The Lord of the Rings Online Previews

Turbine’s The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the subject of two more hands-on previews. The first is at Gamers With Jobs:

The graphics engine seems to be the same used for D&D Online, only more refined and expansive. It looks wonderful and runs incredibly well, scaling right up to all kinds of bells and whistles high-end system owners will appreciate, while remaining accessible for players with slower systems. I wouldn’t say the game is quite at Oblivion levels of detail, but given the genre and expanse to explore, it’s a near thing in some spots. Sadly, the character models and faces are lacking in both customization options and originality so far. The world of Middle Earth is a classic fantasy setting, but the characters feel watered down compared to some of the excellent art done for the books and the movies.

And the second is at Play.tm:

There is no denying their ambition either – the world I grazed, just left of The Shire if you look at Tolkien’s map of Middle Earth, is a huge bulk of green pastures and magnificent ruins. Peppered about the place are beasts that add both character and danger to the terrain. Missions that are dealt in predictable manor of visiting NPCs, but as many of them are plucked from the novel itself a great deal of mysticism remains in their obviousness. Elrond – the High Elf – runs with you in battle at the very beginning and displays his typical temperament when left helpless as a fallen wall crushes a fellow brother. Indeed throughout the hundreds of hours gameplay you’ll come across Gandalf, Aragorn and the rest of the fellowship, Tom Bombadill, which will please those still smarting from Jackson’s omission of the character. You’ll face the mauruading Urak-Hai orcs as well as Sauron’s nine: The Nazgul. While obviously Frodo has already dealt with the Ring it will be your task to defeat the Witch King, leader of the Nazgul and protect the goodness of the Shire. You’ll journey through the whole of Middle Earth and visit places that Tolkien could only briefly touch upon in his books.