Is it hard to get excited about another high-fantasy MMORPG? When there's an MMO for every letter of the alphabet rolling out this year it's easy to become more than a little jaded, but there are two things about Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar that make us lift our heads.

First, that this is freaking Lord of the Rings. Tolkien's Middle Earth is one of the most meticulously detailed and endlessly imitated worlds ever conceived. It's the foundation of the entire high fantasy orcs, elves and wizards shtick. Hell, it inspired this whole role-playing thing long before we had computers to make our rolls or break down the barrier of physical distance.