I've been playing in the open beta for the MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online and have been having a lot of fun with it. The game is set in Eriador at the time of the first book. The graphics and gameplay are as good as I've seen in an MMOG but, not surprisingly, it's the content that sets it apart for me. It's not just being able to wander around the Shire, Breeland and Ered Luin—it's that the game designers have done a great job in conveying the rise of evil in those areas in the lead up to the War. In a way the game is showing a large part of what, by necessity was missing in the film adaptations. Of course, there's a huge amount the game designers have had to make up. But from what I've seen so far, it feels authentic.
Although it remains to be seen how they can pull this off over months or years, they have done a pretty decent job of handling the fact the main plot must move on even though players are all at very different stages of the game. There was a Ranger called Strider at the Prancing Pony in Bree when I went there (a Ranger in Ered Luin sent me to talk to him) but presumably later on, I'll be able to see Aragorn in Rivendell. The challenge is that presumably starting players will still see him in Bree.
If you're interested in MMOGs it's worth checking out, even if you're not into the Tolkien legendarium. But if you are, it's obviously an extra treat.
If you play, email me. I'm on the Landroval server.