Postcards from Middle-Earth - Part 2

Continuing our pictorial journey through Middle-Earth…

Postcards from Middle-Earth - Part 1

I’m generally not a fan of landscape photography. Maybe it’s because the subject matter is infinitely patient. In general the photo will have everything in focus, and whatever is being captured has been there longer than you or I. There’s no immediacy to it. Sure, mountains and trees and waterfalls are pretty, but I just don’t know what a landscape photo is telling me other than “doesn’t wherever you are now suck in comparison?”

LotRO Revisited - Part 6 - Free to Play

At last we’ve come to the reason that I’m even talking about Lord of the Rings Online again in the first place: the fact that it’s now to free to play. But what does that even mean?

LotRO Revisited - Part 5 - User Interface

We’re now at part five of my ramblings on Lord of the Rings Online. Time to stop beating around the bush and start complaining about what I really want to complain about: User Interface

LotRO Revisited - Part 4 - Systems

Well, this fourth part of my return to Lord of the Rings Online is maybe a bit more on the nerdy side. It’s not about what you can do, or where you do it; it’s about how you do it. The mechanics of the game.

LotRO Revisited - Part 3 - Multiplayer

My last article about Lord of the Rings Online focused on the solo activities one could undertake in Middle Earth. This article will focus on the “Multiplayer” part of the MMO acronym… probably what the rest of you play these games for.

LotRO Revisited - Part 2 - Keeping Busy

The last post focused on the world of Lord of the Rings Online, because that’s the first thing you’ll see and care about. This post delves into the details of what to do within that world, once again comparing to my various quotes from three years ago.

LotRO Revisited - Part 1 - The World

Now that I’ve put up my complete words from 2008, it’s time to re-evaluate the Lord of the Rings Online of today.

Lord of the Rings Online... circa 2008

Played on PC

Recently Lord of the Rings Online went free to play, which is to say you can play the game without a subscription or even a credit card. Of course there are all sorts of potential microtransactions available so that Turbine can actually make money on their game, but these are all completely optional. Since there’s no cost to me I decided to log in and check out the game (the last time I played was alongside the Mirkwood expansion about a year ago). And as I evaluated the game in its current state against adjusted criteria I thought it’d be interesting to revistwhat I’d written about the game in the past here. It was at that point that I realized that there was a lot of content that I wrote about the game that somehow never got posted. So, I present to you what was intended to be an immediate follow-up to this post, further thoughts about Lord of the Rings Online, three years ago (circa early 2008).

Now Playing

It’s time again to filled you in on what I’ve been playing.

Lord of the Rings Online

Played on PC

When is the appropriate time to evaluate an MMO? I usually post a review of a game after I finish it, but MMOs are designed to have no end to them. I could give a first impression, but many of the finer gameplay elements are not immediately available or apparent. In fact, MMO systems are generally so large and complex that I might not understand the “bigger picture” until the time I’ve invested is approaching triple-digit hours. So it is that I’ve gone so long without saying much about Lord of the Rings Online.

Ranting Against RMT

Okay, I’m about to go off the nerd deep end and rant about RMT (Real Money Trading). But even the Discovery channel has recently discussed this space, so maybe it’s not too niche. I’d even argue that this topic extends beyond gaming. Increasingly our world is being defined by goods that are easily cloneable and have to be controlled by Intellectual Property laws and the like. With the music industry scrambling to figure out how it fits in anymore, it’s valuable to look at the virtual economies happening in online video games. I’m sure there’s a great discussion to be had there, but as I said, this is a rant…

Now Playing

The Orange Box

Played on Xbox360

I’ve already pumped a ton of time into The Orange Box and I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. I started out with Portal, which is a little slice of gaming perfection. I then moved on to play Half-Life 2 for my third time (yes, it’s that good), but for my first time on a console and my first time with achievements (Ravenholm with only the gravity gun = good times). I’ve only cracked open Team Fortress 2 for one round but it was a total blast. I’m big supporter of renting these days, but really no one with a 360 should be without The Orange Box.