As MMOs go, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar isn't half bad. Although it's gone through several permutations over the course of its lifespan, it is currently a free-to-play title with a very hefty amount of actually-free material. As a man, hobbit, elf, or dwarf, you must rise up and begin fighting back against the various forces of Sauron, indirectly aiding the Fellowship of the Ring as they make their march to Mount Doom. Fans of the LotR universe and devout Silmarillion enthusiasts will have a lot to enjoy here; the world is packed to the gills with obscure names and lore trivia, and seeing every square inch of Tolkien's world fleshed out is actually rather thrilling (according to the massive Tolkien nerd I live with anyway). As a moderate fan of the books, I personally found the world better designed and more atmospheric than most MMO worlds, but nothing to freak out about.

As for the gameplay, it's solid and incorporates many of the best features of modern MMOs. Forming groups for skirmishes and dungeons is easy, quest tracking is convenient, and inventory management is a breeze... assuming you're willing to pay a couple bucks here and there for content. Playing the purely free version of the game is a little more aggravating, but still playable and enjoyable. You miss out on some inventory space, some class options, and eventually a lot of quest access, but by then you'll know if you like the game, and as game costs go everything is pretty reasonable.

Along with the usual assortment of MMO quest grinding (so many boar heads and bear butts for strangely insistent random strangers...), there's also a surprisingly substantial Epic quest chain for each race, making up the actual storyline for the game as your character works with Strider, Gandalf, and many others to save the world from the generic eeeeeevil of Mordor. While I hesitate to call it "gripping", it's a hell of a lot better than it could have been. The only aspect of the game I found lacking was the near-absence of PvP. While players who pay the monthly fee for VIP status get access to a MONSTER PLAY mode, it seems a bit essential to include that in base play.

I could go on, but there's not much to say here beyond it being a solid, high-budget, free-to-play MMO that provides decent returns for your investment in the expansion packs, and which fans of a particular legendary fantasy writer may go nuts over. I had a good two weeks tromping from Shire to Moria, and I'm throwing in the towel without a bad taste in my mouth. For an MMO, that's a hell of a lot better than average.