Reviews// Lord of the Rings Online: Free

You’re not a kid any more. You know that such gifts have a price, and as intrigued as you might be by the game, you’ll wonder what the catch is.

So I’m happy to tell you: There isn’t one.

The game I’ve talked about is the game you’ll play. By which I mean, if you spend 30 hours on the free game you’ll have pretty much the same experience as someone who spent 30 hours on the original monthly subscription game. It won’t be exactly the same experience, but it’ll be close enough.

Points Mean...
The differences come from the new way the game is funded - by optional subscriptions and the in-game store. A button on the game’s GUI opens the store where, for ‘Turbine points’ you can buy from the game’s website or in card form from shops.

You can purchase items and accessories for your level character, cosmetic outfits, healing and revival, extra morale so you can continue fighting once you’ve been knocked down, items for your own personal housing, buffs, boosts, skills and equipment.

Seasoned players will notice that unless you buy extra slots you can only play as one character, who in turn will start with only three bags instead of the current five. Considering how easy it is to fill your inventory with saleable ‘trash’ from downed enemies and crafting ingredients, even five bags seems too few at times.

Thankfully Turbine has provided players with a way of earning Turbine points without having to reach into their real world pockets: Deeds - the game’s equivalent of Xbox Live Achievements - now not only net you a natty title, item or trait, but also reward you with Turbine points, which you can spend in any way you choose.

The game has also been slightly tinkered with to cater for new players. Cosmetic clothing (stuff that affects your appearance without affecting your stats) and mounts among other things are now unlocked at much lower levels than before.

There are a few other changes in the game, which affect each of the three tiers of player (free, premium and VIP subscribers) in different ways but to be honest, as a new player you’re probably not going to notice the differences. There’s so much game available to freeloaders that it almost feels like too much game. As far as value for money goes, it almost seems too good to be true, and every other MMORPG developer and publisher out there should be scared. Why should anyone pay a monthly subscription for an MMORPG when Turbine are giving this one away for free?

Conclusion:
So that’s The Lord of the Rings Online. The game mechanics, while solid, are nothing particularly special. Combat moves smoothly enough and the quests are exactly what you’d expect from this kind of game. There are dungeons filled with monsters to kill and loot, and bosses at the end who’ll dispense better loot if you kill them. It’s the same thing almost every MMORPG out there is doing.

But the wrapping, oh, the wrapping. Each quest is loaded with references to Tolkien’s opus; every dungeon has a history. You’ll venture out into a swamp to find a troll turned to stone, or be given quests from someone with a surname you know, who lives in a village you recognise because you’ve read the book. Anyone can play the game and have fun with it, but the people who’ll have the most fun will be the people who love the books, the characters and lands that sprang from J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination. If you like The Lord of the Rings, you need to play this game.

SPOnG Score: 90%