Now I admit I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I was able to pick that World of Warcraft was going to be huge. Not because it was a brand new idea - but because its execution was right on the money. Literally, as it turned out. And I'll make no apology for casting our appraisal of Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar against World of Warcraft because if LOTRO is going to thrive, you can be damn sure it's going to need to steal some market share from WoW.
Yes, there is some scope for the two games to coexist peacefully, but let's be serious here - these kind of games are made for single minded absorption. I don't think I'm Robinson Crusoe when I say at the height of my WoW addiction I wasn't giving any other game the time of day. At the time I regarded it as taking away valuable time that could be used building my WoW dude.

So - when you have a crack at refining a game that refined a formula into world-record breaking success - can you also share a bit in the glory? With Lord of the Rings Online, that's the eight million subscriber question.

First of all, the good news. LOTRO looks terrific. It's way sharper visually, and there's a crisp clarity that WoW's "almost getting dated" graphics doesn't achieve. Animation is also smooth as butter as well. Characters and monsters also look a generation ahead. And it doesn't slaughter your hardware. This trusty, yet hardly cutting edge 2 GB RAM, 1900xt, Core 2 Duo 2.3ghz rig barely broke a sweat running at 1280*1024, and given the leap from the competition this is quite an achievement for the intrepid Turbine crew.

The UI is reasonably dressed down, however if LOTRO takes off it's safe to expect plenty of mods to change the look and feel to gamer's requirements. Handy from the start is the ability to add a whole bunch of shortcut buttons in an array in the bottom of the screen - an effect some WoW mods replicate. If you don't use them, they won't leave frames or anything cluttering the screen. A LOT of shortcuts are the same in LOTRO as in WoW, so kudos to Turbine for not playing silly buggers and forcing people to learn a whole new system.

The key fact is that the UI remains customisable - which it is - and while things do look a little cluttered and indistinct at default settings, there's plenty of room to tweak to arrive at something that satisfies.

Just as important as any of this is the fact that you're playing in Tolkien's Middle Earth milieu. You don't need a fancy storyline constructed to give your presence context - you're in the middle of the Lord of the Rings world, baby. All the lore and maps you need are a bookstore (or video store if you're lazy) away.

Even further adding to the embarrassment of gaming riches is how Turbine has gone about character progression. True, there's an element of tiresome "Go to X, fetch/kill/help Y, report to Z" about the opening quests, things quickly amp up. Your classes are intentionally limited. You've got the caster/pet wielding Lore-masters, healer Minstrels, Guardians intended to take damage, Burglars - who offer actually useful debuffs instead of being voted off the five-man island (like Rogues in WoW), even Captains - equal part buff and combat oriented chaps.
It's a decent selection but it's merely the tip of the iceberg. The best thing about the classes is that they all actually seem to be equally useful. If you ever took your shadow priest/rogue/non-tank Warrior to 70 and despaired at being passed over for groups (called "Fellowships" here, appropriately enough) you will love LOTRO. And on the subject of Fellowships, these work spectacularly well. In LOTRO your group truly is greater than the sum of its parts, with special powers available only when grouped. The classes focus on buff/debuff also serve as a strong inducement to group up.

Further, there's a feat-based system that opens up further character development points. Key amongst the benefits (which also include trait and resistance boosts) are the inclusion of virtues. Virtues - like talents in WoW - are your mechanism to further customise your character. Arguably way more flexible than the talent system, your means of accumulating them are linked to performance more than level - put in the hard yards and you'll quickly get out of the minor upgrade territory and start getting into juicy gear.

Then there's the caveats. They're not so much "bad points" in this case - more like things to debate and discuss.
First if you're a PVP loving grief machine like I am, LOTRO may not be your cup of blood. The PVP zone opens up around 40-50 - but this takes a reasonable length of time to attain and there's limitations on what you can do - or whom you can gank. All those times you spent in Stranglethorn Vale messing with random enemies, all the joyous moments in Un'Goro and Nagrand stalking foes - that doesn't happen here. It's all about the PVE. If you absolutely must engage your bloodlust, there's the option to "Monster Play" via the game's scryer pools - which sticks you in the guise of a level 50 (the current cap) baddie - but that's a pretty hollow feeling in comparison to the thrill of making someone's life an absolute misery. It's just not the same as using the same character you play normally to get raw on the enemy.

So yes - for mature MMORPG players, the lack of world PVP isn't a problem. But for people like me who derive much of their joy from terrorising (or being terrorised) it's a bit of a blow. To the vast numbers who desire to play without harassment - it's probably not an issue. Whether this is an indication that LOTRO is not putting up a fight for the uber hardcore pro Arena set that have been pushing the PVP envelope in WoW is anyone's guess - it's too early days.

Another concern - increasingly less as each day passes - is whether LOTRO can gain enough critical mass to have an independent subscriber base. Initial impressions indicate this won't be a problem at all. And the nice thing about MMORPGs is that you can always add more servers if demand explodes - while adding players is a lot more chancy. Whether WoW players who have invested significant time into their coterie of Level 70s will forsake the PVP goodies, flying mounts and refined endgame for LOTRO in its current form is a tough call. Some will - spurred by the opportunity to be amongst the first to hit the level cap. Others may think it's a bridge too far.

At the end of the day, it'd be easy to palm off LOTRO as being a good looking rip of WoW. It's a safe call, but one that does the game and makers Turbine a disservice. LOTRO deserves your serious consideration. As someone who has recently shaken a full-on WoW addiction I can feel the clutches of this tingling around my PC, not to mention my wallet. It's got all the elements for many to get completely immersed.

For mine, this is by far the most impressive use of the Lord of the Rings licence, ever. An absolutely fantastic game that in its own way offers as much as WoW. It's enough of a visual revamp to make the cut as WoW's successor but the offering may be a little too PVE focused at present or maybe that's a shade of innate PVP favouritism showing on my part. Hands down the biggest challenger for the MMO throne since WoW killed EverQuest.