Here’s another e-mail from our friend Joe, who continues to have trouble with the Balrog in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for PC.
Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately, after at least two hours of trying ever possible pattern I could think of, I am still unable to come up with a combination that works consistently. The Balrog has very quick responses, and Gandalf’s are just not fast enough. And there are too many combinations–use a spell to heal yourself, and the Balrog hits you ALWAYS in the middle of the spell–making it not fully effective. Even when he is supposedly knocked out, he has somehow managed to take Gandalf’s health down to zero, so that he (Gandalf) dies after striking anyway. In every other part of the game, there is a “sweet spot” where the character is safe–but after trying every inch of that bridge, I think I can say there is no sweet spot for part of this game. I do not know what your connection with Black Label Games is, if any. But I would like to know if there is somewhere to write them and tell them that I will not purchase another of their games, and that I will recommend to my many nieces and nephews that they not do so either. More pertinently, can I ask for a refund? (Ha, ha, ha! That should slay them with laughter!) I purchased the game to have fun–and that has certainly not been the case at the end. If they are trying to sell purchasers on their products, they seem not to know how to go about it. Thanks, Joe
Don’t throw rocks just yet. First of all, the bridge isn’t the sweet spot… it’s a timed moment over by the fellowship… its sort of a Y shape… with the shaft of the Y being the bridge… run to either side of the top of the Y and continue to move until you see a fireball blaze near… then heal. It’s a timing thing. Then go back to the bridge and dodge from left to right to kill the Balrog. Only hit him three times, if you’re on fire… after being hit… it can hurt you more even if you score a hit. Hopefully that will help you settle it, although it is difficult with the keyboard.
Now the situation with the Fellowship of the Ring is a very interesting one. It is not the fault of Black Label Games. I’m not paid by them, and frankly if they screw the future titles up… you’ll see a similar message as this ripping into them from me, but the Fellowship of the Ring was not their game. The situation is difficult, but there are two sides to making a game, marketing and production. During production the game was handled by one company, and things ran into delays. Eventually the game was taken from that Developer and handed to Black Label Games, who were asked to do what they could with it to at least get it released, and as bad as many felt the game was, it still had its moments. Now moving on to future games, they have it from day one. Black Label Games has dedicated focus groups to these games, they recently held an event with us to see what the true Tolkien fans want from a video game based on his stories, and this just wasn’t done by the previous company. The heart that is being put into these titles is incredible, they have asked the help of TORn Staffers such as Quickbeam, Lao of Gondor, and myself when they have concerns about certain things, and never have I seen a company so dedicated to making a game for the fans.
Now how will it turn out? We don’t know, I haven’t played the new games yet, but we’ll have the first look for you as soon as it’s available. Don’t give up on the book based Franchise my friend, it’s just getting started!
Once Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings project was announced in 1999, any fan with a keyboard and the energy could chip in their two cents on who they thought should be cast in the movies. Soon the Internet became host to a frenzy of casting rumours, as every day a new actor was linked to one of the most exciting film projects in production. Three years on, it’s clear now what stories were lies and what were truth, but as we enter the home stretch and less than 12 months until the release of The Return of the King, it seems appropriate to reflect on what could have been…
The Bizzarre…
Keanu Reeves as an elf When Aint-it-cool-News posted an image of a computer-generated Elf from the offices of WETA on their website, someone pointed out that the creation bore an uncanny similarity to Keanu Reeves. Quicker than you could say ‘dude’, the incredulous story of Keanu’s apparent involvement in LotR spread like wildfire and was subsequently shot down in the space of a couple of days. And then Agent Smith was cast as Elrond…
The Long-Shots…
Sean Connery as Gandalf For many fans it was only a matter of time until Sean Connery was cast as the wizard Gandalf, a perfect big-name for New Line to attach to the project. When Connery flew to New Zealand it seemed like it was a lock; and then Ian McKellen was cast in his place. All eyes subsequently went towards the vacant space yet to be filled for the character of Denethor… but that never materialised either. Hence, Billy Boyd secured his place as the only cast member with a Scottish accent on set.
Vin Diesel as Aragorn Riding on the wave of success following his roles in Pitch Black and Saving Private Ryan, Vin Diesel tried his darndest to audition for the role of Aragorn, the future King of Men. However the world’s beefiest Dungeons and Dragons player and fan of all things geeky was unsuccesful, and instead took a very different path to super-stardom.
