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Lord of the Rings Online: Our Review

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Comments

  • JetrpgJetrpg Member UncommonPosts: 2,347
    This is about right , its a good game but pushes nothing. WoW has been out a logn time people and reviewers should Expect more. Else the rating will suffer.



    Right now if you reviewed eq as if it just came out it would get a very low score, same with most old games. Becuase time is a factor.



    Originally posted by Valorus

    I do think people who review products and services should pay more attention to the details.  I understand that this reviewer played the beta for months with high graphic settings and all but I think you are being reckless in reviewing a game released 1 day ago using information you obtained during a beta.  It's not fair to the company who worked hard on the game and it's not fair to the people who come to sites such as this looking for some guidance on if they should purchase a game or not.




    At the same level, people posting on these forums about how the game is so great should stop doing that .... becuase after all it was only the beta after all. Tho i would tend to agree with you, if they had only been in the lvl 15 cap open beta.

    "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine

  • ValorusValorus Member Posts: 235
    Originally posted by Teala

    Originally posted by Valorus


    Here are a couple of things everyone reading a review should think about:
    First you must consider the source or affiliation of the person posting the review.  Is the site or company this person is reviewing under reputable in all review?  Do they have an abnormal amount of drama associated with reviews?
    Second you have to take what the person is saying with a grain of salt.  It's their opinion of how they see the game.  You like steak they like chicken your not gonna agree.
    I do think people who review products and services should pay more attention to the details.  I understand that this reviewer played the beta for months with high graphic settings and all but I think you are being reckless in reviewing a game released 1 day ago using information you obtained during a beta.  It's not fair to the company who worked hard on the game and it's not fair to the people who come to sites such as this looking for some guidance on if they should purchase a game or not.
    MMORPG.com shares in this reckless review as they are the ones who gave it to the reviewer and said we need this go get it done.  The sad part is there will be no retractions, no statements saying ok maybe we did jump the gun on this a little.  All we will get is a lone reviewer posting from time to time defending her views and words. 

    Did the game Turbine launch after beta suddenly change and become a different game all of a sudden?  If not, you people that say the reviewer should not have based their review on their beta experience(part of which was an open beta - play for free sorta thing - come sample it) are being so anal.   The game is essentually the same today as it was in the last phase of beta and open beta.    Your complaint has no weight.

    You bring up a good point. Generally speaking though the state of a game being in beta versus release can be quite different. Lots of last minute bug fixes, optimizations and even in some cases content being added. In this care maybe the reviewer just got lucky that the game didn't change much. Is LOTRO different now than it was a week ago? I'm sure it is even if in the smallest sense of things. Its just my point of view on the issue. I think the score was lower than it should have gotten. Does it really matter? Not to me, but if no one ever questions the methods in which those who have the power to influence others then we all are in a lot of trouble. Of course this the mmorpg.com forums where trolls abound and there are more asses than horses so maybe this isn't the place for a debate.

  • shermon15shermon15 Member Posts: 61
    Originally posted by Gameloading

    Originally posted by Quingu

    Originally posted by Gameloading

    Originally posted by shermon15


    Rating WoW graphics better than EQ2 and LOTR,  then I cannot take this review seriously.   I enjoyed WoW for two years and the graphics are nothing spectacular to rate a 10, while EQ2 gets a 9 and LOTR gets an 8. 
    Even worse is MMORPG rates the WoW community to be almost as good as EQ2 and better than LOTRs.  Please, the WoW community is notorisouly one of the worst.  There are good people playing the game, but too many bad apples and it shows.
    Please standardize your game reviews, so that you can show consistency in your ability to rates games.
    This is no personal attack against one reviewer.  Overall I really enjoy using this site and find a wealth of information. but they need to work on their reviews.
    World of Warcraft makes good use of Lighting, art and detail, and that is why WoW gets such high numbers in the graphic department. You also have to take into consideration that WoW was released in 2004, LOTRO, 2007.such high numbers? 10/10 means perfect graphics lol, eq2 was released 1 month before wow so should have 11/10 on graphics by your point of view.Not at all. Everquest 2 had a fancy Engine, but the Imo, the art..SUCKED. big time. Characters look like plastic dolls and the world detail can't match WoW's.

