By Mark Rollins
While I was attending the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), I got a chance to view
Turbine Inc. fancy booth, and I got a chance to try out Lord of the Rings Online
(LOTRO): Shadows of Angmar. The company recently released Book 10: The City of
the Kings on August 20, and it is pretty impressive.
For those of you who are not familiar with LOTRO, it is somewhat related to the J.R.R. Tolkien books. I say somewhat because LOTRO takes place in the northern regions of Middle-Earth, and tells what happens while Frodo and friends are dealing with the ring situation in the West and East. LOTRO has a story that is essentially a small thread in the classic story that has inspired many, especially with the recent Peter Jackson movie trilogy triumph. The story of Book 10 is, of course, a continuation of Book 9: Shores of Evendim.
Although I didn't get a chance to try it out, there is apparently some new ways to play as called Monster Play. There is a place in the game known as the Ettenmoors, where players engage in Player vs. Player (PvP) combat where players can play as a Ranger of the North or a Troll. As far as I know, this is pretty unique. Most MMO games only allow PvP games to play as just yourself, but as a Troll you get to play an entirely new class not available to player avatars. There is also this feature called Legendary Play that allows you to play as a more powerful character, but that is all I know about that.
Another new feature is Critter Play, a way of playing from the point of view of such creatures as a chicken. That's right, you can play one of the most classic fantasy games from the online point-of-view as a chicken. Apparently you go through a series of quests to get back to your chicken coup. The reward is a kind of chicken cloak, and I'm told there is a cool little dance that occurs when the quests are complete.
Another new feature is the reputation and bartering systems. Reputation appears as positive and negative standing with other races that is based on monster kills and other quest completions. The bartering system allows for trading trophies earned in battle for rewards such as armor sets or mounts.
Even though the official site says that it has over a hundred new quests, the representative for Turbine at PAX told me it had 130 new quests. I also heard that Book 11 will feature a housing system.
I have to admit that I hadn't played LOTRO since it was officially launched in April, but I had to admit that I liked the look of it. My particular tasks involved rescuing someone from a prison, one that wasn't well guarded, if I might add. The control system was simple, a point and click method to move, open doors, and take out enemies. I liked the graphics, and the rendering looked quite beautiful and very faithful to Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth.
A few months ago, LOTRO was reported as the number one selling PC title across the North America and Europe. No doubt that Book 10: The City of the Kings will add to this great hype.