Cheap Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar (Video Games) (Windows XP) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar

At first enthusiastic, then discouraged, and now love the game!
LOTR Shadows of Angmar Review <
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>LORTSOA is the only MMORPG I have played to date. At first I was a bit overwhelmed: learning the controls (still learning) and finding the locations of some quests. After six days I'm getting a handle on a number of the controls, but the location of some quests are given so vaguely that it takes awhile and much patience to find them. I think it is designed that way to force you to explore. <
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>I have created one hobbit (hunter), 3 elves (hunter, champion and guardian) and one man (guardian). I was hoping to play a strong little hobbit warrior at first - but the hunter hobbit seemed weak. So the second day I created two elves and then on the third day a man and then also an elf guardian. I liked the elf guardian best so far and have continued with him to level 11. Later I might create a hobbit guardian. Picking a race and type you like to play with AND are having fun with are two important aspects of this game. Make sure you experiment to see which race/type works best with you. <
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>Anyway, at first I didn't think I would like the fellowship component so I tried to go solo in all the quests I tried including my last area of play in the elf land of Ered Lurin. However, at beginner levels (lvl under 10) I found myself unable to finish certain quests because the enemy was too strong or too numerous - I needed help! <
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>So, after my third day, now playing as the elf guardian on level 8 I became very discouraged and quite tempted to give up the game once and for all. However, on my fourth day I decided to take the leap and to learn how to chat and to give fellowship a try. After all I just paid $30.00 for the game + $15.00 for a month of play. And so I said "yes" to the next fellowship request when asked and I finally learned how to ask others to join me in fellowship. I am SO GLAD that I did as the others players are really a great bunch! Now I am definitely going to continue playing this game just for the fellowship aspect. Fellowship is a very temporary thing lasting through one or several quests if players are up to it and you can quit any time. KINSHIP PLAY is for long term efforts - which I have not yet tried out. <
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>Even before I learned how to fellowship some players saw that my elf guardian was having a hard time killing a bunch of orcs, bad dwarves, spiders or whatever so that I not could finish a quest such as gathering grapes, obtaining wine bottles or retrieving a stolen elf bow, etc. and they came to my help without being asked - later, I did the same for others as I leveled up. You can see the level of other players and can tell that some are real pros and can help you and others are just newbies and could use your help. This is now what I like most about the game - fellowship! <
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>Last night I joined a fellowship (at the hunter's lodge near Gondamon) to rescue an elf prince in a QUEST INSTANCE and then I asked for help from one member of my fellowship to finish one of my quests in finding a mountain cat's cub in some cave north of the hunter's lodge. My elf companion was a BIG help in locating the cub cave that I would not have easily found and I was able to return the cub to the hunter's lodge. <
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>Right after this I then helped a dwarf guardian player at level 7 - I was now at level 11. He was seeking fellowship from anyone to get to some place in Bree Land. I responded "yes". And off we went - him leading. I soon learned that he didn't know where he was going. We ended up in a dead end and fought many creatures and finally got killed by a band of orcs. I asked again where he wanted to go and he clarified by saying "The Shire". I knew where that was because I had been there a few days ago. It was then that I felt really helpful to another player and showed him how to get into the Shire crossing over a bridge near Duillond and going through the gate. When we got there I told him: "We are in the Shire." He responded: "Neat." He immediately wanted to begin the hobbit mail run quests. I did one with him to show him the ropes and then signed off after saying good bye as it was past bed time. He thanked me and was sorry to see me leave. The other players in this game so far have been very polite and gracious. It is helpful in this game to learn how to wave and bow (emote) to others after they have helped you as they often do this to you when you have helped them - and no one in Middle Earth wants to be rude. You just have to type: /wave (or whatever) and hit ENTER and your player will do it. <
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>The CUT SCENES and QUEST INSTANT action parts are really enjoyable. With the Cut Scenes the game takes you to an action moment (usually a battle) and the NPCs ask for specific help from you. The music and action is great - tense and dramatic! If you die it repeats over for you. The Quest Instant action parts occur during the quests where once again a NPC will ask you to help them recover something or rescue someone. Other players can join you in fellowship or ask for your help in these Quest Instant actions, as some require several players to succeed. After each player talks to the NPC the game actually transports all involved to the proper place where the action begins and then transports you back once it has been accomplished. You can repeat these Instant Quests with others if you visit a Reflecting Pool which again I have yet to learn about. <
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>Sparring is also a possibility in this game where either yourself or another player wants to spar. Once on the fourth day another elf player wanted to spar with me but I didn't know that the fancy red ring he placed on the ground and the crossed swords over my head indicated this. All I had to do was click my opponent and type in the chat bar: [/spar] + ENTER and the fight would have begun! Unfortunately, I just kept starring at this player wondering "Whats up!" He was dancing and clapping (emote) trying to get my attention - oh well sorry about that. I went to the manual after that to see what he was doing and found out about sparring. No one dies in sparring, but there is a winner and loser - the loser falls down. Weapons and clothing usually need to be repaired after sparring. Whenever you die in the game usually you need to get your gear REPAIRED which all merchant NPCs can do. <
