Orcs go online...

Long time World of Warcraft fans are already sharpening knives in forums across the net at the loss of their beloved "player versus player" in case MMORPGs are yet to consume your very existence, which may be fun for experienced characters, but can lead to new players, or ‘noobs’ as they’re derisively called, getting repeated brutal beatings – not a warm welcome.

According to Codemasters, player versus player will become possible only once you’re level 40 or above, safely insulating newcomers from the traditional digital hazing.

Graphically, Shadows of Angmar sits somewhere between the recent Peter Jackson epics and the original illustrations in Tolkien’s books and is instantly pleasing to look at (or utterly spectacular depending on your PC’s muscle mass) with an emphasis on scenery and weapons – magic use is far more restrained than in other MMORPGs.

With a range of Middle Earth’s races to select as characters and the commensurate range of fighting styles, this promises to be as rich as you’d expect from a game on this vast scale.

Arriving in Europe on 24th April, you can pre-order it now, with a limited number of lifetime subscriptions available for £99.