I recently tried an early beta version of what Turbine Inc. and Midway Games Inc. hope will be the next big thing in online role-playing games – Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. While this was a limited-access beta test meant to gauge server performance (the open beta test doesn’t start until the end of March), the platform was solid, the graphics were awesome and the overall gaming experience, while enjoyable, will be nothing new to the millions of players already addicted to Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. (more…)