So, me and a friend have been looking for an MMO to play together and alot of good things have been said about this game. My only question is.. Is it any good for players who haven't read any of those books?

Ofcourse it is Khazoth. Having read the books only provides you with more of the background stories. But the storyline in itsself is quite involving even if you don't know the books.

Aye, I read the books,And Am a fan of LOTR in general, so I was delighted when LOTRO was announced. I found playing it Very slowly and indirectly follows the Book, so you will have plenty of time to catch onto that, and most of the game has nothing to do with the books except its set in Middle Earth(TM)

Of course you can play the game without reading the books, we'd love to have you 8). However, i'd just suggest reading the books anyway. Tolkien is an amazing author!

It's just like any other supremely awesome MMO. It's just the story was written by an Oxford Philologist in the 1950s.
Sure, you might not get all the same, "ZoMG I remember that from the books!" moments, but there's plenty of made up/ just plain awesome content.

It's probably like people who play WoW who haven't played any of the Warcraft games. Sure, you'll know the story better, and it will help with immersion, But it's not really necessary for the game to be fun.

Yeah i agree, i've been playing for a year now, without ever having read the books. You won't quite recieve the same experience as a fan of the series, but it shouldn't take away from the experience of playing a fantastic MMO.

Lotro definately gets my vote for best MMO i've played, as it strikes a nice balance between being able to solo and group reliance, it's not TOO difficult, but has enough "bite" if you screw up to make it challenging. Not to mention it's unique solution to balancing PvP with PvE.

They also regularly release free content, which is something that i really like, as the original game was released with 8(?) books in volume 1, they then released a further 6 books for free before making you buy an expansion for volume 2: mines of moria. Thats alot of free content :)

But yeah, i kinda turned this from answering your question to a glowing review, but the long and short is that if you want a good MMO Lotro is a good choice, and not reading the books won't take that away. Although on the flip-side, i've just started reading the books, and it's quite alot of fun to have a mental image from the game in your head.

This game is still going?
I kinda figured wow killed it.

Huh Stevdave00? LOTRO came out a couple years ago, long after WoW. ;)

Kalia:
Huh Stevdave00? LOTRO came out a couple years ago, long after WoW. ;)

He means he would expect that WoW had destroyed its competitor by now. Something I would never expect because they are targetting different audiences.

i would suggest that you read the books, their brilliant, but i will not however suggest that you buy the game, its a bland boring MMO also theres lots of other types of multiplayer games you and your friends could try, if you want some of the average MMO relationship plus a much more intense action minus the gold sellers i would suggest team fortress 2, it has the average rpg roles tank,healer, rogue, hunter and casters and its on sale on steam for 10euro or dollars.

If you want story in an MMO it's the best MMO in the world. It's great for PvE and atmosphere and not so great for PvP or Raiding. I wrote a long review in the escapist review section, just check it out there.

I guess, but it's better if you can drown in the lore.

dirk45:
If you want story in an MMO it's the best MMO in the world. It's great for PvE and atmosphere and not so great for PvP or Raiding. I wrote a long review in the escapist review section, just check it out there.

I think the best story goes to Guild Wars, but that's just me.

I for one, like saving 5 dollars a month.

I'm sorry if i offended any of you.
During my last 'bout of "WoW" I joined a raiding guild where someone was cross game begging for quest help.
He had said over vent that the servers where dead.

Stevedave00:
I'm sorry if i offended any of you.
During my last 'bout of "WoW" I joined a raiding guild where someone was cross game begging for quest help.
He had said over vent that the servers where dead.

Well, LOTRO dosen't have 11M players but it has more than enough to keep them afloat, besides as someone said they're not really targeting the same people (although the more it goes, the less true that is)

I play on a med-pop server and it's never dead, even at 3am

Also, even if WoW is the most succesful MMO out there atm, there's some people that don't like, or just got bored with WoW(like me) :)

Im a big fan of LOTR in general too, and its really a nice story from which to form an mmo. It does help to have read the books or seen the movies but you dont need to be an expert to enjoy LOTRO, just to like fantasy and rpg, voila you have a great time but if your a big fan its all the cooler to play

If you are looking for a beautifully done game with the best community of any MMO, LOTRO is the place to be. While reading the books will give you more appreciation for some of the details in the storyline, it isn't necessary to enjoy the game. Unless you are a huge Tolkien fan, the subtle details won't matter to you anyway.