    Graphics will always be a point of contention based on taste.  The point wasnt whether WoW has better graphics than EQ or LOTR.  The point is one cannot say that WoW has the most perfect graphics that rate it at a 10.  That is pure nonsence.  EQ2/WoW/LOTR probably all sit around 8 on the scale, but again that is my opinion.  I think Vanguard has better graphics and should be at 9.  Again my view.  I am not dillusional enough to think one game has the most superior graphics ever. 

    A rating of 10 would underscore a ground breaking event.  WoW was only ground breaking in its polish and ease of play until the raid end game.  LOTR isnt ground breaking IMO, but another well polished game with some things I dont like such as the delay in the combat system.

    The one number I do not agree upon is the community rating.  Again something self quantified.  The LOTR community is on par with the community I enjoyed in SWG.  In general the people are intelligent, helpful, make constructive debate, and not abusive of other players.  Beyond my guild and circle of friends outside the guild in WoW, the community was atroscious. 

    What we want are professional reviews with ratings that would allow a person to make an educated comparison.  We dont want the fanboy review that the MMORPG review of WoW was or the stand alone trying to be honest review the LOTR one was.  They cant be compared and that is the problem I have.  As a respected game site one would expect consistency across the board. 

    Triston Master Carbine/Master Swords (SWG Eclipse)
    Triston 29 Warden (EQ2 Permafrost)
    Weland 70 Hunter (WoW Hellscream)
    Suidan 36 Cleric (Vanguard Flamehammer)
    Suidan 50 Champion (LOTR Gladden)

  • shermon15shermon15 Member Posts: 61
    Originally posted by Jetrpg

    This is about right , its a good game but pushes nothing. WoW has been out a logn time people and reviewers should Expect more. Else the rating will suffer.



    Right now if you reviewed eq as if it just came out it would get a very low score, same with most old games. Becuase time is a factor.



    Originally posted by Valorus

    I do think people who review products and services should pay more attention to the details.  I understand that this reviewer played the beta for months with high graphic settings and all but I think you are being reckless in reviewing a game released 1 day ago using information you obtained during a beta.  It's not fair to the company who worked hard on the game and it's not fair to the people who come to sites such as this looking for some guidance on if they should purchase a game or not.


    At the same level, people posting on these forums about how the game is so great should stop doing that .... becuase after all it was only the beta after all. Tho i would tend to agree with you, if they had only been in the lvl 15 cap open beta.



    There is a difference in expectations between what  frank the fanboi posts and what a representative of the site writes.  I know how to look past the fanboys. 

    I can see the reviewer honestly tried to give a good review, but her review should consider past reviews of other games of the same level as a comparison.  You cannot have a review without a basis for the review.  In particular it is especially important for the same organization to have similar criteria for making a review.  Imagine if consumer reports didnt have criteria for reviewing products?

    Triston Master Carbine/Master Swords (SWG Eclipse)
    Triston 29 Warden (EQ2 Permafrost)
    Weland 70 Hunter (WoW Hellscream)
    Suidan 36 Cleric (Vanguard Flamehammer)
    Suidan 50 Champion (LOTR Gladden)

  • VesaviusVesavius Member RarePosts: 7,908
    Originally posted by korvass

    Since when are there written laws about writing reviews? A review is nothing more than a brief or possibly slightly detailed overview of the game. If it's somewhat informative about what the game contains, that's enough.



    A review should never be there to help you make up your mind about a game. Only you, the player can and should do that. Reviews serve only to inform you about the game, not sway your choices.



    While I didn't find the review itself to be the most interesting article I've ever read here, the editor of MMORPG obviously thought it was acceptable for publishing, and that's enough really. So please cut the reviewer a bit of slack. Not like she probably gets paid for any of this. If you can do better, post your own...