The Could Have Beens…
Kevin Conway as Theoden For many months it appeared certain that Kevin Conway would play the King of Rohan, until the man known to many as the captain of the Titanic Bernard Hill was reportedly cast in the role also. For a few weeks it seemed that the project had two actors cast in the same role, until Kevin Conway himself revealed that he turned down the role, believing the amount of time his character would be on screen wouldn’t merit the weeks spent shooting in New Zealand. Time will tell if he chose wisely or not.
Ethan Hawke as Faramir An actor on the up, Ethan Hawke seemed like a perfect match for the character of Faramir. From an early point Hawke was consired a lock for the part and while he never publically confirmed the role was his, New Line executive Mike DeLuca hinted that Hawke was destined to play Sean Bean’s onscreen brother if he so wished it. However Hawke soon pulled out of the role completely to the disappointment of many fans, and subequently unknown Australian actor David Wenham slipped un-noticed into the role.
Paul Sutera as Lotho Sackville-Baggins It began with an innocent e-mail to TheOneRing.net from a cousin of Paul Sutera, an actor recently seen in two Brady Bunch movies, who claimed that his relative had been cast in the role of Lotho, son of the troublesome Lobelia who made a brief appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition. Soon Paul Sutera himself was telling family and friends he would be in The Lord of the Rings and his future in the project seemed assured – until the character was cut from the screenplay entirely, and the young actor’s hopes came crashing down to Middle-earth.
Donald Sutherland as Denethor While The Lord of the Rings Trilogy had two actors attached for the role of Theoden at one point, the chair of the Steward of Gondor seemingly lay empty for many months. At one point the veteran actor Donald Sutherland was attached to the role, but as time went on it became apparent that this was just another example of the Internet community plucking at straws.
Uma Thurman as Eowyn After their work together on the film Gattaca, it at one point looked likely that the Hawke/Thurman husband and wife partnership would feature in The Lord of the Rings with the actors playing Faramir and Eowyn respectively. However the stunningly beautiful actress gave birth in the latter part of 1999, and when it appeared that Hawke had decided not to take part in the project it seemed unlikely that the new mother would be able to care for her child and do a gruelling shoot in New Zealand. She wasn’t.
And Finally, The Departure Of The King..
Stuart Townsend as Aragorn An event which now seems like a distant memory but could have crippled a movie project which had barely gotten started, Stuart Townsend was cast in the role of Aragorn ahead of Viggo Mortensen and had already shot a couple week’s worth of scenes in New Zealand when Peter Jackson decided that he was too young for one of the most pivotal roles in the film. While many would acknowledge that this was an almost crushing blow to his acting career, the Irish actor soldiered on and with starring roles in the Sean Connery comic blockbuster The Extraordinary League of Gentleman and Gabriel Byrne’s Shade on the horizon, thankfully Townsend seems to have overcome the troubles he left behind him in New Zealand.
With movie 1 on our shelves and movie 2 out in theatres we certainly do have an amazing amount of LOTR goodies to ponder. And TheOneRing.net was with you all the way.
Many folks don’t remember the early days back in 99-2000 when the production was in full tilt, sets were popping up all over New Zealand and we had Ringer Spies everwhere.
Take a look at this first in what will most likely be a weekly look back at TORN. Ringer spy Glaurung trekked all over NZ to bring us images from LOTR. Take a look at these Exclusive pictures from inside the Edoras set, with the Golden Hall, and surrounding houses!
TheOneRing.net was the only website to bring you these exclusive pics from late July in 2001. [More]
One of TORn’s helpers, Josh Rubinstein, talked about TheOneRing.net Oscar Party in a recent CNN and Variety article on Tolkien’s 111th Birthday. [Toast Event] Since then all morning we’ve been getting emails and phone calls from interested folks about the party. As of right now all the details are being kept under wraps.
As of right now all the details are being kept under wraps. I can tell you a few details however:
The official name is “Two Towers – One Party” IT IS A THEONERING.NET EVENT It WILL be held on Oscar Night (Sunday March 23rd, 2003) It WILL be in Hollywood, California It WILL be held at the Hollywood Athletic Club
As for the rest…more details to follow! For now, check out the links from last years event.
