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Similar to the real-time strategy genre in the late 90s, the MMORPG market of today is over-crowded, filled with mediocre gameplay experiences that throw players into faceless worlds devoid of originality. Every game tends to feel the same, whether sci-fi or fantasy in theme, and even the rare MMO that does a few new things fails to steal much attention from the current king of the genre, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. Turbine Entertainment's The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, features a storyline I consider to be one of the most engrossing ever conceived for an MMO and a few fun improvements over the typical MMO fare, but does it really stand out from anything that has already been done before?

It is no surprise that Shadow of Angmar's greatest strength is the world in which it is set. Tolkien's Middle-earth contains recognizable locales, characters, and events that fans of the books and movies should recognize almost instantly; it is this fan base to which Turbine has catered the most. Players will come across Gandalf, Aragorn, and others during their explorations of Middle-earth, and will even receive quests from them at various points throughout the adventure. Single quotation marks are used for dialogue vis-a-vis Tolkien's books, and races such as hobbits and elves act exactly as fans would expect. Interacting with these friends and foes heightens the sense of immersion considerably--these are not random NPCs players are conversing with, but heroes and villains taken straight from an established world.

This is not to say that using such well-known characters and locations will cause alienation among those unfamiliar with the lore. Elrond, a great hero among elves, is a major character in the books, yet his place of honor is not initially explained in great detail in Shadows of Angmar. This seems intentional, as his importance is relayed contextually by elves bowing and taking orders, as well as by the way others speak of him. Players unfamiliar with Tolkien will quickly catch on.

Whether frolicking through the high grasses of the Shire or crunching through the packed snow of dwarf inhabited mountains, Turbine has painted a beautiful picture of Tolkien's vivid world. Players can see their reflections in bodies of water, and on higher graphical settings, individual blades of grass, leaves, and flowers can be seen dancing in breezes that continually sweep the game's many wide open areas. During the day the game seems vibrant and alive, while night seems drab and flat in comparison. Color schemes become too dark and saturated, with far too many heavy blues used to shadow the land and blot the sky. Muddy textures are evident at Medium setting and below, while High and above serve to sharpen the game's overall look. For example, water reflections look less blurry and ripple more accurately while casting a far more detailed reflection of the player in addition to the world around him. Most of my journey was spent on the High setting running on an AMD Turion 64 with 2 gigabytes of system RAM and an ATI Mobile Radeon with 256 megabytes of video ram, and the only choppiness I experienced occurred when first entering highly populated towns and cities or when stepping out into the game's many open areas. A few seconds of stutter were all I had to deal with before the game returned to its typically smooth pace.

Shadows of Angmar features a selection of races and classes that will be mostly familiar to any gamers that have sampled a fantasy MMORPG. Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Hobbit are the available races, with Champion, Guardian, Captain, Burglar, Hunter, Lore-master, and Minstrel comprising the available classes. Of course, not just any race can choose to become any of the available classes. Champions are heavy melee damage dealers, so it would not make much sense to see a hobbit wade into a battle with two axes swinging. Man is the most versatile race in terms of choosing a class, as all selections are available to them. Each race comes with stat modifiers that both appropriately behoove and limit players. Dwarves possess great might and vitality, yet have decreased agility when compared with the lithe elven race.

There are a few class selections that blend common MMO character types into unique hybrids. The Loremaster is both a mage and a pet summoner, allowing players to use arcane magic while having a raven or a bear, among other animals, trampling along for support. The Minstrel is primarily a healing class that possesses a solid selection of skills able to damage his opponents--Ballad of Vigour is a quick little ditty that both heals the player and does a bit of damage to foes. Turbine wanted to ensure that each class was as adept at soloing through the game instead of just being useful in parties, hence the Minstrel's ability to deal decent damage while still relying on his primary role as a healer. For players who don't feel like reading descriptions of races or class types, videos detailing the major features of each can be played.

Character creation does not feature too much originality. Typical features such as skin, hair and eye color, eye shape, and hair style are available, as well as special details such as scars or jewelry. The best way to make characters truly unique is the same as in any MMORPG: find cool clothing and items.

Shadows of Angmar's many quests are both its greatest strength and one of its weaknesses. NPCs that offer quests are marked by a ring icon floating above their heads. If the ring is on fire, that particular quest will further the main story. These quests typically throw the players into instances, populated by only a single player or his fellowship, if he has one, and it is these quests that stand out from typical MMO fare. Many instances are different depending on the race and class the player has chosen. My primary character, a human Hunter, undertook a mission to free a few important hobbits from the clutches of a group of bandits. As I searched the area for the prisoners' holding pens, I saw NPCs fumbling with large rings of keys, engaging in combat with the brigands, and falling over dead as they were pierced by the tainted blades of the mounted Naz'Ghul. The scripting in these instances is well done, making some quests feel like well-crafted single-player experiences. Players do not simply run around and kill things in an emotionless environment. Shadows of Angmar does a superb job of making the players feel like they are making things happen, rather than watching them occur from a passive point of view.

My character then arrived at the small town of Archet, where I learned that Blackwold bandits were gathering to attack the town. Some quests had me running around Archet's outskirts, dispatching Blackwold spies even as their inevitable sacking of the town grew closer and closer. At last I had the opportunity to defend the town in an instance that saw the Blackwolds' attack take place. The instance took me outside Archet's eastern wall where the Blackwolds had broken through. The town was on fire, and part of my charge was to douse an area with well water so I could continue looking for survivors. I encountered a unique monster, and after slaying him, the instance ended and I found myself transported back to the main game with other players who had also passed the instance--and to a very changed Archet. Many of the buildings were blackened and charred; coffins were laid out in the streets with NPCs crying over the dead, and one of my quests--not an instance, but a regular quest--was to go around to various locations that had also been attacked and bury those who had given their lives in the name of defending the region.

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