Semi-final battle in the MMORPG Showdown 2 series. 

The Match-Up

This is one of those match-ups that was bound to happen sooner or later. On one side, you have a game that has dominated its pay-to-play competitors for years. On the other side, you have one of the few successful pay-to-play MMOs to be launched in 2007. While the majority of highly anticipated MMORPGs fail to meet expectations, Lord of the Rings Online has been an obvious exception due to a strong launch, simple game play, and a great fantasy world. Instead of positioning itself as an anti-WoW like Vanguard tried to do, Lord of the Rings Online has learned from WoW's success by making itself user friendly with its easy-to-follow quest system and various simple interfaces. The result has been the emergence of a new force in the fantasy genre that proved to be a great opponent for WoW this week. Despite heavy voting, Lord of the Rings Online was able to grab an early lead and maintain it for the entire week. World of Warcraft suffered a defeat largely due to a developing love-to-hate following because of its long dominance and the popularity of the Lord of the Rings franchise. Thus, one of the favorites of this year and one of the finalists of last year has now been eliminated from the tournament. The question now is whether or not Lord of the Rings Online is strong enough to make it to the finals like WoW did last year. 

Tale of the Tape

World of Warcraft

• Still the world's most popular MMORPG.
• Had an extremely successful expansion, the Burning Crusade. 
• Second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, has been announced.
• Has improved PvP considerably by allowing players to report AFKers.
• Has several grinds such reputation, PvP honor, and experience.

Versus 

Lord of the Rings Online

• Based on one of the best fantasy franchises ever.
• One of the top fantasy MMORPG alternatives to World of Warcraft.
• Strong focus on stories.
• Targeted towards casual MMO gamers.
• The game, like the movie and books, will end eventually.
• Can acquire cool titles from doing various tasks.

Select Comments For World of Warcraft (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 0
Author: daimyo92
Comment: I have played free games that are more fun than this. 

Rating: 9
Author: Beezelburg
Comment: WoW has such unbelievable depth and the game delivers such a good gaming experience. It is much better than any of its rivals such as LOTR:O and GW. This game is incredibly addictive.

Rating: 10
Author: jamermim
Comment: WoW has much more depth than any other MMORPG out right now. I have been playing this game for 2 years now and I am not tired of it yet. People that say WoW is pathetic have either not even played it yet or are just really stupid and can't get over their free MMORPGs. The game has over 7 million subscribers and people who say that World of Warcraft is terrible? People say the graphics are bad, but the graphics in World of Warcraft are based more on style than how good they are. The pvp in this game is really amazing and I haven't played an MMORPG with better PvP. 

Select Comments for Lord of the Rings Online (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 10
Author: DeimosTA
Comment: Certainly this is not the average WoW clone. There is a complete and detailed storyline that one follows as one levels up and complete quests. The game has a very well designed quest system as each quest evolves around the main storyline and helps immerse players into Middle Earth. Fantastic graphics and by far the best looking MMO available to date. Absolutely stunning level of detail rendered and the in-game music is as incredible as the graphics! Music matches the atmosphere of one's surroundings perfectly!

Rating: 1
Author: jamermim
Comment: I have played both WoW and LOTRO enough to realize that this game copied everything from World of Warcraft. For example, some of the skills and classes like the rogue are from WoW. You people also have to admit that the interface is exactly like WoW. The only difference is that WoW is more in depth and has a way better PvP system. I mean come on, people have to play as monsters in PvP instead of their characters. That is pretty stupid. If you are going to have good PvP there should be 2 factions like good and evil so that the PvP would be cooler. I give this game a 1 because it is complete trash.

Rating: 10
Author: dafoe
Comment: Solid game with great graphics and a thrilling lore that makes this game the best thing I have ever played. No matter if you are a die-hard LoTR fan, or dont even know what LoTR is, this game is worth checking out.

The Voting

World of Warcraft received a total score of 5.78

Lord of the Rings Online received a total score of 6.5

The Result

Lord of the Rings Online Wins!