Thank you so much for your constant news and entertainment offerings re LOTR. I check in every morning to see what’s new.
You may already have heard, but Sean Astin was interviewed on LA radio this morning (Friday, January 3). He talked via phone with the Kevin & Bean morning program on KROQ-FM.
Sean was very entertaining and bantered quite well for 7:30 AM. He talked, obviously, about filming the movies at the same time and the scope of the picture. He also talked about how the cast would be getting rewrites and new scenes on the day they were to film them. The hosts (who can be rather acerbic) also teased him about “geeks” that go to the theatre dressed up in costume. Kevin & Bean were basically gushing about the movie, however, and Sean was quite appreciative.
Hopefully one of your staff will be able to get ahold of a transcript or audio copy.
Thanks again for all your great work. Just wanted to give you a report of things going on in the West Coast, in case you hadn’t heard.
JOIN THE RACE TO MOUNT DOOM AS THE LOTR TCG LEAGUE IS IN FULL FORCE FOR 2003!!!
The Lord of the Rings TCG LEAGUE is absolutely one of the best card playing communities dedicated for players of all skill levels who are looking for a happy medium between “casual” and “tournament” level play.
Each League concentrates on offering new and veteran players alike, the opportunity to play against each other in an environment which promotes the spirit of the Lord of the Rings in contrast to the spirit of competition. In fact, many times throughout the course of a League session, beginners will always have a chance to learn from and play against highly skilled tournament players who, outside the normal parameters of “Tournament Play”, actually enjoy sharing their skills and techniques with those who are willing to learn. If you would like to read more about what the League is all about, click here for the Official League Press Release.
The League offers a “more casual” level of organized play as seen in THE RACE TO MOUNT DOOM League Kit. There are two different types of this kit: One for Retail Store Use and one for Home Use. Both kits offer the exact same exciting style of play and offer the winners of each “race” wonderful and collectible prizes, such as exclusive foil cards and collectible culture pins. The Retail Kit, which can only be purchased by your specific retailer or by your local Rider of Rohan (your Decipher Product Champion), is the only kit that contains the pins, the exclusive Faramir and Eowyn Foil Card Prizes and weekly random foil card prizes. The Home Kit only contains the exclusive Faramir and Eowyn Foil Card Prizes. However, if you would like to create you own league at home or as an after school activity, you can purchase the League Home Kit at the Decipher Store.
The League is also a great place for LOTR Gamers, fans and enthusiasts to come together and share their LOTR experiences. Many times the LOTR TCG League expands its gaming interests beyond sanctioned League play to offer members the opportunity to broaden their gaming experiences towards all LOTR gaming titles; especially the ever growing Decipher LOTR RPG and the LOTR Board game by Reiner/Knizia.
Most importantly, the League promotes community! I have personally made, and still continue to make, many close and wonderful friendships with people who have entered my life through being part of the League; sharing with me their wealth of LOTR experiences. Players initially come to the League with the sole interest of learning the game based upon their enthusiasm as fans. However, many of them don’t realize that in the course of several weeks, they will have made friendships that will last a lifetime!
So if you play the LOTR TCG, or are interested in being part of a very unique gaming community, please always check back here at Gaming Havens for updates on when and where your League may be. Ask your local retailer who their RIDER OF ROHAN is and if that store is promoting the LOTR TCG League. And of course, always visit DECIPHER.COM for updates on the League, what it has to offer and what’s in store for the future!
Be a part of a great gaming community and share your experiences with us!
Let us here at Gaming havens know when and where your LOTR League Community is held.
Since these venues are in my own backyard, here are a few LEAGUE Schedules for SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
WIZARDS OF THE COAST Westminster Mall Westminster, CA Rider of Rohan: Norman Lao Contact Info: lao_of_gondor@theonering.net League Time: 2-6 pm on Sundays.
THE BULLPEN 13356 Washington Bl. Los Angeles CA 90066 Rider of Rohan: Lisa Diana Gansky Contact Info: lisa@lordofrivendell.com League Time: 6:30-9:30 pm on Thursdays.
SQUEEZE PLAY 735 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Rider of Rohan: John Patchell Contact info: GHPatch@aol.com League Time: Starting at 6 pm on Wednesdays
