Greetings everyone. Today, I decided that the time had finally come to find out what all this MMORPG fuss was about. Bar Neverwinter Nights, and Final Fantasy, I've never actually played any games of the
RPG format, let alone an MMORPG. However, the talk one of hears of WoW and the like has finally reached the point where even I cannot completely ignore it. However, to be mildly different, I decided to play Lord of the Rings Online. As a Tolkien fan, I thought this would be amusing enough, and hook me if any of these MMORPGS would. Not only that, its free (important point). So, I downloaded the game, and booted it up with baited breath......
First up was the character design. As the 'beardy' type, I decided to take a Dwarf, and since I'm sort the sort of git who likes being the sniper in
FPS's, I decided to be a Ranger (one of the chaps who runs around with a bow). I named my dwarf Hachaliah, a good old style Hebrew name, and made him bald for good measure. The game then began....
I found my dwarf standing on a snowy mountainside with Gandalf right in front of me. He starts rambling on about Thorin Oakenshield, who I dimly recall being the leader of the Dwarves in The Hobbit, and invites me to walk with him. We meander along the mountainside pleasantly enough, passing several more nostalgic dwarfs, before coming face to face with Gimli, his dad Gloin, Thorin Oakenshield himself, and some chap I've never heard of called Gormr. Gormr is apparently to be appointed Steward of this Dwarf mine whilst Thorin is away. Thorin, Gormr and Gandalf wander off nattering about Bilbo, establishing that the timeline is currently prior to the hobbit. As soon as they leave, a minor earthquake goes off, and Gimli conscripts me to get all the dwarves out of the mine.
So far, so good. A spot boring, but nostalgic enough even if nothing is happening. So I enter the mine, and start hustling dwarves out the door, eventually finding a chap called Foreman Otur, who tells me there's only one dwarf left, but he's unfortunately deaf. The doorway to this poor dwarf is blocked, and we can only watch as he's attacked by a cave troll. Gimli intervenes, and then Foreman Otur tells me I need to find and aid Gimli.
I flex my heroic muscles, wondering how on earth a Level 1 Ranger is meant to deal with a Cave Troll, but Foreman Otur, having the greatest of confidence in my abilities, points me in the direction of the troll, and scampers off in the opposite direction. I suddenly feel mildly concerned about this state of affairs. However, being the obedient, and mildly suicidal dwarf I am, I begin taking a circuitous route through the dwarf mines to find Gimli and aid him. I pass by a random Dwarf corpse. Stopping to examine him, I discover he happened to be carrying a few items of some value. Reasoning that he clearly has no use for such things any more, I divest him of his trinkets, and carry on my merry way. But before I can revel in my ill gotten gains, I'm attacked by a bizare creature resembling a demented Kiwi with spikes sticking out of it called a Clave Claw.
Progressing through the cave, I begin to realise Bows do not make good cave fighting weapons, mainly because you tend to run into random vicious animals every time you turn a corner, and this gives one little preparation to get an arrow on the bow. I then begin to wonder why if this is the case, Dwarves carry them. This fatal flaw well in mind, I take each corner cautiously, fully expecting a gribbly to jump out at me. However, in virtually no time at all, I seem to catch up with Gimli and the troll. Conveniently, just before it can smoosh me into pulp, Gandalf dashes in and, blows a hole in the roof to let sunlight in, turning the troll to stone. I of course, am cowering several feet away as he does this, fully aware of what happens when you blow holes in the ceiling when you're in a mine, especially one you've already been told is collapsing around you due to an earthquake.
Thankfully, no cave in ensues, only some dialogue between Gandalf and Gormr, the new steward, he came in with him. I tell them about the Dwarf corpse I passed by, and Gormr pipes up, telling me I found the remains of his long dead ancestor, Skorgrim, who was murdered here by elves. I then unsurprisingly remain conspiciously quiet about the fact that I looted his ancestors remains, and allow him and Gandalf to natter about Skorgrim. The scene fades to black, and the intro is over......
So far, so good. The scene changes, and I'm informed that many years later, Gormr has stopped paying tribute to Thorin at the Lonely Mountain, so I've been sent with a bunch of Dwarves to investigate. After all, nothing like tax evasion to get the government all riled up, eh? My merry band of midgets arrives at Gormrs stronghold, only to encounter a group of elves....
I spawn in on the mountaintop, in yet another wintery day.
Nos Grimsong, the leader of our troupe informs me that an Elvish chap by the name of Elldan is 5 metres away, and that he'll pay me the princely sum of 1 silver and 60 bronze to go and ask him what they're doing here. I read this twice, wondering what on earth is preventing him from taking ten steps to the right and finding out for himself, but with no answer forthcoming, I accept the titanic challenge, and go have a chat with Elladan (who I remember from the books as being one of Elronds twin sons). Elladan promptly informs me that his father had a bad dream about this place, and so their expedition has come to check it out.
This is correct. Elrond had a bad dream, and dispatched an entire military expedition as a result. One wonders what he'd do if he had a bad curry the night before, order the invasion of Rohan? Elladan offers to pay me 90 bronze to go and talk to one of the members of his expedition ten metres away, and ask him what he thinks about the dream. Eyebrows still raised in disbelief, I go and talk with the chap in question, who informs me that the dream involved the deceased Skorgrim. Upon relaying this to Elladan, Elladan realises that he's wasted six months of his life climbing mountains because his dad dreamed about a dead guy, and gets quite hacked off. Understandably, from my point of view.
Elladan rewards me not only with money, but a pair of 'Tattered Dwarf Made Cloth Gloves'. How very kind of him. I would have preferred a newer pair, it must be said, but beggars can't be choosers. Elladan informs me I'm no use to him half trained, and tells me to go to the Ranger Instructor, who promptly informs me that my next quest is to buy things off her. Always good to see capitalism in action, eh folks?
Elladan then tells me he wants me to go back and take a gander at the corpse of Skorgrim again. I'm not too sure how to explain to him what happens to an already decayed body over a period of twenty or thirty years, especially one underground, so rather than attempting, I dash off to take a look at a dead body. Mildly grim, eh wot?
Care to hear more of my wanderings through Middle Earth gents? Or shall I leave things there?
) in that there is an auto-attack and you activate other abilities. The feel, pace, and look of the game though isn't like WoW at all though.
KHADOR 
X-Wing (Empire Strong) 