| The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC DVD) |  | From: Codemasters Limited
Category: Video Games
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £11.73
You Save: £8.26 (41%)
New (9) Used (1) from £8.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  80 reviews
Sales Rank: 3235
Platform: Windows Xp
Media: Video Game
Age: 11 - 18 years
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.3
EAN: 5024866331745
ASIN: B000FNA2D2
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Preview
Codemasters is not the sort of company to ignore a new market trend, and indeed they were one of the first companies to speak up in praise of the enormous success of World of Warcraft. Since they own the official license to The Lord of the Rings books (this game is not based directly on anything in the movies), a massively multiplayer online game to rival Blizzard's blockbuster was all but inevitable. Angmar is the domain of the Witch-king, the leader of the Ringwraiths, and the game world is set during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring as Frodo and company set out from The Shire. In the game you'll have the chance to meet all of the major characters as you play as any one of four races: human, elf, dwarf or hobbit. Your character can also be one of seven different classes - from burglar to hunter or minstrel. Not all races can be all of the classes though, so you must choose carefully.In gameplay terms things work in a similar manner to World of Warcraft and other fantasy games, with up to six characters grouping to gather to form a "fellowship", which in turn can team up with up to 24 others to go on larger raids in enemy controlled areas. The game includes seven crafting professions and three gathering professions, allowing each character the chance to learn and utilise unique skills, from manufacturing armour to cooking. Player versus player combat is allowed to a degree; although instead of two player controlled characters facing off, one will temporarily take control of a monster for the duration of the fight. Whether the game can truly challenge the success of Warcraft remains to be seen, but if anyone can do it Tolkien can.
HARRISON DENT
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| Customer Reviews: Read 75 more reviews...
 Excellent game better than wow December 4, 2008
I was amazed when I saw this game had a 1 star rating from some people. As I read them I became aware that they gave it 1 star as they hadn`t realised there was a monthly subscription fee DOH...It says this in the first line of the review. Future reviewers please review the game
 Derivative Yawnfest December 3, 2008
WHEN will SOMEBODY make a MMORPG that isn't just a WoW clone? I'm sure that a lot of features from warcraft were used first in other games (not least diablo) but this is ridiculous. Absolutely minimal thought has gone into the interface here - so I can take titles can I? Or play songs? And you want me to pay how much?
I bought WoW the day it came out and played it on and off (unusual i know!). I thought Lord of the Rings Online could be kind of cool so I had a look.
The install process is colossal and took me a whole day. It is totally counter intuitive and has nothing like the gloss of the WoW installers. Next, the much-heralded graphics are less cartoony than WoW but seem kind of flakier, more polygon based, generally less satisfying. Unfortunately, the gameplay is sheer grind-o-rama at its worst. Where did this come from? were there grinding quests in fallout? noooo. why? because they stink...
I was kind of getting into the music, but then I went into a hut and there was some acoustic guitar going on. Seriously. This isn't "Jeremiah Johnson" people, it's supposed to be kind of medieval.
So it's now back in the box and taking up space. If i had this before WoW, it could have been cool, but it's just the same game only a bit worse.
A Work of Art November 17, 2008
Hmm, having read the previous reviews it seems the vast majority of the negative ones have issues with everything except the actual GAMEPLAY, and are mostly subscription based complaints.
Well let me confirm straight away that as an MMO yes...you do have to pay a subscription. If you only wish to dabble and do not wish to pay a monthly fee then don't purchase it, but to be fair LOTRO is one of the cheaper MMO's out there and has a variety of packages to suit the pockets of most gamers, from month by month to annual to lifetime.
I agree with the reviewers who were disappointed at the game's release back in 2007, it was unfinished which was a big problem. However I've been playing since January 2008, and now in November this game has really fleshed out. Bugs have been sorted and new areas and a multitude of quests have been added, it really is a different game to that of 18 months ago.
The playing area is truly vast, with the quests contained in each continually updated as you level up. They're varied enough to mean you keep revisiting earlier maps when you're a higher level to discover new quests have become available. You really do travel the length and breadth of Middle Earth throughout your levelling up as you follow the epic storyline presented to you as chapters within books (of which there are 14, with up to 14 chapters within each), and take time out to complete one of the hundreds of solo and fellowship side quests to gain XP. Add to this the ability to obtain a profession and the game expands yet further.
Currently I'm a Prospector, Metalsmith and Tailor. Track mines to prospect ore and use forges to craft them into ingots, use the ingots to create components which can be sold to other players via an auction system, kill creatures to obtain hides...all of which improve your skill through five proficiency tiers on your way to becoming a grand master. With each tier you will be able to craft better weaponry, armour, spells and potions to wear/use yourself or sell/give to other players to aid in your quests.
