Build a career
The area that you need to cover in LOTRO is huge and the long treks across the landscape can become tedious, but providing you've worked hard enough and have earned yourself some cash you can take a trip to the stables and pick up a horse. Strangely, the horses move off their own free will, so you have no control over them. Instead they follow a set path to the town that you have selected. Considering the size of the game world, it would have been nice to have the freedom to take your horse wherever you want, as you'll often still have to head out on foot to the destination that you were really aiming for. The majority of the time though, travelling on horseback is a relaxing, enjoyable experience that allows you to sit back and watch the world around you go by as you travel past windmills, over the rolling countryside and through quaint towns and villages.
Aside from questing, combat plays a large part in LOTRO, but it's also an area where the action can become rather stale. I have been playing Lord of the Rings for more hours than I can remember and haven't once been killed. The difficulty balance doesn't seem quite right and therefore some fighting quests lack any feeling of real danger or excitement. The lack of any serious challenge (so far) may frustrate those who like to be mentally challenged, but if you're after a fairly easy time with little pressure then Lord of The Rings Online fits the bill.
Click for larger imageBesides fighting and questing you can also spend your time building a career. You can choose a vocation such as a forester, who gathers wood and tans hides, or a cook, combining ingredients to produce consumable foods, or even a scholar who researches rare items in order to produce scrolls. The crafting system is easy to pick up and is well implemented, although if you've ever played Vanguard Saga of Heroes, you'll realise just how simple it is. So, you gather the resources, craft at the relevant crafting stations that are found in the major towns and then use your product or sell it to another person, who may be able to use it in their vocation. Gathering materials is self explanatory, for example: if you choose to be a forester you can gather wood from ground spawns around the towns or get hides from bears and wolves, or if you choose a cook you can gather produce from working in the farmer's fields. Crafting has been the highlight for me in LOTRO, working out ways to advance up the crafting tiers and then heading out to work to collect the required materials. It's a fulfilling experience when you've spent an hour grafting and then you gain a new level, taking you closer to becoming a master of your profession.
Click for larger imageThe gameplay in LOTRO is fairly unremarkable, but despite the overwhelming familiarities with WOW, I've thoroughly enjoyed the range of quests, crafting and even the ease of combat. It does seem as though the majority of my time has been spent exploring, crafting and levelling up, with my goal being to merely gain experience points to reach the next level. But, what I've realised while playing Lord of The Rings Online is that the experience is yours to shape exactly how you want. If you wish to join up with groups and head off slaying beasts then you can, if you want to wander around The Shire picking up simple quests the option is there, or if you just want to go off exploring on your own then feel free to wander. The simplicity of the gameplay ensures that Lord of the Rings Online is accessible at all levels, and thus far has been a relaxing, inviting experience, without ever really taxing my brain; I like that.
