On Saturday 30th November & Sunday 1st December 2002 we launch a gigantic Lord of the Rings event in Copenhagen Denmark: The Scandinavian Lord of the Rings Fair.
Among the many attractions at the Fair, fans from all over Scandinavia can meet the special guest star Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop. Richard is head of Weta Workshop, the special effects company behind the Lord of the Rings films.
The event mix a traditional trade fair, with a host of booths packed with all sorts of Lord of the Rings merchandise and games, with a grand show for all Lord of the Rings fans.
Something for all fans… Here’s a rundown of some of the events at the Scandinavian Lord of the Rings Fair:
Trade Stands We’ll give the visitors a unique chance to feast their eyes on a wide range of Lord of the Rings merchandise and other products. Here’s a short list of some of the Lord of the Rings product you should expect to find at the Fair:
Games Workshop brings along their new tabletop strategy game The Two Towers. Electronic Arts new PS2 game Lord of the Rings – the Two Towers. SideshowWeta show up with an impressive selection of their finest Lord of the Rings Collectibles. Toys. Action men, swords, key rings, etc. Merchandise. Posters, t-shirts, post cards, book marks, caps, banners …you name it! Books. The whole range of Tolkien’s work, movie books, etc. Video/DVD. Special edition, collectors edition and the normal editions. …and much more. Costumes, masks, make up effects – indeed something for all and any tastes!
More information and links More information about what is most likely turning out to be Europe’s biggest Lord of the Rings event, please go to our Danish website: Ringenesherremesse (includes a brief English Version).
Some of you are aware that this website gives its excess profits to various organisations, including the World-Wide Fund for Nature. They chose to use our contribution to help them in the fight to save a rare dolphin species found only off the coast of New Zealand. Like many such initiatives, its success depends on making politicians and lawmakers aware of the danger facing these dolphins, and working towards achieving changes in the law that will protect them. While not as exciting or glamorous the kinds of protest and activism that grab media attention, it is this kind of hard work at a political level than can affect the fate of an endangered species. TheOneRing.net is proud to be able to help WWF for Nature achieve its goals. It is especially pleasing given that our own financial security was so uncertain at the beginning of this year. Many thanks to all of you who have helped support us; it gives us pleasure to pass on our support in turn.
Here’s the state of play on the dolphin issue:
Already delayed by nearly two months, the Minister of Fisheries is due to announce measures to protect the critically endangered North Island Hector’s dolphin from fishing on the west coast of the North Island.
Before making his decision, Pete Hodgson must consult the new Minister of Conservation, and WWF understands Chris Carter has a matter of days to make his response.
“WWF urges Mr Carter to recommend the strongest action possible for protecting the world’s rarest marine dolphin”, said Chris Howe, Conservation Director for WWF New Zealand.
“Chris Carter’s first recommendation as Minister is one of the most closely watched, as the 15,000 plus emails to the Ministry of Fisheries from WWF supporters shows. It is also one of the most important.”
WWF is calling on Chris Carter to insist that the decision includes at least:
A ban on all set netting in the dolphin’s range, including in harbours Observers on all trawlers within four nautical miles of the coast Clear actions to enforce a new ban on commercial set netting, and to raise awareness about the existing recreational ban
“It is vital that the dolphin is fully protected before the new fishing season starts on 1 October”, said Chris Howe.
At least three dolphins died last summer from drowning in set nets, including one in a commercial set net. The population, which numbers less than 100, can only withstand one human-induced death every seven years.
Notes:
1. The North Island Hector’s dolphin is the world’s rarest marine dolphin. The population numbers less than 100, and is found between Maunganui Bluff and Pariokariwa Point on the West Coast of the North Island. 2. A previous package of management measures, made in August 2001, was overturned by judicial review in March 2002, leaving the critically endangered dolphin at risk from drowning in set nets. 3. WWF’s full submission to the Minister of Fisheries can be found at WWWF.org, setting out all of WWF’s recommendations for his decision.
For further information contact: Megan Huber, Communications Manager, WWF New Zealand, Megan.huber@wwf.org.nz
MithrandirCQ writes: This month New York is having a Book festival entitled New York is Book Country. In honor of this event, Houghton Mifflin is sponsoring “The Lord of the Rings – behind the scenes with Alan Lee”.
Location: Chelsea West Theater – 333 West 23rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenue
Date: September 26, 2002
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Tickets will be going on sale soon and they will cost $15.00. Since Alan Lee is the speaker it will probably deal with artistry and landscape designing of Middle-Earth. You will probably be able to purchase tickets through Moviefone or the like.
I recently got to pay a visit to Electronic Arts to check out their Lord of the Rings games, and as part of that visit I got the chance to play The Two Towers for the Game Boy Advance and chat with the Producer, Josh Hendren. I got set up in a conference room and read old Gaming mags while waiting for Josh to show up. Josh finally arrived and handed me a GBA, the Lord of the Rings theme pouring from the speakers. We discussed the fine points of the game and the license, my hands almost shaking with anticipation all the while. Finally, after what seemed an eternity but was more like five minutes, it was time to play. I went to the character select screen and chose Aragorn. I was quite shocked at what happened next… There was a Full Motion Video collage of The Two Towers footage, actual TTT footage, not gummed down at all. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Helm’s Deep… It was like watching the trailer on a really really small TV.
