Lord of the Rings Online - Beta Impressions @ IGN.AU

IGN.AU has some new beta impressions from Lord of the Rings Online.  Here's a bit on the first stages:

Let's focus on the quests first. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the number of quests available at the start of the game. At last count, our Hobbit Minstrel had over fifteen quests on the go. None of these involved slaying Orcs or raiding dungeons. He's a level seven Hobbit Minstrel for god's sake - not a level thirty Human Guardian.

Instead we were sent on our way to look for kids playing hide and seek, to create pie crusts for a hobbit fearing his angry wife, to deliver mail within set times and to try to find a hidden recipe for beer in the Great Smials. Sounds boring, eh? But for a player who chooses the laid-back characteristics of the Hobbit, this focus on exploration and helping your fellow Hobbits is a perfect fit. It's a great character type for those lazy Sunday arvos with a glass of red by your side. That's not to say there wasn't a fair share of spider-slashing and pig-grinding involved - there was - but we could do more Hobbity things if we felt like it.