LotR Beta

I'm still playing WoW, but I am also dabbling in the Lord of the Rings beta with a friend.

Quick, one sentence description? The ui reminds me of WoW, the graphics remind me of a better EQ2 with a LotR's backdrop.

A very generic description, yet if you know anything about the three then you know my description is complimentary.

The similarity of WoW's ui makes using this one easy. Many keys do the same thing here as they do in WoW. So you spend less time figuring out how to maneuver.

One complaint many people have about WoW is that its cartoonish. Well EQ2's graphics were a head above WoW, yet the characters looked like clay. LotR's characters look real and not the weird kind of real.

Now...beat me about the head and neck with Gandalf's staff if you must, I'll admit I know very little about LotR. My friend, who is very familiar with Tolkien's world, has told me that many things are recognizable. I thought the areas that I have seen so far are beautiful, very detailed and I don't need to know anything about LotR to enjoy it.

Speaking of graphics, I love them! I hope that you have a decent system to play it on just so you can enjoy it. I placed a smattering of freckles on my human female's cheeks and my friend told me he couldn't see them.

I haven't had a chance to do much of anything, but they've done some quality work so far. I had no trouble logging in, creating a character and playing. I am curious to how laggy things will be when all these graphics collide in a populated area. My friend said his experience was a bit laggy - so a decent computer system may be a must so that you don't get irritated.

He's already spied areas he wants to visit, characters that made him say "There's so-and-so!" with excitement. I don't have the LotR background but I'm eager to play nonetheless - and that's what will sell this - making the world engaging for players like me.

As usual, it is too soon to say much about it I haven't set too far out of the starting area. Perhaps some of it is too much like WoW? A small twinge in me said - if its this much like WoW I should just keep playing WoW - but I have a feeling I may end up playing both.