TheOneRing.net:"@emilynussbaum: can't take the Emmys seriously because Buffy never won 'em & neither did The Wire." The Wire: Best show in TV history. Yes.
In January, Lord of the Rings Online an expansion to the MMO called Riders of Rohan. Launching on September 5 this year, the game expansion adds the regions of East Rohan, Amon Hen and the Eaves of Fangorn Forest, a new mounted combat system plus a new, original score by award-winning composer Chance Thomas.
Thomas’ work should be familiar to anyone who’s already played the Lord of the Rings Online Games: Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria. Writer Layton Shumway recently visited a recording studio near Thomas’ Utah home and learned just how much effort the maestro behind the music of Turbine Entertainment’s Lord of the Rings Online puts into his craft. (more…)
Lego has just debuted its third animated short for its Lord of the Rings game, this time with members of the Fellowship repelling the Uruk-hai hordes of Saruman at Helm’s Deep.
Thanks to ringer whatisabagginses for the heads-up!
Award-winning composer Chance Thomas’s work should be familiar to anyone who’s played the Lord of the Rings Online Games: Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria. Those are just two examples in an impressive resume. His latest collaboration with LOTRO and Warner Bros. Entertainment is the soundtrack to the new online game Riders of Rohan, releasing September 5, 2012. Posted on Lord of The Rings Online’s YouTube site are three musical selections: “LOTRO Legacy”, “Shadow of the Argonath” and “Boromir’s Last Stand”. Be sure to click on “Show more” on the individual pages for “Shadow of the Argonath” and “Boromir’s Last Stand” to read Thomas’s insight into the composing of the music.
Additionally, the second in the series of behind the scenes videos: “Immersion through the look and sound of Rohan”, posted July 5th, has interviews with Thomas as well as Director Mitch Cohen, Director of Photography Scott Kevan and Senior World Designer Chris Pierson. The composer speaks to how he relied on painstaking research of the literature to create what he feels is “authentic” and true to Tolkien’s vision of the role of music in his stories. This video along with the first behind the scenes and various teasers and trailers for the game are available at LOTRO’s YouTube page. More musical tracks will be posted as the launch date approaches. In the meantime check out Chance Thomas’s official site to hear examples from some of the composer’s other works.
Warner Bros Interactive has just released its first gameplay trailer for Guardians of Middle-earth.
Digital Spy reports the trailer showcases the new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game’s multi-player combat and objectives, and features battles between the likes of Gandalf and Sauron.
Exclusively developed for consoles by Monolith Prductions, the game sees players attempt to conquer opposition fortresses, using the abilities and skills of their guardian characters. It features 20 “guardians”, including Gollum, Galadriel, Legolas and Gimli.
In April, the cover image of a new ‘Hobbit’ card game from game designer Martin Wallace was leaked — a very nice illustration indeed, and attributed to Ted Nasmith.
Now German publisher Kosmos has announced the publication of this game for October 2012.
“In Der Hobbit: Das Kartenspiel, two teams play against each other: good versus bad. The basic game mechanism is trick-taking, but whoever wins the trick can distribute the cards amongst all the players, depending on his character’s ability. Some cards hurt, some heal — and only one team can win the game.”
A not-that-careful look at stores shelves reveals that LOTR Lego items are available right now and have been since June 1. Members of our spy network have written in to inform us they are available online for later delivery but if you get yourself to a retailer with toy shelves you can grab and buy already. (We suggest finishing this article first!)
On day one at E3 the guys over at IGN Live sat down with Nick Ricks, Executive Producer at Traveller’s Tales Games for an in-depth analysis and some game play. All three Lord of the Ring movies are included in the Lego game and actual film dialogue is used as well. By far the coolest feature is being able to toss the dwarf.
If you’re more of a hands-on fan with your Legos, they are now selling their Lord of the Rings sets online at Lego.com, including the hard to find The Orc Forge. That set joins the previous releases: Gandalf Arrives, Shelob Attacks, Uruk-hai Army, Attack on Weathertop, The Mines of Moria” and The Battle of Helm’s Deep. But wait, could there possibly be more? SteveDJ was kind enough to scan the latest Lego catalog which has a poster (forum post) revealing what looks to be a teaser about possible Hobbit sets coming December 1st, 2012. Stay tuned for updates as we get them.
Please, out of courtesy to others, pick up all the Legos before bed. No one likes to step on those things in bare feet (even Hobbit ones).
