Turbine has had a fairly busy year regarding Lord of the Rings Online, including their change to a free-to-play model from a subscription based model, their acquisition by Warner Bros. Studios, and, most recently their merger of NA and European servers. The developers aren’t stopping for breaks yet though. They’re busy rolling out a brand new expansion to sweeten the experience in Middle Eart

**Author Note**
The following game review was done on a Dell Inspiron-1720, wide-screen, system with the following basic system information:

Dual Intel 1.60 gHz
4GB RAM
Windows Vista 32-Bit
GeForce 8600M GT at 256 Dedicated
DirectX 10.

Screenshots are actual gameplay captures.  Screen shots are property of the author.  Contents within are property of Turbine.Inc.
This review was done over 30 days of gameplay with a Level 25 Hunter and a Level 29 Captain.

The review reflects only the authors experience and may not reflect the opinions of others.

 

 

 

 

The Lord of the Rings Online:
Shadows of Angmar & The Mines of Moria

J. R. R. Tolkien and his realm of Middle-Earth has been the staple of our concept for the Fantasy Genre for decades now.  From varient books, to todays online gaming, The Lord of the Rings has its firm grip in what we imagine as a make belief word of adventure, magic, mystery, danger, and living the life of a hero.  It was only recently that Tolkien's world became an online reality though, well after the success of such games as World of Warcraft, Lineage, Ultima, and Guild Wars.

Much like the amount of time it took

by Cody "Micajah" Bye

Since this year's Leipzig Games Convention, the internet has been allabuzz about a Balrog. No, it isn't that familiar flaming demon we sawin the Lord of the Ringsmovies. On the contrary, this particular Balrog-scandal was born from apiece of information that Ten Ton Hammer was first to bring you. At theLeipzig GC, TenTon Hammer learned that a Balrog would be included in The Lord of the Rings Online'supcoming Book 11 update.

Turbine has alreadysent you deep into Middle Earth. Now they're preparing to send you deepenough to meet a Balrog

With that piece of information in hand, the official LOTRO forumiteshave been all over the news like Winnie the Pooh going after honey - oras our infamous Boomjack would say, "Rose O'Donnel chowing down onhohos." Even though the amount of controversy over the introduction ofthe Balrog has been quite extraordinary, little news has been escapingthe Turbine offices. A few posts were made on the official forums, butwith over 200 replies to the initial thread, searching for thosedeveloper posts has become more of a chore than anything else. Luckilyfor you, the Ten Ton Hammer editorial staff has been on the case andthis week you'll find

Turbine CEO Jeff Anderson is happy with the launch and success of Lord of the Rings Online, which is - in terms of subscribers - the second biggest mainstream MMO ever released. Now, as the company moves forward, they need to solidify that position, keep their players happy and ultimately, look at new ways to grow the game and the company. At AGDC, we learned about some of Anderson's plans for Lord of the Rings Online and Turbine.

The upcoming Book 11 is Turbine's top priority. This free expansion is the first of a wave of vastly new content - Book 10, to Anderson, finished the work that the launch began - and concentrates on player housing.

In Lord of the Rings Online, housing will be placed in instanced neighborhoods called "streets". The streets, within themes, will be roughly the same in each area of the world, but with different names. To access their house, the player talks to an NPC in the correct part of the world and "asks for directions" to, for example, Cherry Street. The NPC then gives those directions when he teleports the player to that street, on which their house resides.

This concept avoids urban sprawl, but maintains a level of congruity within the world and ensures

I had the good fortune to make it to the Lord of the Rings Online House of Commons hosted by Stratics last night. Gamers had a chance to question Allan “Orion” Maki a senior designer, Keth the Lead Content Designer,  Matt “Scenario” Elliott - Lead Worldbuilder, Saffron who works in the Online Community Relations on the forums, Constant - Staff Designer, Meghan “Patience” Rodberg - Community Manager at Turbine and Cardell “Annuvin” Kerr.

The developers talked a lot about the housing coming up in the next expansion update. Housing will be grouped into neighborhoods with thirty houses. Out of those thirty - 16 are “Tier 1″ that nearly everyone should be able to afford and maintain, 10 are more elaborate and costly “Tier 2″ homes and 4 are the spacious Kinship Homes. All homes will be customizable inside and out, with some storage available.

They also revealed some details on upcoming changes to PvP play. This will probably involve fighting in the War of the Rings as a player character or monster although playing as one of Saurons minions sometime in the future is a possibility. Troll and Ranger play is being tinkered with as well.
Additionally there will be more high level co

Today Turbine announced a free 7-day trial program for Lord of the Rings Online, their critcally acclaimed MMORPG based on the Tolkien-created Middle-earth. WESTWOOD, MA -- August 29, 2007 -- Turbine, Inc. has launch

The wild lands of Eriador arehome to men of questionable character, who dwell within the many caves anddarkened glens throughout the forests and hills. Lawless rogues all, they roamin search of treasure among the r

In the northernmost regions of the Shire's Eastfarthing, the small village of Scary can be found tucked into the southern edge of shadowed hills that run east to the River Brandywine. None can be sure of the origins of the region's name, but the labyrinth of twisting caves beneath the Hills of Scary, known to most as the Brockenbores, as well as the mysterious way the shadows seem to cling to those hills in the evening hours, might give the traveler in this region cause to reconsider their choice of path.

 

(Click for larger image)

 

 

 

To the east of Scary can be found a small but important quarry, used by Hobbits from throughout the northern and eastern regions of the Shire for a variety of building projects. It is said that the quarriers at times happen upon rare and wonderful artifacts in their digging, although where these treasures originated remains a mystery to all who hear the tale.

 

 

 

When designing Scary's environs, the art staff at Turbine was given the rare chance to add a bit of mystery to the usually-peaceful Shire. Apart from the name itself, which calls to mind an area of darkness and the unknown, the source material is quite vague on the village and its surrounding hil

Today, Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online Gaming announced the details of the first annual Summer Solstice Festival in The Lord of the Rings Online(TM): Shadows of Angmar(TM), the hit MMO that has taken North Ame

WESTWOOD, MA - June 5, 2007 - Today, Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online Gaming announced the details of the first free update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, the #1 selling PC title