Walking a LOTRO beta mile in a hobbit’s shoes

What is it like to be a squat, pipe-puffing hobbit of Middle-Earth? Three Lord of the Rings Online beta players share their experiences as hobbits doing their hobbit thing in and around the virtual Shire – although we’ve never thought we’d see a hobbit bandit (which apparently has its advantages). Which, of course, gives us a rather good preview of the game. From a hobbit’s perspective, that is.

They all described a vibrant and life-filled virtual Middle-Earth, calling it “captivating,” “absolutely beautiful,” and “Widescreen LCD and 5.1 surround sound-immersive.” Most times they’d simply not do any quests and just go out and run around exploring. Of course, virtual Middle-Earth would not be complete without a gaggle of virtual NPC characters that bring the place to life, and an assortment of virtual sidequests and minigames.

Okay, so those activities are not the usual you’d expect. As one player describes it, it’s less of the “kill X quantity of Y threat” and more… Well, one quest has you killing marauding wolves – to save chickens. Conversely, another minigame has you stealing their eggs without getting spotted (Metal Gear Chicken: Bandits of the Shire?). Kidding aside, the players found the assortment of hobbit quests, besides amusing, quite charming, and captures the character of being a hobbit quite well.

Of course, not everything is so bright in the Shire. One sidequest led one of the hobbit players to discover a couple of goblin camps. Those darn agents of Sauron! This bodes ominously of the need for some WoW–style a**-kicking later on in the game. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in other beta journals Turbine plans on posting.

What is it like to be a squat, pipe-puffing hobbit of Middle-Earth? Three Lord of the Rings Online beta players share their experiences as hobbits doing their hobbit thing in and around the virtual Shire – although we’ve never thought we’d see a hobbit bandit (which apparently has its advantages). Which, of course, gives us a rather good preview of the game. From a hobbit’s perspective, that is.

They all described a vibrant and life-filled virtual Middle-Earth, calling it “captivating,” “absolutely beautiful,” and “Widescreen LCD and 5.1 surround sound-immersive.” Most times they’d simply not do any quests and just go out and run around exploring. Of course, virtual Middle-Earth would not be complete without a gaggle of virtual NPC characters that bring the place to life, and an assortment of virtual sidequests and minigames.

Okay, so those activities are not the usual you’d expect. As one player describes it, it’s less of the “kill X quantity of Y threat” and more… Well, one quest has you killing marauding wolves – to save chickens. Conversely, another minigame has you stealing their eggs without getting spotted (Metal Gear Chicken: Bandits of the Shire?). Kidding aside, the players found the assortment of hobbit quests, besides amusing, quite charming, and captures the character of being a hobbit quite well.

Of course, not everything is so bright in the Shire. One sidequest led one of the hobbit players to discover a couple of goblin camps. Those darn agents of Sauron! This bodes ominously of the need for some WoW–style a**-kicking later on in the game. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in other beta journals Turbine plans on posting.