Review: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Andrew Claus 9/21/2008 CIS 487

Basic Information Game Title: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (aka LOTRO) Company: Turbine, Inc Type of game: Fantasy MMORPG Price: –Game: $19.99 –Subscription: $300 Lifetime / $14.99 per month or $200 Lifetime / $9.99 per month

Basic Information contd. Minimum stated hardware requirements –O.S.: Windows® XP –Processor: Intel Pentium® GHz or equivalent –RAM: 512MB –Video: 64MB NVIDIA GeForce® 3 or ATI® Radeon® 8500 –Disk Space: 7GB available –DirectX: DirectX® 9.0c –Connection: 56kbps Modem

Basic Information contd. Recommended hardware requirements –O.S.: Windows® XP/Vista –Processor: Intel Pentium® GHz or equivalent –RAM: 1GB –Video: 128MB NVIDIA GeForce® 6800 or ATI® Radeon® X850 –Disk Space: 10GB available –DirectX: DirectX® 9.0c –Connection: Broadband DSL/Cable

Basic Information contd. Test machine hardware: –O.S.: Windows XP –Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 3.6 GHz –RAM: 4GB –Video: 512MB ATI Radeon 4870 –Disk Space: 10GB+ available –DirectX: DirectX® 9.0c –Connection: Broadband Cable Performance: – frames per second on highest settings, 1920x1080 resolution using DirectX 9 –20-30 frames per second using DirectX 10 and Windows Vista

Game Summary - Story Follows the story of The Lord of the Rings Books series Starts at the beginning of “The Fellowship of the Ring” The current update ends with the Fellowship setting out from Rivendell Projected updates through 2011 to follow all three books

Game Summary – Story Contd.

Game Summary - Role Multiple optional roles: –Aid Gandalf, Aragorn, and eventually the Fellowship of the Ring –Aid the cities and townsfolk by completing quests –Do your own thing, and wreck havoc on the monsters taking over Middle Earth

Game Summary - Installation Initial installation: –Purchase online and Download directly from the internet –Purchase from the store and install from a DVD Updates: –Automatically downloads and installs updates on startup An initial installation will take a few hours to completely update, even over broadband.

Game Summary – User Interface Very similar interface to other popular MMO’s –Small learning curve to those who have played games like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars –Includes hints and tutorials to help out new players Customizable, but generally includes: –Skills, Text and Voice chat, Health, Power, Mini-map, Quest tracker, Inventory Third-Person or First-Person views Camera movement is controlled with the mouse Character movement is controlled with the standard WASD keys Combat is controlled by keyboard hotkeys or clicking skills

Game Summary – User Interface Contd.

Game Summary - Gameplay Initially, you are able to choose 1 of 4 races –Elf, Human, Dwarf, Hobbit You are also able to choose 1 of 7 classes –Guardian (tank) –Champion –Minstrel (healer) –Burgular –Lore Master –Captain –Hunter Each race has their own benefits Each class has its own set of skills available

Game Summary – Gameplay Contd. Skill based live-action combat style RPG-style statistics, determined by the gear your wear and items you use Thousands of optional quests –Epic quests follow the storyline of The Lord of the Rings 99% of the world is shared with all other players Variety of social options available –Kinships –Fellowships –Raids –Regional Chat –In-game Voice Chat

Game Summary – Gameplay Contd.

Game Summary - Scoring In general, experience is your global score Experience is gained by: –Killing NPC monsters –Completing quests –Completing deeds Renown tracks your Player Vs. Player score Renown is gained by: –Killing player controlled monsters

Game Summary Contd. Artwork: –Professional and high resolution graphics Landscapes Monsters Character Models Armor graphics Sound and Music: –Unique skill sound effects –Environment sound effects –Background music for each region –Varying combat music

Game Summary – Artwork Contd.

Game Summary – Special Features Music System –Available instruments: Lute, harp, clarinet, flute, horn, cowbell, bagpipe, therobo –Play scripted music using ABC notation Sync music with other players –Play music using computer keyboard hotkeys –Play music using a MIDI keyboard Fishing Housing –Show off trophies gathered from monsters and instances Emotes

Game Summary – Special Features Contd.

Game Summary - Manual 112 page manual Map of Middle Earth Key-map card In-game tips

Game Summary - Bugs Occasionally bugs will be introduced in large updates, but they are usually fixed within a week. Currently there are no known bugs which effect me

Game Review What is good about the game? –Highly detailed story incorporates all information found from Tolken lore books, not “The Lord of the Rings” Familiar characters, locations, and monsters can be found throughout the game –Something for everyone to do, nothing is required Deeds Quests Killing Monsters Unique items –Every character is unique Enough variety of items and skills Everyone plays their characters differently –Periodic updates to the game Bug fix updates as needed New quests and locations every 2 months New Expansions every year

Game Review Contd. What is bad about the game? –There is no ultimate goal The quests, deeds, and items available will can run out –The game is only fun is there’s enough people around to play with Other people may switch to new updated games in the future

Game Review Contd. How does it compare to similar MMORPG games? –Some similar aspects Controls Gameplay style Overall feel –Different back story Could be a good or a bad thing, depending on which you prefer –Better graphics then older MMORPGs, maybe not as good as some upcoming

Game Review Contd. Why is it better or worse then similar games? –For me, it is better because of the high resolution graphics and the use of Tolken lore Personal preference –Improved game mechanics over older games Graphics AI Game engine / server restrictions –Larger number of players in the same area –Bigger spaces without loading times –Better system player features –Have not played any newer MMOs so cannot comment on any improvement they may have made

Game Review Contd. Any Design mistakes? –There small improvements they can make to almost every aspect of the game Most they will never get to due to limited resources (most of their resources are dedicated to fixing critical issues and new game updates)

Summary Strengths: –In depth storyline –Lots of content, things to do –UI is easy and well laid out Weaknesses: –May get addicting –Some parts may get boring / repetitive

Summary Contd. Is the game worth purchasing? –If you like Tolken lore or other Massive Multiplayer RPGs, there is a good chance you would like LOTRO –Otherwise, it may not be worth the monthly subscription fee

Summary Contd. How could the game be improved? –They are already heading in the right direction Adding more areas of Middle Earth to explore Continuing the story line of “The Lord of the Rings” Add more classes Add more skills and abilities to existing classes Increasing the level capacity

Summary Contd.

Questions? Comments? Free trial anyone?