One Ring To Rule Them All...Online!

http://www.lotro.com/

The MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) genre lives in the bloated shadow of World of Warcrack - ahem, I mean, World of Warcraft (WOW). A few stout hearted souls will rant about this bastion of Blizzard evil, but who are they kidding? Once you try the Warcrack, you always go back! I myself have been crack-free for many years, but I try not to think about the Dark Ages too much. I'm sure even my friend Bipa the King would love to fall back into the habit if he could pry himself away from his life of Evercrack (note, this is not a reference to WOW's predecessor, Everquest).

After the emergence of WOW, the MMORPG was flooded with coypcats. I mean, who didn't want a piece of that pie? Sadly, all that is gold does not glitter, and lot of these releases are quite crappy. But in the land of Mordor where shadows lie lies one ring to rule them all, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO). So step across the Brandywine Bridge into the world of Tolkien, brought to you by the developers Turbine.

Like any other MMO, LOTRO starts you off by allowing you to pick a race and class. Whether you want to be a plump juicy hobbit burglar like Bilbo, an agile elven hunter like Legolas, a dwarven guardian like Gimli, a human champion like Boromir, or a loremaster wanna-be-Gandalf-but-isn't, the choice is up to you. You can even choose to be an evil Nazgul or a reformed evil-turned-good Nazgul!

Well, no, not really - but you can get killed by them as a consolation prize.

Also like any other MMO, LOTRO also bundles in crafting professions to choose from. If you choose to invest the time, you can develop lucrative crafting skills that will allow you to rip off everyone else that's playing on your server. Yee-ha!

In many respects, LOTRO is not really all that different from WOW. That's to be expected because why would anyone want to change a formula that works? Graphically, LOTRO is vastly superior - but that's to be expected since Warcraft has been around for a pretty long time so it's bound to show some age. Since everyone likes some eye candy:

But perhaps the best thing about LOTRO is the music system. It's pretty innovative and once you get the hang of how it works you can play some pretty crazy things in-game.

This is also something else you can do. Unfortunately, Youtube disabled the embedding for this clip so click here. Only 27 days to go!

LOTRO does have quirks though - namely the Hope/Dread system. Basically the mere presence of the heroes of Tolkien world (Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, etc.) gives you hope - this materializes in a boost to your morale (what passes for health in LOTRO). On the flipside of things, you'll suffer from Dread when you're in the presence of evil. The negative impacts of Dread are much greater than the benefits of Hope. In addition to a decrease in morale, if you build up enough dread you'll find yourself literally crippled with fear, paralyzed and unable to perform any actions as the screen dims and turns gray. Oh, and if you die, you get slapped with Dread. While it's a somewhat original concept, it's kind of annoying and lame.

If you can get over this, LOTRO is a pretty good game - solid enough that I played the game for 2 or 3 months. That may not seem like much, but if you consider that I was hooked on WOW for a measily 4 or 5 months, that puts LOTRO in pretty good company.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/legostarwarssaga/

In 2005, developer Traveller's Tales took the gaming world by storm through the innovative combination of 2 ridiculously awesome brands, LEGO and Star Wars, by the release of LEGO Star Wars. In 2006, Traveller's Tales joined the dark side with LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Finally, in November 2007, Traveller's Tales brought the Complete Saga to your friendly neighborhood next-gen console market. When LEGOshop.com had the PS3 version for half-off in March 2008, I jumped all over it. LEGO's! Star Wars! In 1080P hi-def!



If you're already familiar with LEGO Star Wars, the Complete Saga is essentially a compilation of the prior releases - albeit in glorious high definition. Throwing in a pile of bonus missions, some new levels, online multi-play, and new characters gives the game a sexy glow that will appeal to owners of the original releases.

If LEGO Star Wars sounds like a pipe dream that George Lucas might've had when he was a kid, all you need to know is that the Complete Saga is an action/platformer-type game with minor puzzle elements that follows the storyline of Episodes I-VI. Obviously everything has been LEGO-ized. All of the major events are highlighted in the game, including the unfortunate rescue of Jar Jar Binks from certain death in the Phantom Menace. Granted, you can put a lightsaber through his head right afterwards.

One of the more interesting features in the Complete Saga is the ability to mix and match LEGO character parts to make new characters. Remember when you were a kid and you liked to dismember your LEGO figurines and play around with the body parts? ......for example, if you take Darth Vader's headpiece and put it on top of Princess Leia's body, you end up with Darth Leia. LEGO Star Wars allows you customize virtually every body part: headgear, head, cape, torso, arms, hands, weapon, hips, and legs.



I really only have one complaint - the game's Stud currency system. As you run amok through the game with your LEGO jedi, princess, stormtrooper, or what-have-you and deconstruct your enemies into their LEGO components, you'll be rewarded with a torrent of bouncing silver, gold, or blue Studs. While the currency system is conceptually a great a idea (who doesn't like to hoard money and buy things?), the actual act of Stud collection can be quite annoying. Unfortunately, the Studs do not automatically gravitate to your character - you are forced to run around to pick them up before they disappear (and avoiding LEGO death at the same time). While Studs aren't necessary to complete the game, they are vital to unlocking all the really nifty stuff.

If you're still not convinced to go out and try the game, this should do the trick:

That's right! Indiana Jones!

All in all, the Complete Saga is a lot of fun. It's friendly for the kids if you don't mind a bit of LEGO-cide and you won't have to be too embarassed if your friends find out what you're playing.