As you know, over the next couple of weeks or so TORn is conducting a pledge drive to raise funds and keep our servers running. But, as you might know, we also have some very exciting auctions going on over at ebay.
We have some fabulous, exclusive pieces up for grabs – including some things which, usually, money can’t buy! Here’s just four that might tickle your fancy:
When Configura Equipos, a Spanish-language website featuring technology and gaming reviews and forums, posted this video last week it seemed like we were seeing something new. A preview for Google Chrome’s upcoming “A Journey Through Middle-earth” interactive map featured clips from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as well as the brief shots from Google’s own preview for the the new app.
But in the midst of these familiar images was what looked like a brand new scene of an army of orcs laying siege to a castle with very striking dragon-shaped prominences on the ramparts. Could this be something we hadn’t yet seen from The Desolation of Smaug? Were we getting a sneak peek at some flashback to Carn Dûm or Minas Ithil?
Nope. It turns out it’s a scene from the 2011 film Sucker Punchfrom director Zach Snyder.
Keen detective and TORn staffer Magpie matched up the images and found the scene, one of several in Sucker Punch that are overt homages to other genre films. So, alas, as TORn staffer Justin said, “These aren’t the orcs you’re looking for. Move along.”
Misleading clips aside, we’re still looking forward to Google’s “Chrome Experiment,” which will “bring Middle-earth to life in the browser with 3D Trolls, interactive musical experiences, and more.” It’s currently in beta testing to be released to the public later this year. And as for Configura Equipos… ¡Estamos vigilando!
Via Ringer LegoLotR: The Pocket Gamer Awards celebrate the very best mobile and handheld games. For the 2013 edition, Lego Lord of the Rings has snared a nomination for Best Adventure/RPG Game of 2012. If you’d like to add your support, voting is open to all until 12PM (midday) GMT on March 18.
As reported a few months back, Kabam is teaming up with WB to produce two Hobbit themed games for mobile devices and your browser. While we all wait for The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age to premiere in our web browser, we are excited to announce the mobile title, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, is available now for iOS devices! The game-play allows you to build your own kingdom as an elf or dwarf and then team up with other players around the world to defeat the Goblin hordes! Best part…its FREE! The Android version will arrive by the end of the month [App Store Download] Read more for the full App description.
There is a lot happening in the realm of Tolkien fandom and we might be a little guilty of not updating players or potential players with everything that is going on in the world of Lord of the Rings Online. Warners and Turbine have kept the game updated and rock-solid for years now and with the Riders of Rohan expansion, it looks as though that will continue. We feature here a promotional video and then the latest press release about the game. Enjoy the video after the break. (more…)
Living in the wastelands of Angmar these Snow Trolls would adorn themselves with the furs, bones, and skulls of their victims. The most recent statue from Sideshow Collectibles The Lord of the Rings statue line comes to us not from the movies, but from last years awesome game The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North. While not from anything Tolkien wrote himself the game does allow fans of Middle-Earth to venture into events that could have happened during The War of the Ring.
The game takes place during the events of The War of the Ring, but you’re not playing as the Fellowship, you play as one of three characters: Eradan the ranger, Farin the Dwarf or Andriel the Elf, as you aide the Fellowship in stopping Sauron’s plans to take the North, making things much harder for Frodo to complete his quest. During your trek through the North, and the beauty in that area of Middle-Earth, you battle numerous Orcs, crazed Men, and of course Trolls. One of the variations of Trolls you will come across as you play the game is this Snow Troll. Sideshow Collectibles in conjunction with this game was asked to create one of these Trolls for collectors to add to their Middle-Earth collections.
The Warner Bros. legal team has shut down the development of a free Lord of the Rings mod for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The all-volunteer, unpaid team of game enthusiasts behind the mod say they repeatedly attempted to negotiate a compromise that would allow them to proceed in some form, but Warner Bros. rebuffed all of their proposals. Warner Bros. first requested that the 40-person-strong development team cease all work on the project, called MERP (Middle-earth Roleplaying Project), in July.
“Modding” is a term used to describe when users unofficially adapt or alter a game beyond its original specifications. Modders will often create new characters, character skins, plotlines and dialogue, music or even entirely new worlds for their favourite games.
Mod developer Alasdair Hurst believes MERP’s main problem could be that people need to buy Skyrim first.
“But the mod itself will be available to all the fans for free.” (more…)
SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 25, 2012 – Kabam, a leader in massively multiplayer games for connected devices, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have partnered to co-publish games for mobile devices and the Web inspired by Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM).
Under the deal, Kabam will develop and operate two multiplayer strategy games, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth for mobile devices and The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age for web browsers, both launching in fall 2012. Starting Sept. 25, players can sign up to take part in the upcoming beta for The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age at https://www.kabam.com/the-hobbit-armies.
Sneaking on the internet Monday night is a new look at the “LEGO Lord of the Rings” game in the form of a trailer. Focusing on the peril of the One Ring and introducing “The Fellowship” it doesn’t give a clue about gameplay but it has been certified adorable by a committee of astrophysicists and board certified physicians or plumbers or something. Using dialog from the films, it throws in a few sight gags and a great big — well see for yourself below. We will post a better version when one becomes available. The release date says “2012″ on the trailer but October 1 has been confirmed.
A lot of people are very excited about the forthcoming Lego Lord of the Rings game.
We may have missed a couple of cool reveals about the game that emerged at E3 around the beginning of last month.
So here’s a re-cap, including an 18-minute on-stage demo that Nick Ricks gave at E3. It reveals a long in-game sequence from the Mines of Moria, including Balin’s tomb. You can also pre-order the game here.
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…)
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.
Via Ringer LegoLotR: The Pocket Gamer Awards celebrate the very best mobile and handheld games. For the 2013 edition, Lego Lord of the Rings has snared a nomination for Best Adventure/RPG Game of 2012. If you’d like to add your support, voting is open to all until 12PM (midday) GMT on March 18. 
The Warner Bros. legal team has shut down the development of a free Lord of the Rings mod for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
A lot of people are very excited about the forthcoming Lego Lord of the Rings game.
In January, Lord of the Rings Online an expansion to the MMO called