Delusions of Gondor

So! Evening 1 of the Lord of the Rings Online test, after coming back a year later.

(Again, I want to stress that I'm not giving up playing EQ with my friends or CoH with my wife. This is just something I'm doing for kicks in my spare time.)

So far, so good. It could just be me, but they would appear to have done some things to the color balance and bloom filters of the game to make it appear even *more* visually appealing. This game, for reference, was already renowned for being one of the prettiest out there. That they could somehow make it even more so is really impressive.

Gameplay-wise, it's still very similar to WoW. So much so that I occasionally wonder why I'm not over playing Blizzard's offering rather than this one. Still, it's not entirely to their detriment. The gameplay is ripped off of WoW, yes, but it is very solid as a result and therefore not a complete waste of ingenuity. To say nothing of being *cheaper* and, in my opinion, prettier.

Strong points:
Unbelievably good-looking world, especially at night
Good lore backdrop
Amazing encounters with things like Ringwraiths
Unique crafting system

Mild points:
Storyline (jury's still out on this one, haven't seen much of it)
Combat system
Character customization and appearance (better than a lot of games, but bland)

Weak points:
Mini-quests
Some animations (walking) and sounds (girl fighting)

That last one might confuse you. Seriously, though, when women fight in this game, they sound a lot more like they're in a porno than in a fight for their lives. You'd just have to play and hear it to realize what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I'd give it a 7.5 of 10 overall, with a 10 of 10 for value. I wouldn't pay full price for it, but for ten bucks, it's a hell of a lot of game.

Thumbs up!