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>There is still so much in this game to understand: crafting (which is getting mixed reviews) traits, skills, deeds, books, virtues, etc. Patience and time will be needed. Owning a House looks neat but is SOOO expensive! Others have spoken of the beauty of the sights and sounds. I have a decent rig: Pro Gamer series Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz / 2.67Ghz, 2.00GB Ram & a GeForce 7600GT card. The game runs real smooth and looks and sounds great. Hope this review helps those yet hesitant to give it a shot and those becoming discouraged at the beginning to continue on! <
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Excellent MMO
I've been playing this game since closed beta and it continues to impress me. Turbine has done a wonderful job and the speed at which they release free updates (also known as Books) is amazing -- Blizzard, take note. They do a good job of listening to the wants of their users without dumbing down the game itself. <
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>Tolkien's world is beautifully rendered in this game, and I look forward to seeing more of Middle Earth as the game world continues to grow.

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Nothing new to see here- move along...
I'm writing this review after having played the 7-day free trial offered by the developer of this game. First off, let's cover the good stuff: <
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>The graphics are far and away the best ever offered in an MMORPG. While they aren't "Oblivion" quality, they come very close. From the reflections on the water, to the gently swaying flora, to the richness of the environments, this game is nice to look at. <
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>Next, the sound is excellent. This definitely a "headphones" experience. <
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>Now that the positive elements of this game have been covered, it's time to state the unfortunate truth: This game brings nothing new to the MMORPG arena. <
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>Yes, there are new sounds- yes, it's easy on the eyes- but if sound and visuals were the criteria upon which modern media were to be judged masterpieces, Michael Bay would be considered the new Sergei Eisenstein... <
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>What makes a game memorable, exciting, and worth playing, is the gameplay- nothing more, nothing less- and LOTRO provides nothing new, beyond superficialities. <
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>I've played a lot of MMORPGs- just about every producer gives a free trial, and I've laboured through more than my fair share. The bane of the MMORPG genre has been the "generic quest": <
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>"Please vanquish five enemies, and return to me for your reward." <
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>"Please capture four items, and return to me, for your reward." <
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>After a while, this becomes redundant to the extreme- and every last MMORPG out there relies upon this woefully generic formula. <
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>Considering the overwhelming hype surrounding this game's development and release, one would expect that one would encounter something different, here... <
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>Dream on... <
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>The player is admonished, in the first 60 seconds of the game, to "pay attention to what NPCs tell you", because, supposedly, these interactions are part of a greater plotline. <
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>Actually, they aren't... <
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>You're introduced to NPCs with minor conflicts or alliances with this or that other NPC, and aside from their superficial and (overall) irrelevant "plot devices," their tasks for you are invariably: <
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>"Please vanquish five enemies, and return to me for your reward." <
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>"Please capture four items, and return to me, for your reward." <
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>Once you've moved on from these initial bequeathers of quests, you meet new NPCs, with more superficial storylines, who tell you to: <
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>"Please vanquish five enemies, and return to me for your reward." <
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>"Please capture four items, and return to me, for your reward." <
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>All well and good- but ya know: there are MMORPGs coming out of Korea which are free to play, and offer the same gameplay (and bigger worlds.) <
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>So why pay for this game? <
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>The developers obviously thought that the player would be so enamoured with the trappings of the LOTR franchise, that they'd forgive the utterly lame gameplay. After all, you get to be a hobbit! <
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>A Hobbit who's main tasks in life have been reduced to: <
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>"Please vanquish five enemies, and return to me for your reward." <
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>"Please capture four items, and return to me, for your reward." <
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>All of this would be forgiveable, if the creators of this game didn't continue to hype this as an extension of Tolkein's vision. To say that this game bears any resemblance to Tolkein's original vision is like saying that George W Bush is the executor of the vision of Thomas Jefferson. <
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>Now- this isn't to say that this game isn't without merit. If your life's dream is to spend hundreds of your waking hours pursuing a classically pointless sysyphian task, then this is your game- get to it- But keep in mind that there are dozens of free MMORPGs out there which offer the same style of play. <
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>Nothing new to see here- move along... <
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