A few comments on my experiences in Lord of the Rings Online. But first, I want to point something out. On January 12th of this year, I was very sure of myself. Like Abeilano, I was sure that LOTRO was nothing more than a cheap knock-off of WoW with a hobbit-skin cover. By the 17th, during an argument with my comrade in the Cesspit, I found myself reconsidering my opinion. At the end of the month I had already apologized for an ill-given ‘award’. Last week, my will caved. Today, though I still have the sneaking suspicion I’m never going to see much of the world Turbine hath wrought, I stand before you apologetic, impressed, and excited. I don’t have a crystal ball, but Turbine finally might have a hit on their hands. Who knows? Maybe one day DDO will be what I want it to be too.

Let’s get the comparisons out of the way first. Is it ‘as good’ as WoW? Maybe. Will it hit WoW numbers? Who knows? Is it as polished as WoW? Yes, but I also think it’s less ambitious. It’s certainly smaller. Will it make Tolkien fans happy? I think that’s a definite yes. Will it make LOTR movie fans happy? Not as much, but it’s hard to stand beneath the party tree and not imagine that dragon firework exploding in the sky above you. (Note to Turbine: If you let me attend Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday I could die a happy man. I don’t care if it has to be instanced, I’ll show up.) Is 15 level enough to have seen the whole game? Hell no, but it was enough to convince me that you’ll at least have a couple of fun months with this game.

What I Love About LOTRO:

• The Bags. It might seem like a little thing, but having your full inventory just available from the get go is so liberating. I haven’t seen anyone else mention this per se, and it’s surprised the crap out of me. I can’t even imagine how much time I’ve spent getting alts their bigger-slotted bags in WoW.
• The Titles. Again, a little thing, but the fact that they’ve woven the backstory into the game in a way that’s not represented by a reputation grind is fabulous. I know I would have worked harder at those stupid Firbolgs if they’d given me a neat title at the end of the road. Granted, you see some guys walking around with 1024 pixel wide titles, but that’s just part of the fun.
• The Classes. Sorry dr00ds. I just have never gotten behind classes that screw up the four legs of the D&D table. If I can’t look at a class in a fantasy MMOG and know whether it’s a Tank, Nuke, Healer, or Skills-monkey, I probably won’t play it. My primary character in WoW was a Paladin, and look where that got me.
• The Healers. Easily one of the things I’m most looking forward to with Warhammer Online, but true to a lesser extent in LOTRO as well. Healers don’t *have* to be in the back row steering clear of the fight. Thank everything.
• The Graphics. I still like WoW’s look better, but man is it hard not to be impressed. I’ll refer you to Foton’s Flickr Set if you have any questions.

What I Like About LOTRO:

• The Lore. I’m like, a 2nd level Tolkien nerd. I know everything from the movies and have read some of the books outside the core four. That said, I think the lore in the game is ‘good enough’. Some little stuff bugged me, but I think it’s on the whole going to please the nit-pickers.
• The Combat. It’s ehh, better than ‘the same. damn. thing. as. every. other. game.‘, but not by much. Just enough to keep me amused this month.
• The Crafting. I like that they’ve broken the mold a little bit with crafts like farming and scrollmaking and such. Otherwise nothing super out-of-the-box.
• The Quests. While most of them are the ‘whack the foozle’ or FedEx variety, they know how to dress them up. I really like the post quests. Being a mailman is fun, somehow.

What I See Being a Problem For LOTRO:

• The World of Warcraft. “Oh yeah! Those guys are still out there? What’s that, there’s another expansion coming? I better get back to raiding Karazahn! Yoink!”
• The Music Is Wrong. I’m just picking something to pick on, but there are enough differences between the movies and the game world that some mass-market folks are going to be put off. It remains to be seen how much of an issue this is, but I think their (admirable) adherence to the lore and lack of a license with New Line may keep them from the critical mass they want.
• The Management. I have to pick a little bit. AC and DDO have been … middling? I guess is the right word? And, as Mr. Jacobs pointed out last month, the only Massive games which have died did so because their publishers gave up on them. That’s a spot on their permanent record.
• The UI. Oh. Oh god. Oh please make it stop.

It may seem to you like I put most of the core of the game under ‘like’, some fluff under ‘love, and some serious problems at the bottom. You’d be right. I didn’t shell out $199 for a lifetime membership because I don’t think I’m ever going to play the game that much. By biting the bullet when I did I can stick to the $9.99 membership and get my jollies at a lower cost. Maybe someday my regular MMOG group will move to LOTRO; then I might reconsider. For the time being, though, I’ll be enjoying my hobbit-time as a Minstrel on the realm of Meneldor. Send me a ping if you need healing for a group.