After I propped my jaw back in to place, the game itself began. There’s a little Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), and here comes a little Miranda Otto (Eowyn), and here’s some sappy dialogue, I hope they don’t use that in the movie. Skip… skip… skip… Here we go. I’ve got to fight my way through the pass of Caradhras. Coolness. I start exploring, leaping in to combat whenever I stumble across an Orc raiding party. Combat is real-time, no turn-based menu scrolling to slow down the gameplay. Combat and the controls in general are very intuitive, and a snap to pick up. By the time Josh got to explaining the controls, I already had them figured out.
I continue on, when all of a sudden a tree starts shaking. Three Crebain leap out and take flight, I’ve got to kill them before they escape and alert Saruman. I take out two of them with my sword, but the third one gets away. Then a little red eye pops up in the corner, that’s the corruption meter. Things like letting enemies escape and putting on the ring will fill it up, too much and you’ll have the Nazgul nipping at your heels.
After I was done with Aragorn, I took Legolas out for a spin. Now I had a ranged attack in Legolas‘ bow. I could take out orcs before they got close enough for hand-to-hand combat. But the orcs have archers too, and sitting back and trading shots is a good way to drain your health. Thankfully Legolas also has his daggers, so you can dash in for some close range damage.
After Legolas, I decide to try Gandalf. Josh worked some de-bug magic and warped me to Moria to check out the cave troll. Now the other members of the Fellowship join in the battle. We get swarmed by orcs but we’re fending them off without trouble. All of a sudden the fearsome cave troll bursts through the wall! It’s kind of hard to translate the cave troll’s awesome size on the GBA’s tiny screen, besides that it’s an awesome rendition, very detailed for a GBA game. Anyway, I cast a couple of spells at him, including one that summons a giant eagle to dive-bomb him with it’s talons, and I dash in for quick slashes with Glamdring. After much hacking the mighty cave troll fell and that was the end of my hands on time with the game.
One of the coolest features of the game that I wasn’t able to try is the ability to trade items with a friend. Say you’re playing as Legolas and you pick up a cool sword, and you have a friends with a GBA and a copy of the game who’s playing as Aragorn and has a nice bow that might come in handy for you. Just connect the two GBA’s and trade away. You can even give items to a friend without having to get something in return, I don’t know how popular that feature will be though. 😉 I was also unable to try out the multi-player portion of the game, you can connect two GBA’s for some co-op action with a friend. I can’t wait to try out that feature.
With the movie quality FMV and the sheer size of the game; 35 missions per each of the five characters, multiple skills, hundreds of weapons and items plus unlockable secrets, this game is pushing the GBA to the limits in what it can do. Will the gameplay get lost in the shuffle? From what I played, the game is a blast, sort of a cross between Zelda and Gauntlet with LOTR locations and characters. I was loving every minute of it, which isn’t true of most pocket games for me. EA is intent on making this game as fun and action filled as the movie, and from what I’ve seen, they’re succeeding. But I barely scratched the surface. Hopefully we’ll get some more hands on time with the game soon, and of course we’ll have a full review when the game is completed. Stay tuned to the Havens for all your Lord of the Rings gaming news, and keep an eye out for our upcoming preview of The Two Towers for Playstation 2.
Decipher’s “TCG Challenge” Proves to be a Huge Success at Summer Conventions!
Press Release from Decipher: (Norfolk, VA, September 3, 2002)—During the summer convention season, Decipher introduced hundreds of people to its The Lord of the Rings™ Trading Card Game by challenging gamers and non-gamers alike to come to the Decipher booth and learn to play with one of Decipher’s product champions. Over 1,900 people took the “TCG Challenge” at Wizard World, Origins, Comic-Con International, Gen Con, and Gen Con UK—and with amazing results.
From hard-core gamers to suburban soccer moms, convention-goers eagerly approached the Decipher booth to take the challenge. With lines approaching a thirty-minute wait at times, demo-ees anticipated their turn to put the game to the test—knowing that if they liked the game, they would walk away with a free starter deck of The Lord of the Rings™ TCG and, if they didn’t, they would walk away with a booster pack from the competition (Magic: The Gathering, Dragon Ball-Z, Legend of the Five Rings). Overall, there was a resounding outcry for starter decks of The Lord of the Rings™ TCG. With 1,928 total demonstrations taking place over the course of the five conventions, 1,882 starter decks of The Lord of the Rings™ TCG were given out compared to only 46 booster packs of the competition.
At Wizard World in Chicago, 108 demonstrations took place, with 104 starter decks given out compared to three boosters of Magic and only one booster of Dragon Ball-Z.
Demonstrations at Origins totaled 424, with 413 starter decks chosen compared to eight boosters of Magic, two boosters of Dragon Ball-Z, and one booster of Legend of the Five Rings. Comic-Con International was the first time that lines started to form for demonstrations. Product champions were swarmed over the course of the four days as they did 493 demos, with 481 people choosing a starter deck, 10 choosing boosters of Magic, and two choosing boosters of Dragon Ball-Z. Gen Con in Milwaukee saw the demo tables surrounded by congregations of people as 692 demonstrations took place. Of those, 681 demo-ees selected a free starter deck while nine chose Magic and two chose Legend of the Five Rings. At Gen Con UK, 211 demonstrations were given by product champions, with 203 attendees choosing a starter deck and only eight choosing boosters of Magic.
Overall, the TCG Challenge was a great success in getting The Lord of the Rings™ TCG into the hands of people new to the world of trading card games as well as intriguing true gamers enough to try a new game. An added perk for fans of The Lord of the Rings™ was a Shire or Eye of Sauron stamp on their convention badges that identified them as having completed the TCG Challenge.
