The release date has not been confirmed yet, but it is expected an early December release due to Christmas sales. [I’m assuming he’s talking about the extended version – T.]
The price of the big edition will be 60 •, the extended part will be translated by the same actors as the cinema version, and even the audio comments will be subtitled.
Also, there’s good new about this… the National Geographic will be included in Spain and Germany, as I’ve been told, though it is not 100% confirmed.
So, if things go on like this, we will have the full Extended edition with an impressive work of translation. And cheaper than other countries, wich is certainly rare!!.
Thanks to Dani for the news
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The folks at Universal have sent along a massive amount of images from thier PC game, take a look at these 20 plus images and get ready to make some space on that hard drive!
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Click here to see over 30 screenshots from the PlayStation 2 Game!
Click here to see over 20 images from the XBOX game!
Publisher: Black Label Games, a studio of Vivendi Universal Games
Platforms/Developers: PlayStation2 computer entertainment system: Surreal Software, Seattle, WA
Xbox video game system from Microsoft: WXP, Seattle, WA
Category: Action-adventure
Pricing and Availability: MSRP TBD, To be released fourth quarter 2002.
ESRB Rating: Pending (Anticipated Teen)
Overview/Storyline: The Fellowship of the Ring is a single-player action-adventure game featuring Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn. It is based on the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novel “The Lord of the Rings.” From the peaceful lands of the Shire through the darkness of Moria, to the River Anduin, the player must gather the Fellowship and protect the One Ring from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Features:
· Story unfolds true to the best-selling novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.
· Following the adventures of Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn, each with special means to overcome obstacles.
· Increasingly-challenging combat – as the game progresses encounter 28 types of enemies from roaming monsters to menacing “boss” creatures that possess varying degrees of intelligence and behavior.
· Explore The One Ring, Stealth, Distraction, and Magic Use to discover, avoid, or create special events and encounters.
· In the Xbox game, environmental and varied special effects including spell effects for Gandalf, dynamic shadows, volumetric fog, specular highlights, and environmental maps.
· Use of the One Ring – Unleash the power of the most powerful artifact in Middle Earth, but at what price?
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Publisher: Black Label Games, a studio of Vivendi Universal Games
Developer: Pocket Studios, Beckenham, Kent, England
Category: 2-D, Isometric Role-Playing
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Pricing and Availability: MSRP TBD, Third quarter 2002
ESRB Rating: Pending
Overview/Storyline: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is a single player lite-RPG where the player follows the storyline of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga. Throughout the game, the player will have control over the Fellowship members, at times controlling up to nine characters at once. This title is considered a lite-RPG since it will streamline the usual number-crunching found in most RPG’s and simplify it to a more action-oriented, quick-paced format. Combat is turn-based, like most RPG’s, but will provide a default AI that will control character actions if the player so chooses. Gameplay will take place across a vast area based on the Middle-earth locations from Tolkien’s books. Backgrounds will be beautifully realistic and faithful to Tolkien’s descriptions, created from 3D models with rendered shadows. A semi-linear structure will allow the player to explore and experiment while still experiencing the narrative events of the books, allowing the game to be open to greater possibilities while still remaining faithful to the story.
Features:
· Control of all nine members of the fellowship: Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir.
· Unique character abilities for each fellowship member, like spell-casting and healing.
· Ability to use the One Ring to enhance gameplay.
· Character advancement system allowing characters to gain new abilities and skills or improve existing ones.
· Unique turn-based combat system that allows players to have as little or as much control over combat as they wish.
· Semi-linear gameplay that allows the player to explore outside the main narrative through sub-quests and choose new solutions to puzzles and problems faced in the books.
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Hi! Here’s my report about our trip to see Sean in DC today. Four billyboyd.net fans, a toddler, and a couple of Fan Club members met him in front of the Lincoln Memorial:
Today, Gonzai, Alison, and PT1981 and I (and Tibby, my 3-year-old) went down to The Mall in D.C. Yes, on September 11th. Also there were Kyra and Blaze from the District of Dark Whispers, a Yahoogroup for local LOTR Fan Club members. We got there at 3:30, but things didn’t really get started until 4. There were kids with flags from all over the world, kids holding huge pictures of other kids, and a chorus of kids in white with red-sequined vests. Sean was essentially the Master of Ceremonies, and after giving a sweet speech about how wonderful it is that people put forth such efforts for their communities (mentioning the construction crew at the Pentagon, where he’d been that morning, who had on their own declared that they’d get it rebuilt within a year of 9/11, and succeeded.), spent the afternoon introducing people who spoke and sang. Including singer Kelly Clarkson, who had a crowd of fans there, as well. One of the first things he did, however, was to thank the LOTR fans who’d come out after reading his message on TORN, and we all cheered.
As it was late afternoon, and we were facing west towards the Lincoln Memorial (we were at the edge of the reflecting pool, at the bottom of the steps), the sun was setting in our eyes. So, thinking that we’d have a better chance of getting an autograph if we were closer to his eventual exit, we left the small audience area (where we were standing anyway, so it wasn’t as though we were losing seats), and went and stood behind the metal gates up behind the stage. This seemed to be a much better vantage point, as whenever Sean wasn’t introducing anyone he was in the VIP tent on the side discussing the upcoming introductions and what he was to say. So we got good views of him doing this. Also, Tibby was pleased because it meant she got to go up and see the police horses and climb on the barriers. So when Kelly finished her last song and the whole thing ended, about 5:30, she took off and most of the crowd drifted away. We noticed that at point that the Park Police officer who’d been guarding the stage area had left, so we all went in. Sean was letting about a hundred people take pictures with him, one at a time. He had a guy with him that was acting as a personal assistant, and he would coordinate the various interviews that people did with Sean. It seemed like he did half a dozen, including one for eXtra and one for Entertainment Tonight.
