CPU P4 2GHz RAM 1GB Graphics 128MB DX9 compatible

Standing before us is one the biggest and most intimidating MMO bosses we’ve ever encountered, and the fact that we’ve been anticipating it does nothing to relieve the tension. We’re told the Balrog is a 50-foot gargantuan, and with 513,250 hit points, you could say it’s got a pretty good chin too – it absorbs the mightiest of Durin’s haymakers with the nonchalance of an elephant being attacked by a mosquito. But even as the Lord Of Fire And Shadow uses the ancient king of Khazad-Dum as a doormat before plodding dramatically towards us, fanning a massive wingspan and orange flame licking around the dark orifice of its maw, we’re too busy being awestruck to run away. Besides, this isn’t David versus Goliath, it’s more like a career-peak Tysonmonster versus a foetal joey. This has to be some kind of cinematic, Turbine wouldn’t seriously unleash such a ridiculously one-sided contest on its players, would it?

The Balrog finishes our instance with a single stomp for a gazillion hit points of damage, or enough to wipe out an entire raid, at least. Fortunately, this is actually single-player session-play and the character that we were playing wasn’t our own, but the son of Durin: a Level 60 Dwarf of some unknown tank class called Nafni. You’ll have the opportunity to play this quest a few hours into the new Mines Of Moria expansion for Lord Of The Rings Online, and it will take you to a solo instance similar to Monster Play, where you’ll vicariously earn destiny points for your main character, rather than XP. Turbine has woven this retrospective story seamlessly into the Mines Of Moria content to form the historical backdrop to the new Volume II epic quests, and it has done a fine job with the rest, especially as there’s a fair whack to see, do and learn.

But most of the first book of Volume II is pretty mundane; nothing the seasoned Level 50+ characters that swarm around the Walls Of Moria won’t be used to: collecting wood, slaying wolves and chatting to people is the bread and butter of any MMO. There are special expedition side-quests, bordering on small Fellowship-difficulty, that can only be completed prior to entering Moria, but these are hardly exceptional. Just when we were beginning to wander if we’d ever get past the Doors Of Durin and explore the fabled mountain kingdom, things took an exciting turn.

Chapter eight of book one, Volume II onward proves fascinating for anyone who has grafted their way up to Eregion and beyond. It’s an instance that will take you to an area that anyone who has watched the Peter Jackson films, or even those that have read the description in Tolkien’s novel, will immediately recognise. The atmosphere around Black Pool outside Durin’s Door is palpable, and our anticipation of the inevitable appearance of the Watcher is heightened by several dwarves skimming stones off the surface of the water. Unfortunately, the first encounter with the Watcher is a bit of an anticlimax – nowhere near the epic that was the Balrog instance, but it does lead onto several far more interesting quests that introduce you to the Legendary Item system.

Item advancement isn’t an original idea for an MMORPG, it’s been used quite extensively in Dark Age Of Camelot, for one. But Turbine has dealt with the concept as masterfully as ever, making the Legendary Item system its own. These items are dropped by mobs or given as quest rewards and, unless you acquire a particularly rare and powerful Legendary Item, are usually slightly less powerful than the equivalent kit of the same level. But equip it on your character and it can gain experience for kills too, levelling up and acquiring advancement points that can be exchanged to boost any of its bonuses. It can also be equipped with relics, setting and gems for additional bonuses, further enhancing its abilities. This massively extends gameplay considering it takes as long, if not longer, to fully equip your character with Legendary kit and max it out as it does to level a character from one to 50. You’ll also spend an awful lot of time popping back and forth from the Forge-Masters, the only guys capable of slotting, identifying, reforging and combining Legendary Items, just to perfect the kit you have.

Probably the best part of the Mines Of Moria expansion, of course, is when you fi rst walk beyond the western doors and into the kingdom itself. It’s both huge in proportions and expanse. You could fi t Buckingham Palace into a single corridor, and in some of the halls you can’t even see the ceiling. The Dwarves are only just beginning to claw this territory back for themselves, so despite the odd outpost, Moria gets progressively more dangerous the further and deeper you delve. Despite crawling with excitable players, there’s a feeling of dungeon-crawling and exploration that’s rare in fantasy MMOs. It’s a real treat for current LOTRO players around the previous Level 50 XP cap, and well worth working towards if you’re still catching up in Eriador.