For a while in the previous beta stage, Elderon formed a guild with me, Yanari, Nadenu, Bhodi, and Git (sorry if I forgot anyone else - it has been a while). This game is really quite polished and beautiful. I haven't played lately (although I did download the new beta client last week) due to WoW:TBC, but I'll most likely do the pre-order. All the races are great looking and the character customization is decent. Speaking of the character customization, it has been fleshed out a lot more since the early beta stage.
Definitely worth checking out and giving it a comparison to Vanguard and WoW. LOTRO pulls you right into the world and some key events in Middle Earth's history. I'll still be playing WoW for the time being, but will defintely make time for LOTRO, too.
**EDIT - I just pre-ordered. I'll probably do the $200 lifetime as this game has legs - I would be surprised if it folded before two years. I also forgot to mention that LOTRO has a built-in voice chat capability that works great - Eldy, Git and I used to chat while grouped and it rocked. So no need for Ventrilo or other outside voice chat programs.
Edited, Feb 13th 2007 8:05am by Smoggy
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'Lo, there do I see, the line of my people, back to the beginning, 'lo do they call to me, they bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave...may live...forever. X-Box 360 Gamer Tag - Smogster