"Double click Turbine Launcher… A connection attempt failed… Double click Turbine Launcher… A connection attempt failed… Double click Turbine Launcher…"

By Andrew Ng Lee (Dec 1, 2009)

Here's my first contributing author to the site! Thanks goes out to Mr. Ng Lee, for his "Dedication" and "Passion" to the MMORPG Genre. LOTRO fans unite! And without further ado, here we go....
This morning is cause for much excitement for me. I’ve traversed through many MMORPGs in my 27 years playing Everquest; Everquest Online Adventures; Final Fantasy XI; Everquest II; and World of Warcraft; all leading me to my current game, Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). Today is the day LOTRO is releasing their much anticipated new expansion: Siege of Mirkwood. Unlike its previous expansion, it is a digital download expansion which requires you to simply connect to Turbine’s servers (maker of LOTRO) through the login screen and download the expansion.

The expansion itself boasts an awesome repertoire of new experiences for players. New content in Middle-Earth is available, opening up the Mirkwood area from Tolkien’s fantasy world. The level cap is increased from the current level 60 to 65, giving new skills and equipment for all classes. A new battle system is introduced known as The Skirmish System. This allows players to take part in defending important locations all over Middle-Earth where the evil forces of Sauron are increasing in power. This new battle system is highly customizable according to group size, difficulty mode, and randomized events & mobs. As well, the story of Volume II: Mines of Moria reaches its climax and epic conclusion with the new expansion. For those who have not played the game, these stories play out in the form of multiple conversational dialogues between the main characters of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth (i.e. Strider, Frodo, Gandalf) and your character aiding them through the world of Middle-Earth. Players have just stepped out of the deadly Mines of Moria and will now be immersed in the mysterious forests of Mirkwood. For a full release list of the new expansion, visit: LOTRO.

I can’t wait until servers come up again so I can immerse myself into the new expansion. This day is one of those rare MMORPG experiences where your excitement reaches its peak and you count down the agonizing seconds that pass, waiting to submerge yourself into the ‘other’ world. Siege of Mirkwood will likely take up 99% of my gaming time (the typical thing I do when I get this feeling for a game). Turbine has done a masterful job in carving a competitive and thriving niche in the MMORPG industry in spite of the current juggernaut that practically and literally owns most of the industry share. Turbine has made a defector of me from this juggernaut and I am now a proud citizen and hero of Middle-Earth. Thus I continue to count down the seconds, double clicking the Turbine Launcher… and getting the disappointing message “A connection attempt failed”.

Edit 12:39pm: Upon publishing this post.... as luck would have it... servers have gone live! Enjoy, LOTRO fans! (-Teejay)