LOTR Online gameplay footage
by Alan Rose 
{ Aug 4th 2006 at 3:00PM }
Turbine has released a new five-minute gameplay vid from Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar. You'll get to see humans, dwarves, and elves in a variety of combat scenarios, and watch little hobbitses traverse a faithfully rendered Middle-earth. Based solely on the literary works of Tolkien, the DDO developer has done a nice job creating a look and feel that you will never mistake for the EA line of film-inspired LOTR games (for better or worse).
However, the forthcoming MMO could use a little more work in the sound effects department. As of right now, just about every cleave, slash, and arrow pierce sounds like a punch. In fact, if you only heard the audio, you would think you were listening to a Street Fighter game. There is still no release date for Shadows of Angmar, but hopefully Turbine will have enough time to address the audible issues.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
blahman @ Aug 4th 2006 3:12PM
STREET FIGHTER RULES.
crono141 @ Aug 4th 2006 3:15PM
wow, looks like every other Fantasy MMO ever released ever.
alex @ Aug 4th 2006 3:17PM
ugly.
AoE @ Aug 4th 2006 3:23PM
Jeez that looks like a dull time. Why do all mmo developers feel the need to make the combat so goddamned boring? Slow battles & running around large empty spaces? Count me out; games like this make me happy I'm a console gamer.
hotdrop @ Aug 4th 2006 3:25PM
It certainly looks like every other MMO out there. I dont know how it "feels". They should really move away from the cookiecutter 1st person MMO.
crono141 @ Aug 4th 2006 3:29PM
Thats 3rd person, BTW.
WizarDru @ Aug 4th 2006 3:40PM
Well, that was.....undewhelming. Turbine could have chosen better clips than those, I'd wager. The engine is pretty enough, but it looks awfully DULL. The combat had very little variance to it. Hit, wait, hit, wait, execute special move, wait, hit, wait.
It just didn't seem very 'tolkieny' to me. The best part was watching the hobbit go invisible and sneak, but most of it was just click-and-wait til it dies. Turbine appears to have made a very homogenized LotR, with not a lot of immersiveness, based on this clip.
stiill @ Aug 4th 2006 3:54PM
The only way this video isn't a disaster is if community reaction makes them realize they need to make some big changes, and quick.
tack @ Aug 4th 2006 4:33PM
" Slow battles & running around large empty spaces? Count me out; games like this make me happy I'm a console gamer."
And FF/whatever style is better? walk 5 steps, get jumped, snooze through turn by turn combat, walk three steps, get jumped, snooze through turn by turn combat, rinse and repeat.
crono141 @ Aug 4th 2006 4:50PM
How about more action and skill based combat, instead of "push a button, do a move, wait for next "round", push a different button"
PayTheMan @ Aug 4th 2006 5:27PM
Autoattack is not a fun game mechanic. I'm still waiting for Dark Fall Online.
AoE @ Aug 4th 2006 5:38PM
"And FF/whatever style is better? walk 5 steps, get jumped, snooze through turn by turn combat, walk three steps, get jumped, snooze through turn by turn combat, rinse and repeat."
Wow, where did I say give me FF? Just because I find MMO's boring doesn't mean I don't find J-RPGs obnoxious too; I can't stand them. Elder Scrolls/Gothic style RPGs FTW!
Garold @ Aug 4th 2006 7:03PM
Wow... I'd forgotten how mind-numbingly boring MMO battles are.
tack @ Aug 4th 2006 7:17PM
"Wow, where did I say give me FF? Just because I find MMO's boring doesn't mean I don't find J-RPGs obnoxious too; I can't stand them. Elder Scrolls/Gothic style RPGs FTW!"
Last I checked, Elder Scrolls was a PC game along with countless other Gothic Style RPGs.
I accept your dislike of the endless wandering in the MMOs, but I don't see how that peeve in one type of PC game makes you happy to be a "console gamer".
My comment was essentially a flip to your comment. One type of game shouldn't justify ruling out an entire platform.
Either way, I play games across all platforms and all flavors. I love playing consoles, hand helds, and PCs. They don't call it disposable income for nothing =)
N3k74r @ Aug 4th 2006 7:40PM
Looks like every other MMO.
Silencedparrot @ Aug 4th 2006 9:50PM
...and last I checked Elder Scrolls is also on Consoles. I'm not sure if Gothic was ever released on consoles though as I never really followed that series. I'm going to look into it when I find some money around here... *sifts through his couch-cushions.*
Angmar @ Aug 4th 2006 9:54PM
Patience (from LotRO Community Manager)
"Just wanted to let you guys know that the "new" video is actually old footage that was never intended for release; it's not representative of the game in its current state at all. LOTRO plays very very differently now than is shown in that video."
Keth (from LotRO team)
"Can I just follow up what Patience said and say that having you guys exposed to older footage like that made most of us here, "Less than happy.""
Devilmachine @ Aug 4th 2006 10:02PM
Old footage or not, looks like a lot of hack'n slash, shooting arrows and running around - and thats about it.
Mib2112 @ Aug 4th 2006 10:07PM
Too little, too late.
Even ignoring the "Turbine Death Touch", I can't immagine yet another fantasy MMO is going to do well, especially not one that is slipping from the memory of the mainstream public.
The only people who may be interested in it anymore are the guys who claim every fantasy writed stole from Tolkien, who in turn stole from mythology and folk stories. Hell, the original books wern't even that interesting.
kenny @ Aug 4th 2006 10:43PM
please!! somebody make something different!!!! no more point and click! nobody has any creativity anymore?
boneyard @ Aug 5th 2006 1:04PM
if it's old footage why release it in the first place, someone could use a few shots with a nerf gun.