For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the chance to play in the epic fantasy world of Middle Earth seemed a dream just a few years ago. Yet now, that sentiment seems like a passing...
For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the chance to play in the epic fantasy world of Middle Earth seemed a dream just a few years ago. Yet now, that sentiment seems like a passing phase, because we now have Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. In terms of MMOGs, LOTRO (as its commonly referred) is a fantasy-based player versus environment (PvE) focused game. The Lord of the Rings Online is set during The Fellowship of the Ring after Frodo Baggins and company leave The Shire. Players will be able to meet the characters from Tolkien's story, including some of the Fellowship. LOTRO is explicitly based on the books, not Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation. Turbine does not have rights to The Silmarillion.
Players in LOTRO, when they begin the game, have the opportunity to select from four different races and seven different classes. Races in Middle Earth are limited to those of the free races: Men, Dwarves, Hobbits, and Elves. Each of the classes represents a symbolic representation of what you'll find when reading through the Lord of the Rings and includes the Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Loremaster and Minstrel. As an additional information resource, Turbine also included a video of each race and class at character creation to explain the differences between the various races. Since release, Turbine has been consistently adding more content onto the game as the months go by. In LOTRO, the areas of content that the team develops are broken into "Books". For example, the game that you purchased in stores or downloaded digitally goes from Book 1 to 8, and more Books are continually being added into the content. With each Book release, the game expands and is enhanced.
Although PvP isn't implemented into the game from a "create an evil character at the beginning of the game" standpoint, LOTRO has included something they call PvMP, which stands for "player versus monster player". In this system, players can engage in PvP in the Ettenmoors, a land that is being contested by the good guys (Freeps) and the bad goons (Creeps). For PvP fans, this is as close a simulation as you could ever get without having full-on PvP.
| What is Pulse? | More Charts (Members) |
| Rank | Game | Previous | Traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Dungeons and Dragons Online | 4 | |
| 5 | Lord of the Rings Online | 6 | |
| 6 | Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures | 5 | |