    No, there are no laws about writing reviews, but it is generally assumed that they should have some worth and not be a back-of-the-box description of the game. If they are not, just post the official press release, or a link to the official site, and be done with it.

    Also, don't be absurd... of *course* a review is there to help you make up your mind about a game. Why else do they exist? As a player I would actually have to buy the game to make my mind up about it, and by then it is too late, which is why of course reviews exist. Except this one, naturally.

    Cut some slack? Well, no... If you put it out there then you gotta expect some feedback. It's all part of the learning process

    To post my own I would, again, have to buy the game... Something I am not inclined to do based on the lack of critical view given here.

    Could I write an better review then this though? Yep, you bet.

  • GRIMACHUGRIMACHU Member Posts: 528
    Originally posted by Valorus *ZORT!*



    Next.
    ** Troll alert **

    More like 'approaching end of tether' alert.

    Postmortem Studios
    Roleplaying games to DIE for
    Shop here

  • QuinguQuingu Member Posts: 400
    well lets compare user rating with MMORPG review

    Graphics - 9.3

    9.39.39.39.39.39.39.39.39.39.3
    Fun - 8.1

    8.18.18.18.18.18.18.18.18.18.1
    Sound - 8.7

    8.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.7
    Community - 8.2

    8.28.28.28.28.28.28.28.28.28.2
    Role-Playing - 8.5

    8.58.58.58.58.58.58.58.58.58.5
    Performance/Lag - 8.7

    8.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.78.7
    Value - 8.4

    8.48.48.48.48.48.48.48.48.48.4
    Service - 8.3

    8.38.38.38.38.38.38.38.38.38.3
    Based on 434 total votes.





    mmorpg review

    Graphics - 8

    8888888888
    Fun - 8

    8888888888
    Sound - 7

    7777777777
    Community - 7

    7777777777
    Role-Playing - 9

    9999999999
    Performance/Lag - 8

    8888888888
    Value - 8

    8888888888
    Service - 7

    7777777777



    so my point is who is right here?
  • GRIMACHUGRIMACHU Member Posts: 528
    Incidentally, if you want to see a BAD review, you might want to see what PC Format said (5/10 and completely missed the point, full of opinion though...)

    Postmortem Studios
    Roleplaying games to DIE for
    Shop here

  • mindspatmindspat Member Posts: 1,367

    The numbers seem VERY accurate for the most part, but the review seems to lack some critique. 

    I think the graphics is about right.  I might have given the landscapes a 10 although in comparison to everything else give Graphics an 8.  Graphics is more then a model or resolution of a skin.  It also encompasses animations and visual aesthetics while performing the variety of feats in the game.  To me, the combat is very lacking.

    Fun was higher then I would give it.  I couldn't find it possible to give a Fun Rating higher then 6-7.  Combat is lacking for the most part and this expands across animations and the actual mechanics. Adding in the crafting and roll play I would think it possible for Fun to be given an 8.

    Audio was pretty nice. The ambience was rewarding.  I would rate it high with a 9.

    Overall I feel the 7.8 is very accurate.  The game appears to be good, but it's not perfect.  I would say a 7 is GOOD, an 8 is VERY GOOD, a 9 being GREAT and 10 is nothing other then PERFECT!  The game is not and no where close to being perfect.

  • RymdkejsarenRymdkejsaren Member Posts: 78
    It's kind of funny that this has turned into a review of the review.
  • willgarwillgar Member Posts: 46


    Big fan of MMORPG.com and have been for a number of years but rarely post. The problem i have with this review is that it is simply not detailed enough for such a significant IP. In comparison, this is your review of Guild Wars:



    http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setview/reviews/gameID/82/loadReview/19/page/1/from/



    Personally, i am not a big fan of guild wars but the review gives me enough information to provide me with a pretty accurate picture of the style, content, game mechanics. The four page guild wars review is what i expect from this website, informed and and well written. Is MMORPG.com "dumbing down"? or have your more experianced writers simply left?