With E3 just around the corner, we would expect to see a game trailer for the upcoming ‘Guardians of Middle-earth‘ game sooner rather than later…well, it is sooner! Courtesy of GameTrailers.com, the world premiere of the trailer showcases the ‘battle’ nature of the gameplay. The ‘good’ looks to be represented by Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas and Gimli. We might add, the portraits on these characters are very close to those from the films. The bad are represented by Sauron, The Witch-king, Gollum, an Uruk-hai…and another character this reporter can’t seem to place. I’m sure we’ll find out when the character section of the official website opens up. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and after the break check out some screen caps! (As an aside…remember that the way we interact with Tolkien’s world is as diverse as those of us who enjoy it. This might not be your cup of tea, but we can guarantee there are a lot of folks excited about this new title!) [GameTrailers.com] [Press Release] (more…)
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Reveals Guardians of Middle-earth, an Authentic Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Game for Console Systems Debuting Exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network in Fall 2012
BURBANK, Calif.– May 30, 2012–
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announces Guardians of Middle-earth, a new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Monolith Productions, set to debut in fall 2012 exclusively for Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation(R)Network. The game will feature tie-ins to the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey motion picture, directed by Peter Jackson and a production of New Line Cinema and MGM.
Guardians of Middle-earth brings up to 10 players together in five versus five competitive multiplayer battle arenas in the epic setting of Middle-earth. The game offers more than 20 iconic guardians, including Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum, Thrain and many more, for players to control in player versus player (PVP) matches. Gamers will have the ability to connect with other players via an in-game voice communication system, as well as access to a comprehensive online stat and leader board system where they can track friends’ victories and defeats, and more. (more…)
Every week – almost every day! – seems to bring further news of goodies to come for those who are eager to start snapping up Hobbit related items! Following on from this article posted here last week, we read today about Fantasy Flight Games’ ‘The Hobbit Over Hill and Under Hill’ expansion, which will be released later this year. This is great news for gamers; and indeed, there will be a further Hobbit expansion set coming from Fantasy Flight Games towards the end of 2012. All details here.
As more news comes in, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest in anticipated collectibles. If you haven’t already started saving, now might be a good time to start!
News crossed our screens, courtesy of Veldrin, that an international online War of the Ring tournament is currently accepting sign-ups. Sponsored by Ares Games, this is an annual event meant to bring novice and experienced players together and offers prizes for people in each category. The following is some of what they had to say:
“War of the Ring has a dedicated online community and every year they get together to run the largest War of the Ring tournament in the world! It brings together both veterans and novices alike, awarding victory plaques for the overall winner of the double elimination event, as well as the best performing novice player.” For full details, just click right here.
New Expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online™ Launching Fall 2012
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled today The Lord of the Rings Online™: Riders of Rohan™, the latest expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine. Riders of Rohan expands the online world of Middle-earth where players join forces to ride into the Plains of Rohan. Riders of Rohan launches in the Fall of 2012 with an increased level cap, the vast plains of Rohan including iconic locations such as Amon Hen and Fangorn Forest, the new Mounted Combat system and much more!
“2011 was another banner year for The Lord of the Rings Online with consistent growth for the game, a successful unification of our European and North American services and the success of Rise of Isengard, our best selling expansion to date.” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online. “This is going to be another outstanding year as we celebrate our fifth anniversary and introduce a wealth of new content throughout the year, ending with our arrival in Rohan. One of our largest expansions ever, Rohan is expected to be twice the size of the recent Rise of Isengard expansion and includes the most new game systems and technology we’ve introduced since 2008′s Mines of Moria.” (more…)
Wizkids Games (publisher of the Heroclix Lord of the Rings game) announced the Lord of the Rings: Nazgûl semi-cooperative game about a year ago, but gave no release date. They have now announced the release date as May 16, 2012. The idea of casting the players as Nazgûl is a fairly novel one. We will probably learn more about actual game play during the next few months, since Wizkids is pretty good about posting rules on their site. (more…)
In January, Lord of the Rings Online an expansion to the MMO called Riders of Rohan. Launching on September 5 this year, the game expansion adds the regions of East Rohan, Amon Hen and the Eaves of Fangorn Forest, a new mounted combat system plus a new, original score by award-winning composer Chance Thomas.
Lego has just debuted its third animated short for its Lord of the Rings game, this time with members of the Fellowship repelling the Uruk-hai hordes of Saruman at Helm’s Deep. 
Warner Bros Interactive has just released its first gameplay trailer for Guardians of Middle-earth.
