LOTRO

This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a stress test for the upcoming Lord of the Ring Online MMORPG. And all I can say is WOW, or should that be W.O.W.(World of Warcraft). It has an improved graphics engine, but the UI is almost identical to WOW. It really played about the same as WOW, but being in Middle Earth, and interacting with characters I am familiar with improved the overall experience. Needless to say, I had al ot of fun. I played as an elf and went through the main quests for awhile. By Sunday afternoon I decided to stop playing quests and do some exploring, since the stress test ended Sunday evening. So I started at Thorin’s Hall in the West, and travelled through the Shire, through Bree, and through the wilderness to Rivendell. Unfortunately I could not get much further than Rivendell. Whete I went North or South out of Rivendell I had to cross through narrow paths guarded by various level 40 monsters, while I was only a level 10 elf. So I formed a felloship, and the five of us tried to run through the Misty Mountains, but we never made it. So I gave up and went back to Rivendell where I talked with Aragorn, Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and Elrond. It was fun even though I was sick with a cold all weekend. The game is released April 24, and I’m thinking about pre-ordering it and being a Founder !