The Lord of the Rings Online Preview

GameSpot has put together another preview for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, after getting some more hands-on time with Turbine’s upcoming MMORPG.

We chose to play as a captain, one of the game’s melee-combat classes, which is a very group-oriented character. Captains possess various “aura” abilities that strengthen their teammates’ abilities and heal them over time; they can also attack their enemies in battle with heavy melee weapons and with their distinctive battle shout ability, which can be heard from quite a distance. Even though captains look to be best suited for group play, they seem to do just fine when fighting solo, so long as they keep themselves well provisioned. Captains, like other characters, may engage their enemies in standard “auto-attack” combat, which causes them to repeatedly whack their foes until someone falls over and dies, though characters also possess various special abilities that can be used at a cost to the character’s energy. Eating certain foods helps characters replenish their spent energy and depleted health, though when not in battle, you can recover from your wounds fairly quickly, at least at the lower levels.