Like a majority of gamers I find myself requiring a change of scenes after a prolonged adventure in a previous title. So when my adventures came to a close in Guild Wars due to reaching all achievements I desired (and a ton of issues from nVidia drivers which made the game nearly unplayable on this system) the search began for a new game to fill in my spare time after work. Admittedly my first attempt was World of Warcraft. However, after purchasing the product at my local Best-Buy store, Blizzard rejected not one, not two, but three of my Credit Cards when signing up for my account. Yes, it was Blizzard who did the rejections due to my inquiries to my Credit Card companies support and being informed that neither American Express, Visa, or MC, reject my attempted purchase of the subscription plans. Back to the store I went to exchange the game. LotRO became that exchange. And so, for the past 33 days, I've been sucked back into the world of Middle-Earth.

This review shall give a general overview of my experiences only; Up to my current levelled characters of 25 and 29 (60 cap). It is designed to give potential new players an idea of what to expect if they're in the market for a new game, much like I was a little over one month ago. I will do my best to give all the Pro's I'm aware of and all the Con's as well. So sit back, relax, and I hope the reader enjoys this article.
 

The Lord of the Rings Online has numerous purchase choices to consider. What one you decide upon is up to you. It's not my duty to lean anyone towards one side, or the other. It's only my duty to break it down (or so it feels). The game client itself is part of the original release, "The lotro gold: Shadows of Angmar", while the latest release, "Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria" is an expansion to the original game. Mines of Moria is not a stand-alone product, and while for most this may be obvious when we've had years of experience in MMO gaming, a casual buyer can be confused. Each segment can be purchased seperately and because Mines of Moria is designed for high level content, the new player can hold off on the expansion until a later date, unless you're keen on having immediate access to the two new classes; The Warden and The Rune-Keeper.