Bombadil hopping over the demo screen should bring warmth to the coldest heart, but The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO) has a great deal more on its plate than sticking to Tolkien's original vision. For a start, it's the first and only MMO based on the world's most prolific fantasy franchise. For a thousand reasons, it can't be "bad". Secondly, both Turbine and European publisher Codemasters are banking on LOTRO far exceeding cult status among the online hardcore. And to achieve that end, everyone involved is going to have to climb over the WoW-shaped oliphant in the room.