Last weekend I took part in the LOTRO Stress Test, playing roughly 13 hours in 2 days. What follows is my opinion of the game so far.


Graphics
The graphics were crisp and colorful and did an excellent job of putting me smack in the center of Middle Earth. (I wasn’t actually in the physical center but you get the picture). From grassy hills to flowery meadows and thick forests, everything is displayed in exquisite detail. I played with the graphical options set mostly to medium with a few set to high, my resolution was at 1024x768 and I disabled AA and AF.

The combat animations are smooth; as are the movements of the creatures and people you are fighting against. Shadows from players, buildings, and trees are realistic but they are not dynamic as far as I can tell. The lighting streaming in from windows is a nice touch. I especially liked the small details like deer in the woods and frogs and snakes hopping and slithering through the marshes.

The game played smooth unless I went into a crowded town or city. My hardware began to show its age and I experienced stuttering while the game loaded data to my videocard. The stuttering was not game-wrecking, however, and I soon became accustom to it. The only other problem I saw with the graphics was the armor—it didn’t really impress me. Granted, all I saw was leather armor so it is possible that steel or bronze armor will be more aesthetically pleasing. If you want to see what the game looks like in all its high-resolution glory head on over to Gamespot, they have a large collection of screens.

Music & Sound
Not really much to say here, Turbine did a superb job in the music and sound department. The music changes to a more upbeat tempo during battles and descends into a very LOTR-ish tune during exploration. It is a testament to the quality that I hardly noticed the music at all, it blends seamlessly into the meticulously crafted world.

The sound effects are also well done. Everything from the pounding of hoofs down a dirt path to the clashing of swords and shields had an authentic flair that served to further draw me into the world.

Gameplay
The game is just plain fun. Forming impromptu fellowships to tackle some of the harder quests will never get old. And the game is not all about combat either, during my play time I had an absolute blast searching for copper and tin deposits to mine then hauling the ingredients back to a forge to build armor. Few things are more satisfying than crafting a pair of boots or gauntlets and selling them to a higher-level character.

Leveling is extremely simple. You kill monsters and accomplish quests to gain Experience Points, once you meet a certain quota you gain a level. Role playing games have been using the formulka for years and LOTRO is no different. Upon leveling, your hit points and power points go up automatically, then you need to find a class trainer and pay to get more skills. It was strange at first to have to pay to level my skills, but I was never short on cash when it came time to upgrade. I didn’t see any stats for Strength, Agility, or Wisdom so the leveling is streamlined and simple. Skills are either passive, (which you get access to a new one every odd level), or active (every even level).

One of the things I particularly liked was the ability to add titles to your name. For instance, my character, a Guardian named Radont, was from Rohan so at the very beginning of the game I could be seen as ‘Radont of Rohan’ (which I did). After killing a plethora of spiders in Bree-land I could have the title ‘Radont Spider-foe’. The titles are optional but it adds a bit of flair to what could be just a boring static name.

The game does an excellent job of promoting exploration. Each land (Bree-land, The Shire, etc.) has landmarks to discover, and you are rewarded for finding them. There is definitely something cool about actually ‘seeing’ Bag End or The Prancing Pony, or any number of famous places from the books. Frankly, I can’t wait for the game to be released; this is the game that will draw me into the MMORPG genre.

I will add some screenshots of my own later.

As promised, here are some screen shots I took:

Ultra-High graphics settings
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00080.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00081.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00082.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00084.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00085.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00086.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00087.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00088.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00089.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00090.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00092.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00093.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00094.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00095.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00096.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00097.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00098.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00099.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00100.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/rad...enShot00101.jpg

To see all 102 shots go here: (shots 80-101 are the Ultra-High settings, everything else is what I defaulted to and what I played most of hte game with.)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/radont84/LOTRO/

Thank you so much for posting this... I am actually thinking about starting to play an MMO again. I haven't for a couple years and am starting to miss it a little. LOTR was one of the ones I was thinking about. I thought the monster play option was a pretty nifty idea. Did you get a chance to try that at all?

is this in beta or alpha ? i imagined the graphics looking a little better for some reason...

the character model looks a bit iffy to me *shrug*

I got into monster play only briefly, mostly because when I was playing as a monster I wasn't advancing my main character. It was quite fun what little I played though.


It is the beta. I though the character models looked fine, but that is just me. Honestly, I was having way to much fun running around Middle Earth to really notice the character models.

I pre-ordered the game a couple days ago so I should be getting my Founder's key pretty soon.

LOTR online sure looks cool!
The textures look very much like those in oblivion that is good^^
I would say there was a lack of uhm, something in the pictures, maybe generaly more vegetasion and more details... .it all looked so empty, and open....
Well, it looks promising^^

I would probobly get it but my heart and wallet is set on the ever postponed Huxley. Plus my computer is garbage and the only thing I really use anymore is my 360.