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.
Warner Bros Interactive has just released its first gameplay trailer for Guardians of Middle-earth.
Digital Spy reports the trailer showcases the new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game’s multi-player combat and objectives, and features battles between the likes of Gandalf and Sauron.
Exclusively developed for consoles by Monolith Prductions, the game sees players attempt to conquer opposition fortresses, using the abilities and skills of their guardian characters. It features 20 “guardians”, including Gollum, Galadriel, Legolas and Gimli.
In April, the cover image of a new ‘Hobbit’ card game from game designer Martin Wallace was leaked — a very nice illustration indeed, and attributed to Ted Nasmith.
Now German publisher Kosmos has announced the publication of this game for October 2012.
“In Der Hobbit: Das Kartenspiel, two teams play against each other: good versus bad. The basic game mechanism is trick-taking, but whoever wins the trick can distribute the cards amongst all the players, depending on his character’s ability. Some cards hurt, some heal — and only one team can win the game.”
A not-that-careful look at stores shelves reveals that LOTR Lego items are available right now and have been since June 1. Members of our spy network have written in to inform us they are available online for later delivery but if you get yourself to a retailer with toy shelves you can grab and buy already. (We suggest finishing this article first!)
On day one at E3 the guys over at IGN Live sat down with Nick Ricks, Executive Producer at Traveller’s Tales Games for an in-depth analysis and some game play. All three Lord of the Ring movies are included in the Lego game and actual film dialogue is used as well. By far the coolest feature is being able to toss the dwarf.
If you’re more of a hands-on fan with your Legos, they are now selling their Lord of the Rings sets online at Lego.com, including the hard to find The Orc Forge. That set joins the previous releases: Gandalf Arrives, Shelob Attacks, Uruk-hai Army, Attack on Weathertop, The Mines of Moria” and The Battle of Helm’s Deep. But wait, could there possibly be more? SteveDJ was kind enough to scan the latest Lego catalog which has a poster (forum post) revealing what looks to be a teaser about possible Hobbit sets coming December 1st, 2012. Stay tuned for updates as we get them.
Please, out of courtesy to others, pick up all the Legos before bed. No one likes to step on those things in bare feet (even Hobbit ones).
With E3 just around the corner, we would expect to see a game trailer for the upcoming ‘Guardians of Middle-earth‘ game sooner rather than later…well, it is sooner! Courtesy of GameTrailers.com, the world premiere of the trailer showcases the ‘battle’ nature of the gameplay. The ‘good’ looks to be represented by Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas and Gimli. We might add, the portraits on these characters are very close to those from the films. The bad are represented by Sauron, The Witch-king, Gollum, an Uruk-hai…and another character this reporter can’t seem to place. I’m sure we’ll find out when the character section of the official website opens up. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and after the break check out some screen caps! (As an aside…remember that the way we interact with Tolkien’s world is as diverse as those of us who enjoy it. This might not be your cup of tea, but we can guarantee there are a lot of folks excited about this new title!) [GameTrailers.com] [Press Release] Continue reading “Official ‘Guardians of Middle-earth’ E3 Trailer with Screen Caps”
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Reveals Guardians of Middle-earth, an Authentic Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Game for Console Systems Debuting Exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network in Fall 2012
BURBANK, Calif.– May 30, 2012–
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announces Guardians of Middle-earth, a new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Monolith Productions, set to debut in fall 2012 exclusively for Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation(R)Network. The game will feature tie-ins to the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey motion picture, directed by Peter Jackson and a production of New Line Cinema and MGM.
Guardians of Middle-earth brings up to 10 players together in five versus five competitive multiplayer battle arenas in the epic setting of Middle-earth. The game offers more than 20 iconic guardians, including Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum, Thrain and many more, for players to control in player versus player (PVP) matches. Gamers will have the ability to connect with other players via an in-game voice communication system, as well as access to a comprehensive online stat and leader board system where they can track friends’ victories and defeats, and more. Continue reading “Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Reveals Guardians of Middle-earth, an Authentic Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Game for Console Systems”