Okay, I got in on the tail end of open Beta. After my third day, I cancelled my WoW account and bought a pre-order "Founder's" package.

I love it. Its nowhere near as... well, hard to describe. Its much more casual. You dont feel rushed to level to get the next ub3r l33t p0w3rz and such. Its a very soloable game, at least as far as I've gotten (a couple of alts to 20). You can really jump on for an hour, if that's what you have, and feel like you accomplish something. TONS of quests (in fact, traditional "grinders" will level slower than questers like me).  Beautiful graphics, nice sound, and its very true to the books (as much as any game can be I guess).

The community is tops (on my server at least). Much more mature than the l33t kiddeez from WoW. and the RP is top notch so far (but as with any other game, you're better off starting your own RP session, and others will gladly join in).

In short, I really, really like it. Crafting is the weakest part (specifically farming) but supposedly farmers will get some love in the June free content module.

Overall, I'd give it an 8.5.

If anyone would care to join me on the Landroval server, let me know.

I've two alts on Landroval one in the "Rpgnet" (Council of Secret Fire) group, and another I'm just working on. I love this game in ways I cannot describe (and WOW never hit the right chord with me)

Tathrenthir (Level 14 Elf Guardian)
Celebrawuil (Level 5 Elf Champion--still in "newbie" area

Well, we'll have to run into each other sometime!

Pombo (20 Hobbit Minstrel)
Tinuil (20 Elf Loremaster)
Thaco (yeah, I went there - 12 Dwarf Guardian)

It was alright.  I'm not sure it beats WoW, but it is the first I've found that came close to competing.  

My biggest complaint was just that the game felt really empty.  There's nothing really going on, the environments are really sparse, the mob populations really thin.  It all felt rather lifeless.  Even the animation felt stiff and awkward.

Hmmmm? May be personal preference, but my experience is that the place is pretty damn "alive" with NPCs and such, not to mention the expanding PC base. There are a ton of quests (way more than in WoW as far as I can tell), and the scenery and graphics are really good (at high-end levels, need a decent machine to get the most out of it - I bought an extra gig of memory and it helped tons). So, not sure if it is the difference between Beta and Open, or just personal preference, but I find it quite to my liking.

I was in the beta since waaay back when, and I ended up buying the $200 lifetime subscription.  Needless to say, I love the game.  The scenery and music are very evocative, very "Middle-Earthy" for me, and I spend most of my time just wandering around.  The Shire, in particular, is wonderful.  Needless to say, I'm levelling awfully slowly.  

That said, I still play WoW.  I've been a member of a couple of kick-ass guilds there for several years, and they make the game fun for me.

eskatonic
(aka Rothelion the Lore Master on Landroval)

Well, since my first post I've started a Kinship that's pretty much exploded, population-wise (probably 65+ active on a 120 base (includes alts). The League of Elders (Landroval Server), dedicated to giving old-time Gamers a place to call home. Med/Hvy RP, no pressures to level. If you need a home, look us up!

(Thaco Overroll, 23rd level Dwarf Champion, Founder)

Is there a trial of LOTR online similar to WoW's 10-Day limited one?
 
I wasnt wowed by WoW for a number of reasons, don't think Guild Wars will really be my thing and theres no trial for Lineage either.