Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Updated Impressions - More Early Impressions, Future Update Plans

By Andrew Park, GameSpotPosted Mar 6, 2007 2:47 pm PT

We take an updated look at this Tolkien-inspired massively multiplayer game and get more details on future plans for the game at launch.

Character Movie

See some of the characters you can play as in this online game.

Massively multiplayer games often let you play as a lone adventurer in a fantasy world, joining other players to hunt monsters and seek fame and fortune. Developer Turbine Entertainment is working on such a game set in the original fantasy world, the realm of novelist J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. We recently had a chance to try the game out, and we also got an update on some of the future plans that Turbine has in store for the game.

The game offers four playable races--human, elf, dwarf, and hobbit--and three of the four can be either male or female (only dwarf males are available at this time). The game offers seven character classes--minstrel, captain, guardian, hunter, lore-master (the wizard profession), burglar, and champion--each of which plays a specific role in battle, which is outlined in a brief in-game movie that can be watched as you decide your character's profession.

Middle-earth is home to heroic humans and elves, and it also hosts things darker and more foul.

Once you've created a character, you start out as a prisoner of a Black Rider (one of the evil minions of the dark lord Sauron), and you must escape your imprisonment with the help of a human ranger, as we've discussed in our previous coverage. Once you escape, you begin in a small village surrounded by pastoral hills and small farms that have occasionally been attacked by bandits. Much of your early career involves performing brief quests for your village neighbors, such as clearing out pesky wolves and hunting wild boars for meat. However, as you continue through the lowest-level series of quests, you quickly find that all isn't right in the village, and that the bandits that seemed like small-time thugs actually pose a much larger threat--they're allied with the minions of Sauron and eventually lay waste to your village, turning it into a burning ruin. This development shows how the world will change over time using "story events"--cinematic sequences that happen in real time in the game that make players feel like they're much more involved in the story.

We chose to play as a captain, one of the game's melee-combat classes, which is a very group-oriented character. Captains possess various "aura" abilities that strengthen their teammates' abilities and heal them over time; they can also attack their enemies in battle with heavy melee weapons and with their distinctive battle shout ability, which can be heard from quite a distance. Even though captains look to be best suited for group play, they seem to do just fine when fighting solo, so long as they keep themselves well provisioned. Captains, like other characters, may engage their enemies in standard "auto-attack" combat, which causes them to repeatedly whack their foes until someone falls over and dies, though characters also possess various special abilities that can be used at a cost to the character's energy. Eating certain foods helps characters replenish their spent energy and depleted health, though when not in battle, you can recover from your wounds fairly quickly, at least at the lower levels.

The game will offer players the functionality of some of the most popular sites on the Internet.

We also had a chance to catch up with representatives from the developer who discussed some of the intriguing new developments that are planned for the game. To encourage community involvement, the game will implement functionality that resembles some of the most popular Internet technology. An example of this is a map system that resembles search engine Google's Google Maps site, as it lets players zoom and pan around world maps to better find their way. Turbine will also apparently offer an online "wiki" similar to the Internet reference Wikipedia, which will let players build their own reference compendium for monsters, weapons, quests, and other information. Finally, the game will reportedly feature a built-in social-networking-site builder that will let players create their own personal journal site on the Internet for each of their characters, which acts similar to sites like MySpace or LiveJournal. Turbine suggests that its community-management team will help police those sites for inappropriate content, and that these character-created sites should help players continue to connect with each other even when they're not playing the game.

In addition, Turbine is encouraging devoted players who have gained access to the game's beta program to preorder the game by allowing them to keep their beta characters even into release. The game shows a good deal of promise as something that should appeal to both online-game veterans and beginners who are fans of Tolkien's lore. Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is scheduled to launch later this year.

83 Comments

  • libacheese

    Posted Apr 27, 2007 8:10 am PT

    I don't got this game yet but it looks great! i have been playing WoW for some time and i desperately need a change of game play. OK this game might be like WoW but the feeling of being a hobbit owns! i will definitely pick this game up. Also the graphics to me seem pretty good, much better than of WoW in my opinion

  • Lumenadducere

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:01 pm PT

    This game is actually pretty good (was in the beta) and I like what they've done with it. I'm not all that big with the lore but it seems very well-done. I'd recommend everyone to check it out - I like it enough to get the lifetime membership.

  • shraniken

    Posted Apr 22, 2007 7:36 am PT

    What will make this game seem so much better and "finished' is if you go play Vanguard first. I swear, this game was more complete in Alpha than Vanguard is now, it's amazing. Think the difference is LotRO seems to planned ahead a bit better, and it shows.

  • Unamed_Hero_05

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 3:20 am PT

    jpc1978, goddamn, how dumb can ppl get?, " I have top of the line graphics." how about "i have a top of the line graphics card" u fukin' idiot. As for myself, i have played the open beta and the visuals are pretty impressive. and the gameplay is actually pretty good too. and i also have a top of line rig, only its not built by dell cuz' they're **** homosexuals; here's my rigs specs:
    Intel Core2Duo E6600
    2gb of DDR2 2x 250gb HDD
    GeForce 8800 GTS 640mb

  • Red-Bananas

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 2:41 am PT

    will this have montly cost???

  • Mike_Carrington

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 8:15 am PT

    THIS GAME WILL RULE.

