lord-of-the-rings posts

Developer interviews are the best way to get a look at both the process behind developing a game and just where the developer intends to go with it. This War in the North trailer does precisely that, and it's extremely interesting. The developers link the War in the North back into the original Lord of the Ring books, and discuss how they made it authentic and true to Tolkein's vision while still remaining unique and interesting. There is also some shots of new areas and new fights, including glimpses of Agandar's foreboding citadel.

Download Lord of the Rings: War In The North 'Behind the Scenes' Trailer
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We've seen trailers that re-use footage before, and this trailer for War in the North does just that. But while a few shots are recycled from the Black Numenorean trailer, there's also a few that are completely unique to this trailer. Some gameplay shots are intermingled with more cinematic pieces, and there is also some exclusive concept art reveals. However, there's not a whole lot of information present on what the game actually plays like. Only how it looks and moves. In essence, it's a repeat, albeit a slick and polished one.

Download Lord of the Rings: War in the North 'Council of the North' Trailer
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Lord of the Rings is known for its jargon, but this trailer thankfully has very little of it. While our eyes glaze over as "Black Numenorean" and "Agondar," this trailer for War in the North keeps such nonsense to a minimum and gets straight to what we care to see: the action. It doesn't show the game's mechanics from the player's perspective, but the in-game footage shows off some excellent-looking undead monsters and the players that fight them. In other words, it speaks in a language that everyone understands instead of Elvish. Violence.

Download Lord of the Rings: War in the North 'Black Numenorean' Trailer
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Remember when Electronic Arts had the rights to make games based on the Lord of the Rings franchise? We do. In fact it wasn't even that long ago that EA's Los Angeles RTS team made the first Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth game. The title was released for the PC in December 2004. In March 2006 a sequel was released and an expansion for the sequel, The Rise of the Witch King, was released in November 2006.

However EA no longer has the rights to publish Lord of the Rings games and just a few days ago on December 31 the online servers for all of the Battle for Middle Earth games were shut down. If you own the Xbox 360 version of Battle For Middle Earth II and Rise of the Witch-King you still have a few more days to play online; those servers will shut down on January 11.

EA also has a big list of other online server shut downs coming in the near future. On January 16, the Sims Carnival web site at thesimscarnival.com won't be available anymore. On Feburary 8 the online servers for the PC versions of FIFA 09 and FIFA Manager 10 will be shut down. EA states that these games and the many console game titles that it will also shut down represent just 1 percent of all online players on EA's online servers.

[Via VG247.com]

Turbine's decision to make its fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online has apparently been a success so far. Our sister site Joystiq reports that during a panel at GDC Online this week, Turbine producer Kate Paiz revealed that the game has doubled its revenues since going the free-to-play route in early September.

In addition Turbine has signed on one million new player accounts for the game since the free-to-play switch over. Paiz also said that over 20 percent of former players have returned to the game thanks to the new free business model. In fact there has been a 400 percent increase in total active players in the game and Paiz claims there's even been an unnamed increase in the game's now optional paid subscriber base.

Lord of the Rings Online has been chugging along quietly for years now, and its free-to-play update is finally upon us. At PAX, the developers gave con-goers a sample of the game as well as a fancy new trailer. While the trailer itself is fairly standard for MMOs (mixture of CGI and gameplay, typical sweeping statement), there's one major issue with it: the audio is mastered really poorly. Not a trailer to watch if you are sensitive to that kind of thing. Regardless, it's the same Lord of the Rings spiel, so you know what to expect.

Download HD Lord Of The Rings Online PAX 2010 Trailer
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This latest cinematic trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North demonstrates how brutal the fighting can be, even when there isn't a ring to protect. The game - which takes place in the northern reaches of Middle-earth - is currently expected to release in 2011 and will feature 3-player cooperative multiplayer using a variety of different character races using upgradeable weapons, skills and abilities.

Download HD War in the North 'The Hand of Sauron Stretches Far' Trailer (133 MB)
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Want a new Lord of the Rings game? Not satisfied with the now free-to-play Lord of the Rings Online? War in the North is your best bet. It's an RPG in the same vein as Mass Effect, only without all that Paragon and Renegade stuff. It's also co-op! You can't tell that by this trailer, though, which is purely cinematic. We are a little annoyed by the constant cuts to black in the middle of the cinematics.

Download HD Lord of the Rings: War in the North E3 2010 Trailer (312MB)
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Developer Turbine took what many thought was a big risk in 2009 by turning their fantasy MMO Dungeons and Dragons Online from a subscription-based game to a free-to-play title. That move turned out to be highly successful so Turbine is doing it again with their other major MMO game Lord of the Rings Online which will move to a free-to-play business model this fall. This will be a worldwide move for the game with Codemasters handling the game's European side.

The move to a free-to-play model will be much like how D&D Online changed with Turbine letting folks play the main game for free with additional content (expansions, quest packs, items, etc) available via an in-game store for additional money. Players will still be able to access everything in the game with a subscription fee. Players who want to see what the new Lord of the Rings Online will be like can enter the beta program which will begin on June 16. When the game makes the transition to the free-to-play model it will also add some new content, including new starting areas, a new region to explore and more.

One of the biggest independent developers of MMO games has just been bought by an media conglomerate that is continuing to expand as a game publisher. The Boston-based Turbine announced today that it has been acquired by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Specific financial terms were not disclosed but Warner Bros' parent company Time Warner had previously invested in Turbine alongside a number of other venture capital companies.

Turbine, formed in 1994, is best known for their newest MMO games, the free-to-play Dungeons and Dragons Online and the subscription-based Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine's acquisition by Warner Bros. means that the publisher now controls all of the game licenses in the Lord of the Rings franchise (it previously acquired the PC and console game rights from Electronic Arts).

In their press release today, Warner Bros stated that in addition to their games, they also wanted access to Turbine's digital publishing platform along with their social networking tools. Warner Bros. hints they may use Turbine's tech in areas other than games.