quests may reveal even more hidden tasks. Helping out enough people in a certain region (such as Ered Luin, Breeland or The Shire) will reward you with the recognition of the people and award you a prestigious title for you to bear with pride. Killing a fairly big amount of certain beasts in the nearby wild fields can also bring you their gratitude. Ancient secret locations are scattered through the lands and discovering all of them bring you unexpected rewards. The funny part is that there are even quests where you have to perform unexpected actions such as destroy some poisonous plants or get a bucket of water to put off a fire or retrieve stolen/lost objects. There are certainly many types of quests that can be attempted.

Traders and trainers can be found in each town. Just like each class has its own trainer, there is a specialized crafter for each item type. You’ll be able to meet light, medium and heavy armorsmiths as well as smiths specialized in bows or other weapons. There are even provisioners that will stock you with the needed materials for the crafting jobs (nine crafts are available so far that include armourer, metalsmith, prospector, tailor, cook and so on) as well as the utensils to get the job done (now how would you collect stones without a pick hammer axe?). Highly skilled specialists will even sell you recipes of their fashionable items. In time, you yourself will get better at the chosen job and be able to create up to legendary items of tremendous powers.

The only thing that made me raise a suspicious eyebrow was that I’m only entitled to five bags to store my goods along with whatever I may equip on the character. It’s true that any items only occupy a slot of the bag no matter how big it looks and there are 15 slots in every bag, but come on… I want all the riches in the world and I want them with me where is safe. On the other hand there is this cool option of selling your wears to any trader and then purchase them back for the same price. I still kind of don’t trust these strangers with… my precious loot.

I really enjoyed the Beta version of the game and I feel like I could go on forever about what it offers, but I really think I should leave a few things for the review article (hope it will be this spring and the game isn’t delayed any longer) and see if the release version rises to the high standards that this Beta promises. To keep it short, LOTRO impressed me with its humongous world and what seemed like hundreds of catchy quests. There is something for everybody to do – it really made me believe that the game actually offers the player a virtual life in the fantastic world that Tolkien creating for his novels.