    This is not a personal attack on the reviewer of LotR - i assume that the editors at MMORPG have sanctioned and/or edited this review which fails to convey even the most simple facts such as control interface, group dynamics, solo vs group bias, crafting in practice the list is endless. The entire review could have been written by skimming the LoTR website and does not feel complete and so close after launch. I have no problems with "scores", one man's 9 is another man's 6 so wont even comment on this aspect that seems to fascinate so many of this forum, but i do taje issue with sloppy reviews - if you arnt prepared to do it well, dont do it at all!



    In the presure to attract readers, has a rushed review been delivered just to get our attention without fullfilling the basic requirement of imparting valuable insight? ahhh well, at 230 replies deep in a forum thread, i dont really expect a reply but just to say that i am disapointed at mmorpg.com
  • Dave08Dave08 Member UncommonPosts: 67

    I agree that this review is very lacking in substance.

    I'm also rather surprised that no one seems to think there is anything new here.

    I am just amazed at how well they integrate story/content in this MMO.   I've played EQ, FFXI, DDO, WOW (briefly), and recently Vanguard.  To me this game is different because the storyline is so fintegrated with playing the game.   When I am doing the epic quests, I feel for the characters and feel a part of the story.   Maybe good storytelling is old hat, but combining the story with an MMO as this has, feels different to me.  It is refreshing.  Not the usual grind.  

    I enjoy exploring more in this game than I have in any other.   I thought lack of a more severe death penalty would hurt the game.  Instead, it helps me to happily explore and test my characters abilities.  Each class is unique, and it's fun to see what they can do without being afraid of exp debt.   I still hate dying.  I hate waiting for the dread effects to leave, but I feel free to keep tackling tougher quests from different angles, exploring different possibilities because death isn't the end of the world.   It also seems to promote community because you can risk helping others without being penalized.   I liked helping people in FFXI, but I started hating with Sky missions, prommies, or Divine Might type quests that could easily cause multiple deaths even with good players and tons of preparation.   They were great fun, but also incredibly painful exp-wise.   The challenge alone made those fun.  The exp debt only detracted from it.   

    There is just more here than meets the eye at first glance.   Traits, deeds, and a lot of little details all made adventuring fun for me again when I was pretty much MMO'd out.   Imo, this review lacked any real detail, and the score seemed more like it was just thrown out there without much thought.  

  • kazhokazho Member CommonPosts: 50
    Well, I didn't think the review was as bad as all that. 

    The poster that showed the different scores players vs review they were not that far apart.



    I am not real big on pros and cons, I like to make my own judgment.  the pros and cons are the person makeing them it is their opinion. I like to do it my self.



    I found it very informative I thought it told me all there is to tell.



    And the carrying on about WoW getting 10   well first of all it was not her was it that gave the score was it.  I am sure someone else can do a review and rate it different because we all rate things differently.



    Tho I do agree I think the graphics are awesome.  I have fallen off more cliffs looking around than I can count.



    MMO's are all the same.  there is only so many ways you can do things.  It has all been done now it is just doing it a different way.



    All games take something from other games to a degree.  Wow was not the first game ever.



    I just wish one day a 24 hr period I could go with out Wow being mentioned in a forum or OOC in game.  It only makes me hate the game all the more.  Makes my hair stand on end.  I have not played and would not play it if it was the only MMO in the world.  Yes I have seen it I have had friends that play it and I don't see anything to get excited and carry on about. 



    So it is all in the eye of the beholder. 



    But I think the reviewer was trying to remain as neutral as she could.  Besides what ever she did it would of been wrong to a percentage of you all.




  • summitussummitus Member UncommonPosts: 1,414
    THe Review sucks its as simple as that ! 
  • dalevi1dalevi1 Member Posts: 829
    Originally posted by Thorsnes

    Must... resist... urge... to... troll...
    too late.



    damn I just trolled.

    Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.

    Tried: WoW, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Everquest, WWII Online, Planetside

    Beta: Lotro, Tabula Rasa, WAR.

  • RondinRondin Member UncommonPosts: 8


    Originally posted by Grimshok
    Any time the person 'ranking' / scoring the game states that they try not to compare it to other games, its completely ASININE!