  • wiget

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 7:43 am PT

    del lol , i think the graphics are pretty good but very different to wow the character screen is a bit of a let down and a few silly little things .But the game-play has a good feel and the story events put some iceing on the cake something wow was missing?.
    i for one need a break from the daily grind of wow.

  • andresruiz91

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 7:49 pm PT

    Ive been playing the closed and open beta versions of this game and so far, i really like it. The graphics arent even bad, I have no idea what some people are talking about the graphics being horrible. Sure, the game is very similar to WoW, but dont forget WoW is a good game, so if its similar, it is most likely good, to most people. Mostly, I think this game is for LOTR fans and for people who are now tired of WoW. Which is perfectly fine, I like this game way better than WoW or any other mmorpg out there at the moment.

  • franc0-shade

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 11:37 am PT

    jpc1978: The beta was not the RETAIL version of the game, therefore do you really expect the visuals to be finished?
    I played the Beta and it was enough to justify my purchase and ATLEAST the first month of play.

    Oh yeah, you're very brave saying you have top of the line gear on a PC game community and not disclosing what model card you have to justify it.

  • jpc1978

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 4:33 pm PT

    To helljumper0st I have a brand new gaming computer from Dell with top of the line graphics and the game still looks very poor. I noticed that you are new to gamespot are you perhaps connected to LOTR? or Turbine?
    I have played the Beta version that was recently release. I was not at all impressed buy this game. It's basically World of Warcraft in the Lord of the Rings the graphics were poor even at the highest settings. I would waste my money on it.

  • Chiku2

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 9:04 pm PT

    The prisoner of black rider thing is the beginning for humans (and hobbits too I think). Elves and dwarves start off in a different area. I got the free key awsome craft system so far.

  • Jacobiterebel

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 4:38 am PT

    I hate to say it but I do feel this game is very very similar to WoW. But that isnt a bad thing, WoW was excellent before it became all alts with no time for noobs. And after the quests got boring as hell. This is a bit of a WoW clone, but LOTRO is new and a breath of recycled but fresh air. New quests, new world, new characters, new game. I cant wait to get my teeth into this and I expect that it will keep me going just as long as WoW if not longer. So yes, a WoW clone it may be but I expect it to be hugely successful.

  • sdtragichero

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 11:15 pm PT

    I've never played an MMORPG before, but now I'm hooked. The graphics are fine (DVD instead of download). The quests are interesting and the scenery and mood shifts a lot from place to place. I've found myself increasing my time in the game from day to day. I've played Elder Scrolls Oblivion, but got bored by the repetitive quests. This game has a lot of variation. I hope it sticks around.

  • CrazyFranky

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 8:53 am PT

    I'm a big player of WoW and I am currently playing LotR in the open beta test and let me tell you, those are two totally different games! Of course they"re both MMORPG, and all about killing mobs, "levelling" up, selling stuff, making stuff. But, from what I've seen so far, LotR is much more complex in terms of gameplay. And the fact that your quests finally lead to a cinematic that will change some of the places you've encountered, is just fantastic. Of course the simplicity and addictive play of WoW still makes it a wonderful game worth playing and spending a lot of time in, but I think LotR is a great addition for the MMO industry and should also be played! Rivendell or Darnassus? Kazak Dum or Ironforge? Minas Tirith or Stormwind?
    You decide!

  • jogunther

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 1:53 am PT

    Definitely worth a look for MMoRPG's and tolkien fans. Played the beta for a week and it seemed like a minute(in heaven).

  • helljumper0st

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 7:31 pm PT

    if you are complaining about the graphics get a better computer

  • LupusMagus

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 3:12 am PT

    Well it should be noted that there are now separate quests for characters starting as Elves or Dwarves then that described in this Preview.
    Additionally I really didn't realise there were extra textures on the Pre-Order DVD so thanks for whoever pointed that out. (installing now hehe).
    As a llllloooooooonnnnnnnnggggggggg time WoW player I can honestly say that comparisons are inevitable and welcome in the basic functionality, some things cannot be re-invented easily. However the 'feel' of LoTRo is intensely more sophisticated then that of the WoW world.
    For people who would actually like to try the RP aspect of an MMORPG LoTRo is a hands-down winner.

    For a game yet to launch I have found it incredibly stable and responsive. And the visual aesthetic; well it's like comparing a cartoon to Jackson's movies. ;-)
    And for those people still preaching at the altar of WoW - what part of slaying Nefarian 20+ times waiting for your class drop did you find entertaining? WoW is not immortal and the best thing you can do as a gamer that loves playing MMO's is spread the love around. Give it a try.

  • shade1978x

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 12:09 am PT

    Good God. I decided to throw my name into the hat for the open beta test, got accepted, and started playing on the 6th. I installed the thing, played it for an hour and un-installed it. How the hell can people play these fun blackholes for months on end? Horrendous.

  • chchamp61

    Posted Apr 5, 2007 5:52 am PT

    To the ones who are complaining about graphics, you haven't seen the best. Most likely, you haven't pre-ordered which means you didn't get the DVD which is the only way to get the high-res textures. With these on, the game looks so much better and clearer. Why did they not give you these before you say? Well, it makes the game over 6 gigs instead of the 3.5 gig download.

Lord of the Rings Online Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Downloads | Answers | Forum | Check Prices

advertisement

Related Unions

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
Lord of the Rings Online

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement