The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard PC
User Score
6.1 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9

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  1. swordsman
    Nov 24, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Rise of Isengard is the latest installment to the Lord of the Rings Online massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. It attempts to allow players to follow the journey of the grey company through dunland into the northern reaches of the realm of Rohan. The story provided does a very poor job of mirroring the actual timeframe in which the grey company arrived in the region. The time they arrived was clearly after Saruman made open war on the riders of Rohan through his invasion of the region and seige of helm's deep. Instead theodred is still alive and Saruman is has yet to openly move against the people of Rohan. Add to that the inclusion of a large raid quest involving a dragon (which didn't exist in this part of the world) and you have a very uninspired and inaccurate portrayal of middle earth. The developers appear to sadly lack an understanding of the literature or simply are unable to interpret what they do read. Other features of the game include making monster play free to play with all monster skills previously obtained through earned rank now purchasable through the turbine store. This turns monster play into a circus where the person with the most money is the most competitive. Turbine clearly has no understanding of how to run a competitive game but instead appears only interested in the bottom line. Add to it that Dr. Tolkien would never have approved of people role playing monsters and you have a further addition to the game that is unpalatable to any Tolkien scholar or adherent. For those simply interested in a simple minded online role playing game where rude behavior and inconsiderate players are the norm, this game is for you!… Expand
  2. SeaEagle1
    Jan 15, 2012
    5
    The new RoI expansion shows clearly that this game is but a shadow of it's former glory. And with the recent additions of gambling boxes and mid-level gear to the store, Turbine seems a bit desperate. While the slow decline of middle earth is very fitting to the story, as a gamer you'd really expect a game to improve itself over time. RoI is basically a super-sized quest pack like others in the game, except this one is selling for $30. There is a fair amount of quests, but you're forced to follow the linear, pre-determined path which gives little re-playability and they're almost all of the 'go kill 10 wolves' and 'now go back and kill the wolf-boss' variety. One of the early quest-hubs, Trum Dreng, is a nice variation though, with a catching storyline and good use of the new phasing tech that changes the village's appearance as the story progresses. Too bad it's not even 1/10th of the expansion.… Expand
  3. thejoshknight
    Dec 19, 2012
    9
    If you ignore the communication issues, Rise of Isengard was truly not a bad expansion. The content was fun and well thought out, and the landmass was iconic. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it does not deserve a 4.7 user score.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
tbd

No score yet - based on 3 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. GamingTrend
    Oct 16, 2011
    78
    If you've played LoTRO before, and all you want is more quests, and new zones to experience then by all means Rise of Isengard is well worth your purchase. But, if you have already burnt out on LoTRO then you won't find anything new here to change your mind.
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  2. GameSpy
    Oct 9, 2011
    80
    As always, Turbine serves its storyline with as much love and attention as a hobbit does his breakfast.
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  3. Cheat Code Central
    Sep 29, 2011
    86
    Rise of Isengard delivers three new slices of Middle-Earth, brings us to Orthanc, and lets us meet Saruman face to face. If that doesn't get you at least a little excited, you're probably not a Lord of the Rings fan in the first place.
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