    I couldn't agree more Grimshok, when I saw that statement in defense of her ratings, there almost wasn't enough duct tape in the house to keep my head from blowing apart.


    Originally posted by Kostika
    ...I try not to compare games when giving scores.

    Excuse me? Isn't that the purpose of a rating system, i.e. to place whatever is being rated in relation to the other things rated by that system?

    If not....THEN WHY HAVE A RATING SYSTEM AT ALL???

    <<<presses hands tightly to sides of head>>>

    must...buy...more...duct tape...

  • slntnsntyslntnsnty Member UncommonPosts: 67
    Have to admit giving WoW a higher score on graphics than Lotro is pretty screwed up.
  • slntnsntyslntnsnty Member UncommonPosts: 67
    Originally posted by jdilling00

    my review of Lord of the rings:
    everquest clone, few bugs, you can level up a monster,
    -5.7635 random number selected for bitching
    lay off the author, she wrote down what she thought was important. If you disagree write your own review

    I hate to point out the obvious, but they are writing their own reviews.
  • JetrpgJetrpg Member UncommonPosts: 2,347
    Originally posted by slntnsnty

    Have to admit giving WoW a higher score on graphics than Lotro is pretty screwed up.
    How old is Wow now?

    "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine

  • sbowlingsbowling Member Posts: 37

    I will say this is the best game turbine has made in a while. The graphics are better than DDO (even though they look like crap on the web site), and the world is definitely bigger and more open (after you get out of the beginner area). There are also all kinds of things to adjust as far as settings go(you can even turn off the god awful player music). That is pretty much the hi-lites for the game. 

    Things start of with a very linear storyline, and then goes of into Extreme boredom. If you are a fan of EQ2, you might like this game, but fans of World of Warcraft will find the game, the textures, the characters, the story and the quests to be very dull. There is no life to the characters, the animation is fairly poor, the armor tends to make your characters look more retarded than cool (I have not seen a character wearing a helmet that looks anything other than retarded), and quests are very repetitive and dull. The crafting is just as dull as in EQ2, but it seems to take much longer to collect your materials. Mining nodes, for example, are spread very far apart and produce very little ore. You can spend several hours running from mine to mine and only have enough ore to create a single weapon when you are done. World Of Warcraft players will see obvious rip offs from from the game, which are nice in some areas (similar shortcut keys for example), but it usually just makes the game feel like it's trying to be a WOW clone. Combat in the game can be done by simply starting combat, then going through the number keys to use the "special moves" with no skill or thought required. at all. The fighting animation is dull and lifeless, and the death animations are just as bad. I guess the biggest problem with this game is that you feel like you you are sitting at a computer playing a game the entire time you are playing. There is absolutely no immersion and you really don't feel anything for any of the characters in the game.

    Overall, I was Bored of the Rings long before the open beta was over and found it to be a chore just to get myself to play for an hour toward the end of the beta cycle. This game just wasn't fun for me and really lacks everything that makes WOW so much fun, even though I've been playing it since it was released. There is very little to do in the game, other than quests, and they just aren't very fun.

  • sbowlingsbowling Member Posts: 37
    Originally posted by Jetrpg

    Originally posted by slntnsnty

    Have to admit giving WoW a higher score on graphics than Lotro is pretty screwed up.
    How old is Wow now?

     

    This also depends a lot on what you consider to be good graphics. The graphics in this game are more realistic, but they are also very dull and uninteresting. On top of that, all the characters and all the buildings look the same. The graphic creativity in this game is almost non-existent. The graphics in WOW are brighter, much more creative and make the game world feel much more alive. There is a huge difference in every detail from one town to the next, where as in LOTRO, it feels like they too the same houses and just rearranged them for each city. I would still give WOW a much higher rating as far as graphics go. They didn't use a million polygons on each character, or every graphics effect available in the game, but they were very creative with what they did use. This also means that the game can be played on older systems without huge lags, which can't be said for LOTRO which lags even on more recent systems.