I sidled up to Sean, and just gathered up my nerve and said, “Sean!” He turned around and shook my hand with a big smile, and I said, “Um. We’re Billy’s fans.” pointing to my bb.net T-shirt from I-Con in April. And he said, “Oh!” like he was aware of us, and “That’s greeeeeat” or something in a broad Scottish bray that we all laughed at. So I pulled out a Wee Scarvie (of course) and explained what it was, and that several cast members had them. So he held it up and we gathered in for a picture, and I said, “Wait! Where’s my daughter?” Tibby was off to the side somewhere, and I called her to come up and held her during the shot. Unfortunately, that one’s unlikely to come out as it was taken by a girl holding it in one hand. It was a digital camera, and it’s likely to be blurry as she didn’t hold it with two hands. Ah well.
Sean immediately introduced himself to Tibby, who got a sudden case of the shys. Now bear in mind that she’s 3, and hadn’t had a nap all day, and it was nearly 6pm by this time. So every time he tried to shake her hand or talk to her, she buried her face against me. Silly wee thing. I asked him (shaking his hand again) if he was going to do any signing later, and he said, “I dunno. He’s the boss.” Grinning, and indicating the guy who was acting as his PA (Personal Assistant).
He was whisked away to more interviews, but I asked his PA if Sean was going to be able to do any, and he said that he had a couple more interviews, and then would be coming back this way. (Turns out the “PA” was a good friend of his. Todd, I think his name was, who looks a bit like Paul Bettany, actually, and is apparently Ali’s godfather. So he’s obviously just a really good friend of Sean’s. But he was doing a good job of coordinating Sean’s activities, actually. Wonder if he wants a job? /g/ )
At one point someone asked him about how his mom was doing. He said that she was doing well, and that she was a trooper and he was really proud of her. He had also noted in one his speeches how proud he was of his family for actually being confident enough to let him get on an airplane in L.A. and fly to D.C. the day before September 11th. He basically thanked Christine on camera, and I hope she sees it.
So we hung out on the sidelines as it were, and waited for him to be free. And indeed, once the camera crews packed up, and the kids’ groups who’d been bussed in from all over got their group photos, it was pretty much him and the 7 of us! He signed everything we had, and was actually impressed by the Topps card of Sam, which he hadn’t seen before. Gonzai showed him some of the work in her portfolio and had him sign an original artwork (I got a picture of this, too. Using both hands this time.). Then I asked him if we could have some more photos. Kyra introduced herself and Blaze and Gonzai as members of the official Fan Club, and got a group shot with him. Then some of us got single shots with him, and I handed him another Wee Scarvie (although he protested that he had the first one in his pocket) and asked for a better picture. He held it up for a couple of shots, and I told him that John Rhys-Davies had put his under his nose, so he goofed around with it, slinging it over his shoulder like Sam’s pack, and I got a shot of that, too. I’ll put them up on my Wee Scarvies page: http://www.jennie.8k.com/catalog.html when I get them. (I apologize in advance for the pop up ads.)
Sean Astin is a really sweet wonderful guy. He makes you feel instantly like he’s known you for years. When he was trying to put Tibby at ease, he referred to himself as “Mommy’s friend”. Awwwwww! You know Mommy was chuffed.
He asked if Tibby was feeling better and more up to talking, and I said that it seemed so, but she still got all shy when he tried to shake her hand. He was hunkered down talking directly to her, and said “Well, I’m right in her face and she’s embarrassed.” But he said to her, “You know, this is my little girl.” and he opened up his wallet and showed her a picture of Ali! He said, “She gets shy when she talks to people she doesn’t know, too. And I’ve told her that if Daddy introduces her to the person, then it’s all right to talk to them. Isn’t that a good thing for me to have taught her?” And Tibby buried her face in my side again. Ah well. Sean said, “You know, you’re really very special! You’re the only one here who doesn’t want to talk to me!” ROTFL!!!!! I think he spent more time talking to my three year old than anyone else at the event.
But then, that’s Sean, isn’t it? He loves kids, as we all know. The event was about young people all over the nation and the world working to better their communities. Doing community service and helping other people. It was a sweet and touching event, and I’m terribly glad that we all were able to go, and to meet Sean Astin. He’s a wonderful person, and a real sweetheart.
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Sly marketing, a successful fantasy film and sheer remoteness have consipired to help New Zealand trump Australia in attracting international tourists. New Zealand defied worldwide trends and boasted a 3.8% increase in arrivals in the 12 months to June. About two million international visitors are expected here next year – half the country’s population. While New Zealand seems immune to the fallout from the war on terror and the gobal economic slowdown, arrivals to Australia over the same period have dropped 6% compared with the strong 2000-01 Olympic year.
In the 12 months to September, international viistor numbers to Austalia are expected to have declined by 8%.
Australia’s Tourism Task Force chief executive Christopher Brown said Australia had much to learn from New Zealand. He said New Zealand made a huge investment in pushing its successful 100% Pure brand.
“I think when the world is looking for something clean and fresh they have done very well out of that,” he said.
“They have also been buoyed by the Lord of the Rings phenomena (sic) and were selling New Zealand as Middle Earth (sic).”
Mr Brown said the absolute remoteness of New Zealand had worked to its advantage over the past 12 months.
“Their timing was beautiful because you can get to New Zealand and get away from the worries of the world.
“There has to be some consolation on being the most remote place of Earth,” he said.
The Lord of the Rings is believed to be one reason for a 21% jump in British arrivals here.
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