Which brings me to the social aspect, there are literally thousands playing this game, with hundreds online at the same time, requesting for help via fellowships to complete difficult quests, recruiting for kinships who will look out for one another and arrange raid quests or go into the PvP environment of the Ettenmoors, or simply levelling up solo and grafting to earn gold hilst nattering away on the in-game chat channels.
Graphics-wise the game is beautiful, and you genuinely feel immersed when you play. Contrary to what I've read here the game isn't too demanding on PC's unless you have one approaching a decade in age! I quite happily played on medium settings using a 5 year old PC with an ATI Radeon X700 card, bt currently use an XPS M1530 dual core laptop wich runs it on full settings, which is genuinely a breathtaking sight to behold. The audio is also excellent with the voice acting during the epic quests very atmospheric.
The game has expended every couple of months since 2007 as a new book is added complete with new enemies, quests and map areas. The last book to be added was Book 14 during the summer, and Shadows of Angmar is finally complete...it has taken me 11 months of near-solid gameplay since January to take my Lore Master character to the level cap of 50, and become a grand master of all crafting, and still certain things need to be worked upon...completing raids to improve valour, completing class deeds etc. Tomorrow (18/11/08) the first proper expansion pack is released, Mines of Moria, which raises the level cap to 60. There'll be another tier of crafting to complete, many new areas, enemies and quests to complete. I also assume that throughout 2009 there'll be further books added every couple of months fleshing the epic quest and game out yet further, until this time next year when we'll have the volume 3 expansion. As you approach the end more gets tacked on for you to do.
When you subscribe to this game you are guarranteed a huge variety in gameplay, one that is constantly changing and improving with the months, which is lovingly tended to with weekly maintenance and 24 hour in-game support and an ever expanding base of subscribers.
Unlike WoW set in a mythical land which is made up as it goes along, we know how LOTR begins and how it ends, so dramatically over the fires of Mount Doom. The beauty is we know where Codemasters want to take us over the next few years, and to have the opportunity to play in Tolkien's lands, meeting Aragorn, Gandalf etc and fighting alongside them is truly spellbinding, something WoW or any other MMO at present cannot offer. The game is based on Tolkien's books, but looks like the movie trilogy, therefore we get the best of both worlds. The fleshing out of the minutest of details from the books, from Brandywine bridge to Tom Bombadil, but the visual and audio finery of Peter Jackson's trilogy, the result is a wholly immersive world that provides longevity, wonder, enjoyment, a sense of achievement and many friends to make along the way.
Friendly, helpful, and no grief October 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a wonderful game, I have played many online RPG's and this one is where I plan to stay. Why, well because the game has been created in the true spirit of the fellowship. When playing other games I have becom fed up of attitudes and grief from other players, but here everyone wants to help you, its a real pleasure to play the game. That said there is a nice area for people who love PVP, where you can play the MOBS or your player characters. I have played also in this area and find it fun, and even here attitudes are much better than in other PVP games,its really very good indeed. If you like online fantasy games then i advise you try this, graphics are superb, locations fantastic, and quests are absolutely superb fun.
Masterpiece September 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
LOTR Online is the first MMORG that hasn't constantly reminded me of the fact that I'm playing an MMORG: neither the monotonous gameplay or sub-par grahics found in other games of this genre are present here, mainly owing to the fact that Turbine have taken great pains to ensure that all the side quests provide an interesting and often involving sidestory to the main one. At times I've even forgetten I'm playing on-line at all, a sure sign in my eyes that this is a great game in its own right; not just because it's massively multiplayer. As you level you are also constantly aquiring new traits and titles, either gained from exploring certain areas of the map or killing a cetain number of mobs etc, all of which relieve the grind.
The in-game enviroments are by far the most detailed and realistic I've yet to encouter in an MMORG, and if your current system isn't up to running it on high settings I'd strongly urge you to upgrade it. My machine is well over a year old and can still run it on very high settings with, for the most part, silky smooth framerates. DirectX 10 is also well worth it with this game imo.
To enjoy LOTR Online to its fullest, however, the most important thing to do is take your time; this game isn't about getting to maximum level and aquiring the best possibly items in order to PVP. It's about exploration and discovery, just like any good RPG. Also, after playing such titles as 'WOW' I'd gotten used to simply accepting a quest after giving its description only a cursorary glance. If you do this with LOTR Online you'll really miss out on a lot.
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