The Lord of the Rings Online vs The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings Online is a mmorpg open-world game from Standing Stone Games (2012) while The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is an action-adventure game from Visceral Games (2003).
Quick answer: The Lord of the Rings Online has the higher Metacritic, 86 to 77.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
What each one is
The Lord of the Rings Online is filed under Mmorpg and Open-World. In contrast, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King under Action-Adventure.
Join the world’s greatest fellowship of players in the award-winning online re-creation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendary Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 hack and slash game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the PlayStation 2 and Windows. It was ported to the GameCube and Xbox by Hypnos Entertainment, to the Game Boy Advance by Griptonite Games, to mobile by ImaginEngine, and to Mac OS X by Beenox. The game was published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the 2002 game The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The main or "Epic" storyline is told across "Volumes", which are released in "Books" consisting of a series of quests called "Chapters". Volume I: Shadows of Angmar The first Epic Volume starts shortly after Frodo and his friends have left the Shire . The player arrive at Bree , where they become acquainted with Aragorn and Gandalf and get involved in the larger affairs of Middle-Earth . (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Lord of the Rings Online received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . GameDaily awarded the game 9/10, praising its rich, fantasy-themed universe, well-integrated trait and title system, and a story that remains true to the works of Tolkien. Yahoo! (Wikipedia)
Plot
Todd Arnold, senior producer of The Return of the King , stated that the game was not intended to re-tell the story of the film, but to allow the player to come as close as possible to experiencing the critical parts of the film for themselves. Levels were designed with this goal in mind, with just enough plot to give context to the player's actions. Liberties were thus taken with the plot, and critics noted there was little footage which could spoil the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Return of the King received "generally favorable" reviews across all systems; the Game Boy Advance version holds an aggregate score of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic , based on 13 reviews; the GameCube version 84 out of 100, based on 23 reviews; the PC version 78 out of 100, based on 18 reviews; the PlayStation 2 version 85 out of 100, based on 31 reviews; and the Xbox version 84 out of 100, based on 31 reviews. As an adaptation, the game was… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| The Lord of the Rings Online | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.1/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (81%, 23,171) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 86/100 | 77/100 |
| Price | Free | Unknown |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2012 | 2003 |
| Developer | Standing Stone Games | Visceral Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
The Lord of the Rings Online vs The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
The Lord of the Rings OnlineMmorpg open-world gameThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingAction-adventure gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
The Lord of the Rings OnlineFree to Play, MMORPG, Massively MultiplayerThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
The Lord of the Rings Online ✓Metacritic 86The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingMetacritic 77Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
The Lord of the Rings Online23,171 reviewsThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
The Lord of the Rings OnlineFreeThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
The Lord of the Rings Online takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: The Lord of the Rings Online (Metacritic 86)
Where they differ
Free to PlayMMORPGMassively MultiplayerOpen WorldFantasyRPG
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, The Lord of the Rings Online is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for The Lord of the Rings Online and 0 for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are The Lord of the Rings Online and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in scope?
The Lord of the Rings Online has drawn 23,171 Steam reviews. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King lists little scope data.
Is The Lord of the Rings Online or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, The Lord of the Rings Online or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get The Lord of the Rings Online or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?
The Lord of the Rings Online has the higher Metacritic, 86 to 77. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.