  • Originally posted by Jetrpg

    Originally posted by slntnsnty

    Have to admit giving WoW a higher score on graphics than Lotro is pretty screwed up.
    How old is Wow now?



    Well, look at what they rated TBC which just came out a couple months ago if ya want a comparison.
  • GRIMACHUGRIMACHU Member Posts: 528
    Originally posted by Rondin
    Excuse me? Isn't that the purpose of a rating system, i.e. to place whatever is being rated in relation to the other things rated by that system?
    If not....THEN WHY HAVE A RATING SYSTEM AT ALL???
    <<<presses hands tightly to sides of head>>>
    must...buy...more...duct tape...


    Herr Doktor NotAnIdiot, let's explain it to the man...



    Vielen Danke Herr Grimachu,



    Der poster here does not seem to realise that zer nature off computing means that if comparison is alvays done between ein old game und ein new game zen zer scores vill qvickly become meaningless! Ein game vich might score a '10' in graphics two years ago, might zis year be only vorth a 'seven' or 'eight' but if vun scores on zer basis zat zer graphics of zer new game are better zan zer old game, vun must score it higher! If vun is limited to a vun to ten range of score, zis becomes impossible and soon zer ratings off every technical aspect off every game vill become a 'perfect' '10'!



    Oh dear Doktor! That wouldn't be very useful to anyone in assessing the worth of a game now, would it.



    Du bist darn tootin' mein herr!



    So... how would you suggest that a game be scored then?



    I vould suggest zat a game be scored on an independent scale, in zer moment, in zer context of zer time and zer 'zeitgeist', if you vill, off zer time it is published. Visout regard for der uzzer games.



    Thanks Doc!

    Postmortem Studios
    Roleplaying games to DIE for
    Shop here

  • shaeshae Member Posts: 2,509

    Precisely the "type" of review I've come to expect from mmorpg.com of late.

    Half-assed, half-baked, lacking any sort of real detail and or quality information that we should expect from an (early) review. What's amazing is that I've seen and read a number of early reviews from non-mmorpg specific sites and they've all been ten times better than this. It's not the score, in actually the score isn't all that bad, but rather the seemingly gigantic lack of any sort of genuine  interest  or passion when commenting on a game that's been in pre-production and passed through numerous hands over the past 10 years.

    I mean seriously mmorpg.com, did Turbine not pay up as much as you wanted? Did they not suffeciently kiss your collective rear ends?

  • Cabe2323Cabe2323 Member Posts: 2,939
    Originally posted by shae


    Precisely the "type" of review I've come to expect from mmorpg.com of late.
    Half-assed, half-baked, lacking any sort of real detail and or quality information that we should expect from an (early) review. What's amazing is that I've seen and read a number of early reviews from non-mmorpg specific sites and they've all been ten times better than this. It's not the score, in actually the score isn't all that bad, but rather the seemingly gigantic lack of any sort of genuine  interest  or passion when commenting on a game that's been in pre-production and passed through numerous hands over the past 10 years.
    I mean seriously mmorpg.com, did Turbine not pay up as much as you wanted? Did they not suffeciently kiss your collective rear ends?

    Honestly, I believe that is the case Shae.  MMORPG has lost all credibility with this review.  The score isn't the issue.  The fact is that everything she wrote in the review doesn't match up with the scores she gave.  It is so inconsistent.  It seems to me that she was told a score by her bosses that she was to give the game after she wrote her review. 

     

    And everyone who says the art in LOTRO isn't as good as WoW.  They are equally good in art direction with LOTRO having a better graphical engine.  LOTRO uses more drab colors because that is what the world would be expected to look like in those areas.  Rivendell is much more bright and colorful then some of the earlier areas.  But all in all the game looks very similar to the movies which both look how the books described things. 

    How much better art direction can you get?  You are recreating pretty well described places.  It isn't like you can just go and make up the way you want them to look, or the colors that they are. 



    Currently playing:
    LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)

    Looking Foward too:
    Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)

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