(via https://open.spotify.com/track/5XwMltbUk1QdRmGq5AVsLK?si=2A1y_Ta6RwO2PPFLPpvQLA)
So recently I started playing The Lord of the Rings Online again. I’m not new to this game - I’m one of the few folks who can can carry the ten-year frame for their characters (I missed the eleven-year frame by like a month). We left the game after it went free to play, well...not too long after. Actually, a lot of the old schoolers left at that point and the player culture shifted a lot because of it. But, I kept wanting to come back. Short of SWTOR, no other MMO has captured my attention for any length of time, and I’d say I’ve invested far more time with LoTRO than with SWTOR, even though I write SWTOR fanfic.
It’s the world. It’s the lore. The game is just beautiful...even eleven years later. And the best part is that while many seasoned games will only glitz up models and landscapes in expansion content areas (even SWTOR is guilty of this), Standing Stone Games has gone back over even starter areas. Reworking the details. Reworking the landscape. Even the music.
Starting new characters as seasoned VIP’s, it’s almost like a whole new game for my hubs and I. We’re finding new things (as well as old), but it’s fun to just explore and come across a waterfall you never knew was there...or stumbling into a higher level area that had a natural border years ago but now they made the integration of zones seamless.
But, back to the music. I linked to the above score, which is the main theme for the Riders of Rohan expansion. It’s just gorgeous. One of the most beautiful songs I’ve come across for an MMO...or any game in general for that matter. Music for me really makes a game stand apart. You can have graphics or story...but without the music, it’s hard to make everything else come together. Kind of like how the music from Mass Effect 3 can still bring me to tears to this day.
Anyways, I just wanted to share this. That there is still this game out there...gimping along...still alive and refusing to die. And I hope it doesn’t die. I hope it keeps going, putting out new content (we just got the huge Mordor expansion not too long ago). It’s hard to find an open world like this one...with an actual day/night cycle...real weather...lots of weather...misty mornings and sunshowers and thunderstorms and rainbows. And lore. So much lore.
Oh, and if you liked the violinist, her name is Taylor Davis, and she is also amazing.
Here are some of the best shots I’ve gotten from the game - I can’t wait to get back to the higher level areas -
