Lord of the Rings Online : Shadows of Angmar review (PC)

Licensed games, so we're told, are the scourge of modern gaming. Develop an identikit 3rd person action-adventure title, slap a title on the box, and shovel it out to stores for an instant cash boost. A casual glance at the gaming charts over the course of any given month of the year will tell a similar story, with mundane film licenses and rehashed cartoons dominating sales and sinking the hopes of the more original content to make it to store shelves. An easy route to take? Try telling that to Turbine, the development studio responsible for possibly the most loaded of all the current entertainment licenses, The Lord of the Rings Online.

Now, don't get me wrong, we've had umpteen games based on the Lord of the Rings franchise in the last few years, but none of them in the same vein. Modelling a videogame title on an interpretation of the film franchise is a whole different kettle of fish to an entirely new take on the Tolkien Universe, and credit where credit is due, Turbine have managed to create not only a good-looking and deep experience, but also one which has taken a minimal amount of flak from the purists. Quite an achievement considering the rabid fanbase that's squarely in the sights of the Shadows of Angmar.

Solid foundations

Getting down to basics, LOTRO copies the blueprint of most of the successful MMO's of the last few years, but adds its own twists and interesting takes on the genre all the same. Character creation encompasses a choice between Elves, Men, Hobbits and Dwarves, with the further class selections of Champion, Hunter, Burglar, Captain, Guardian, Lore-Master, and Minstrel. These all essentially tailor themselves to the standard tank, healer, damage-dealer, buff and de-buff roles that permeate pretty much every MMO in the current market. No surprise there.

The one difference that WoW players will immediately notice however is that everybody fights for the same side, meaning PvP action is extremely limited in scope to just one area, and takes the form of high-level players fighting it out against some of the legendary (player-controlled) evil creatures in the Tolkien canon. Whilst this is a fairly unique concept in execution, it may not be to the tastes of the hardened Blizzard fanbase, and I can only imagine that an expanded competitive multiplayer element may be catered for in a 'City of Villains' style future expansion. Quite How far Turbine would need, or be prepared, to stray from the relatively safety of the known Tolkien storyline to produce such content is a matter for debate.

The basic questing and grinding elements of LOTRO are also largely familiar ground, and whilst there is a huge catalogue of missions to undertake, most of them boil down to the usual 'kill x number of beasts' formula, with a few along the way that serve to buck the trend. Solo players are well catered for, and whilst there are a number of quests that actively require a fellowship to complete, for the most part the early levels can be played in isolation if needed. Despite this initially traditional structure, wandering the various regions of middle-earth doesn't ever take on a particularly boring hue, and that comes down to a number of design choices that Turbine can justly be proud of.

Go on, just one more chapter...

The frequently instanced storyline quests take pole position in the innovation stakes, managing to spin the Tolkien tale in a unique and solidly engaging fashion, and avoiding the dreaded level grind as a result. Catering for both solo and group encounters, the core missions follow the progression of the fellowship around Middle Earth, and feature some of the most well-designed encounters in any MMO to date. Pulling players out of the main world and into an instanced area gives the developers ample opportunity to setup unique locations and heavily-scripted events, which manages to inject the game with personality as a result.

Whilst direct contact with the main protagonists of Middle Earth is fairly limited in scope (although you will meet most of the beloved characters), the subtle hints at events from the books are frequent, successfully creating the illusion of being a part of something on a much grander scale. Given the assumed knowledge of most of the LOTRO audience, crafting a tale around the plotline of the novels in this manner is a fantastic way of building a bridge between the developers and the audience, and one which should be held up as a prime example of how to produce intelligently-designed licensed content to future generations.

In fact the love for everything Middle Earth shines through in almost every facet of the game design. Wandering around the superbly-crafted environments is a pleasure in itself, and attention to detail positively drips from every surface. Whilst the graphical engine scales back nicely for those with lesser machines, much of LOTRO's aesthetic prowess comes from artistic design rather than technical ability, and that in itself almost makes the higher graphical settings redundant. Flocks of birds take flight in front of the setting sun, rain and snow dynamically sweep in from above, and the tone of the original musical score changes upon entering different regions and situations. As a positive love letter to the source material, LOTRO deserves all the plaudits that can be mustered. It may not be the same vision of Tolkien's world as the one in your head, but it never could be, and you can only sit back and admire the overall artistic vision.

A journey fraught with peril

In the long run, LOTRO seems to have enough content on offer to keep people playing throughout the high levels and up to the inevitable first expansion pack. Staving off boredom of character choice is a challenge that faces every MMO at some point however, and a number of design mechanics have been included to help keep any stray WoW players from jumping ship back to the Blizzard behemoth.

Throughout the main gameplay, players will be working towards several 'Deeds' that provide some interesting customisation opportunities. For example, killing a certain number of trolls may result in completion of a 'Troll Killer' deed, which would then provide the ability to wear the same text as a title above your characters head. Frequently, completing such deeds also rewards a 'trait', which is essentially a passive buff or an active skill that can be applied to enhance particular attributes of your character. The genius here is that none of the traits are tied in to the initial class of the player, and as a result it can be entirely possible to build up a tank character with considerable healing prowess, or a healer that can also provide damage-dealing ranged support. Traits can be unbound at any time, and in essence this allows you to customise your character for any given situation, or just to try out something new.

Character titles may seem initially superfluous, but have generally been seized upon as badges of honour, creating a mythos around high-level players and hinting at possible encounters yet to come for those of a lower in-game stature. Any opportunity to diversify within the field of character creation is a wise move, and the lack of cloned avatars at this point bodes well for the future.

Grinding the lore

In general, there isn't a whole lot of criticism that can be justly levelled at LOTRO from a design or a mechanical standpoint, but that isn't to say it manages to beat the level grind completely, and rather inevitably it does eventually fall foul to the same trappings as other games of the same type. Combat itself is fairly unspectacular, and save for a few EQII-inspired chained attacks in fellowship groups, perhaps this should have been the focus of some more of the brainpower saved for the mission structure. This seems to be a problem endemic to RPG design as a whole though, and we're long overdue a breakthrough in that regard.

Special praise also has to be dealt to Turbine for creating an MMO that managed to ship in a fairly completed state, and with stability issues kept to a minimum. Server downtime is sparse, and whilst there have been a few glaring outages and a number of large patches, the overall experience is one of rock-solid and largely lag-free play.

With the seemingly never-ending popularity of World of Warcraft, quite what the future holds for LOTRO is a mystery at the moment; but with a healthy subscriber base and an attractive monthly rate, a few choice expansion packs could certainly solidify the experience into a genuine contender for the best of its type. Tolkien's universe is after all the foundation for so many modern-day RPG titles, and with a bit of luck the Lord of the Rings Online will maintain the same status within the gaming world for future generations of MMO gaming.