The Lord of the Rings Online brings the world of J.R.R. Tolkien to the MMO community. Middle-earth is represented accurately in this game, with the majority of locations from the books found throughout the game world. The original release of this game comes with the lands of Eriador, where the Shire and Rivendell are located. Players will have the chance to meet many characters from the books, from Gandalf and Bilbo to Frodo and Samwise.

Players can choose from 4 races - hobbit, elf, dwarf, or human and seven classes. The classes range from the warrior class of Guardian to the archer class of Hunter and the wizard class of Lore-Master. Although the classes appear to be similar to classes in other games, they have unique qualities to them in this one. For example, the wizard class (Lore-Master) uses pets and the rogue class (Burglar) isn't a DPS class.

Similar to other MMORPG games, this game has players travelling the game world, doing quests, killing creatures, and crafting things. However, rather than making grinding a requirement to level up, quests are where the experience is located. Killing creatures gives very little experience in an effort to decrease the amount of grinding done in the game. Crafting is also somewhat unique. Players choose a vocation that includes 3 professions. Two of the professions will go together, such as prospecting and weaponsmithing, but the third profession will require working with other players to obtain the necessary materials for the profession. This design was chosen to get players working together in the game.

Beyond questing, there is also a Deed system, where you complete Deeds by doing certain things such as killing a certain number of goblins, or locating certain places, or delivering the mail. When a Deed is completed, the player earns either a Trait or a Title. Titles are just names for your character to use. Other players will see whichever Title you use, such as Brewmaster or Honorary Shiriff. Traits are bonuses to attributes, skills, resistances, etc. There are only a limited number of slots available for Traits, so each player will need to choose the Traits that are most useful to them.

PvP in the game is limited to a single location of the world, the Ettenmoors. It is here that you have PvMP (Player vs. Monster Player). At level 10, players can start playing as 5 different monsters within the Ettenmoors. Players choosing this option will start at the maximum level of 50 and will not level up, but will gain Destiny Points, by killing things and doing quests, to upgrade the monster's skills. Once a player's regular character gets to level 40, it can also enter the Ettenmoors to do battle against the Monsters and try to hold the various locations against the Monsters.

Gameplay is the same as other RPGs. Control is through the mouse or keyboard and players use weapons and magic that fits with the LOTR story. The camera can be rotated and tilted as well as zoomed out or all of the way in to first-person view. Armor and weapons change your appearance as well.

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Alternate Titles

"Властелин Колец Онлайн: Тени Ангмара" -- Russian spelling
"LOTRO" -- Common abbreviation
"Le Seigneur Des Anneaux Online: Les Ombres D'Angmar " -- French title
"Der Herr der Ringe Online: Die Schatten von Angmar" -- German title

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Part of the Following Groups

Merchant	Title	Platform	Price
	LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE SHADOWS ANGMAR	Windows	$4.94
	The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
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User Reviews

OK "free-to-play" online RPG	SharkD (418)
Satisfies any MMORPG gamer as well as Tolkien fans waiting for an online Middle Earth experience.	blefuscu (433)

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The Press Says

Worth Playing	Jun 11, 2007	9.6 out of 10	96
Good Game	Jun 05, 2007	9.5 out of 10	95
GamersHell.com	May 15, 2007	9.3 out of 10	93
Good Game	Jun 05, 2007	9 out of 10	90
GamingHeaven / DriverHeaven	May, 2007	9 out of 10	90
1UP	May 15, 2007	9 out of 10	90
GameStar (Germany)	Dec 27, 2007	86 out of 100	86
GameSpot	May 10, 2007	8.3 out of 10	83
Factornews	May 23, 2007	7 out of 10	70
Gamezine	Jun 21, 2007	8 out of 20	40

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Trivia

Monster Play

At the end of Closed Beta 2 and before Open Beta started, the developers went toe to toe with players in Monster Play. Developers entered PvMP (Player vs. Monster Player) as player characters (Peeps) and players were able to either join them as player characters, or attack them as monster characters (Creeps). This large battle lasted until the servers crashed.