One Shots: Spring is in the air

Welcome to Massively's first One Shots theme week! Every week we're going to feature a different aspect of all your favorite MMOs. This week we're all about your first impressions of MMOs: the starting zones. The visual first impression of a game can be just as important as anything — especially if you love good graphics. Today Tanek gives us a look at one of the various starting zones in Lord of the Rings Online.

I think of the Lord of the Rings Online starting zones like they are the different seasons of the year. Each has its own beauty and aspects I love, but each has a very different feel. While the questing is part of it, the atmosphere is really what keeps me coming back.

The Thorin's Hall (Dwarf) area is snowy winter, with frozen scenery outside and the warmth of fires (and ale) inside. The Elves have Celondim, where cherry trees are in perpetual spring. In Bree, you can find the summer marketplace, vendor stalls lining the square. And my favorite season, autumn, is found in the Shire, where apple orchards grow and festivals always seem to be right around the corner.

The current season where I am, though, is spring, so this is a shot from Duillond, just up the hill from Celondim on a nice, peaceful spring night... so long as you don't wander off into goblin-infested ruins, that is!

It's not too late to get in on starting zone week! If your favorite MMO has a great starting zone, send a screenshot to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the thanks!
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