Hey Gandalf...wait up!
When Turbine took on this mammoth task they must have known that anything connected with the legendary writer, J.R Tolkien, would be a huge money spinner. Of course, they've already secured a large audience before the game has even hit the shops, such is the power that the Lord of The Rings name commands, but LOTRO is a subscription based game, meaning that Turbine can't just rely on the name alone to keep gamers paying their subs on a monthly basis. They need to create engaging quests, continuously improve on the world they've created, and listen to the fans who've bought the game. The framework is there for a long lasting Lord of The Rings experience, with entertaining quests, the implementation of a solid and entertaining crafting system, plus an accessible combat system, but it is still early days in the life of Lord of The Rings Online and currently there are still minor bugs, connection issues and a few improvements which could be made, here and there. Turbine and Codemasters Online Gaming appear to be committed to making a success of the game in the long term and as a result the world online should constantly evolve. I doubt it will ever achieve the sort of fan base of World of Warcraft, but judging by the initial reaction from those people currently in the online world, there's no doubt that the LORTO fans are going to be exploring Middle-Earth for a long time to come.
Click for larger imageRunning around Middle-Earth visiting places that we've all read about and meeting familiar characters may be considered a novelty by those seeking a meaningful, challenging MMORPG, and to a certain extent that is true of LOTRO. Lord of the Rings fans will probably never get bored with visiting the likes of the Party Tree, bumping into Gandalf, or exploring the ancient lands, but take away the setting and you've simply got a tried and tested MMORPG formula. Why not? It's worked in the past and Turbine are offering the same accessibility as the likes of World of Warcraft, albeit in a Lord of The Rings setting. That can't be bad? Can it?
Click for larger imageTurbine haven't pushed the genre or come up with many revolutionary ideas, but instead they've implemented a solid, simple and effective quest system, built a competent combat system, a methodical and interesting crafting model, and combined it with a user friendly and accessible UI. The overall result is an efficient and highly satisfying game that is undoubtedly made more endearing by the setting of the fictional but familiar setting of Middle-Earth.