I have intensively played original Everquest, Everquest II and World of Warcraft, as well as dipping into many more for the trial period or the beta. But I now play LOTRO exclusively as it is the one that sets the standards for others to match. Why?
- The number one reason is an unfair advantage really: the unbeatable game universe (courtesy of JRR Tolkien). Most other fantasy milieux are insipid Middle Earth rip-offs, with similar races, languages and history; better to immerse yourself in the real thing. It is also true to the spirit of the book and not to the films, which to my mind is a major bonus.
- Beautifully realised graphically, but still playable on a fairly basic PC.
- Playability: the game mechanics have been taken from many of the best elements of other games, but make for a really fun experience.
- Tends to attract a more more mature gamer, perhaps due to the lack of traditional PVP.
For me the acid test was that after playing LOTRO for a while I logged back into my WoW account and found it really dated and childish in comparison.