THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE: RISE OF ISENGARD TO LAUNCH ON SEPT 27

Pre-purchasers will have immediate access to new bonus items.

PRESS RELEASE

NEEDHAM, MA – June 7, 2011– Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Turbine announced today The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard, the next expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) will launch on September 27, 2011. Players across North America and Europe can pre-purchase Rise of Isengard to receive special benefits starting today at http://www.lotro.com/isengard.

“Our journey through Middle-earth is now taking us to one of its most iconic locations,” said Aaron Campbell, Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine. “The new regions are going to be truly epic in scale, story, and challenge. In addition to the wealth of features and content coming in September, players who pre-purchase the expansion will be able to use their bonus items immediately as they prepare for the launch of Rise of Isengard.”

THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE: RISE OF ISENGARD FEATURES:

Ø Explore Three New Regions! — The time has come for you to turn eastward, toward the vale of Isengard. Where ancient forests once flourished, a corrupted waste of metal and wheels suffers under the thrall of the traitorous wizard Saruman. Here, in the shadows of the tower of Orthanc, gathers an army of Orcs and Uruk-hai, toiling to make ready for war. Forge ahead into these devastated lands and uncover new quests, skills, and traits as you strive to thwart Saruman’s ambition.
– Dunland – Adventure amidst the bright forests in the foothills of the southern Misty Mountains. Beware the Dunland Clans, rugged warriors tempted by the dark promise of power.
– Gap of Rohan – Battle over the legendary pass between Eriador and the plane of Rohan. This key strategic point must be defended against the ambitions of Sauron.
– Isengard – Explore Orthanc, one of the iconic Two Towers as it rises over the once beautiful Isengard valley. The once beautiful vale now desecrated beyond imagination by the Wizard Saruman the betrayer.

Ø Advance to Level 75!
– Face new challenges and continue to forge your own legend in Middle-earth with all-new epic quests, skills, and deeds as you fight new enemies on your journey to level 75!

Ø Master the Legendary New 24-Player Raid!
– Face the ancient evil of Draigoch, one of the most powerful creatures in Middle-earth! Prepare for the ultimate challenge where nothing less than the strength of an entire force of 24 heroes stands the chance of victory.

Starting today, players can take can take advantage of three special pre-purchase offers to celebrate the release of the third major expansion to LOTRO:

Ø Rise of Isengard Base Edition – Includes the full Rise of Isengard expansion plus:
– Steed of the Gap, a new in-game mount with matching red cosmetic cloak for every character on your account
– In-game title – Guard of the Isen
– 25% XP boost for all characters on an account up to level 65

Ø Rise of Isengard Heroic Edition – Includes the full Rise of Isengard expansion plus:
– 1,000 Turbine Points for use in the LOTRO Store
– Steed of the Gap, a new in-game mount with choice of matching cosmetic cloak and armor in your choice of red, white or green for every character on your account
– In-game title – Guard of the Isen
– 25% XP boost for all characters on an account up to level 65

Ø Rise of Isengard Legendary Edition — – Includes the full Rise of Isengard expansion plus:
– 1,000 Turbine Points for use in the LOTRO Store
– All three Steeds of the Gap, new in-game mounts with matching cosmetic cloak and armor in all three colors for every character on your account
– In-game title – Guard of the Isen
– 25% XP boost for all characters on an account up to level 65
– Access to the Path of the Fellowship Quest Packs including Trollshaws, Eregion, Moria, Lothlorien and Mirkwood

Players will have access to all of the bonus items including the new mount, cosmetic cloak and armor, in-game title and XP boost immediately after purchase. The Rise of Isengard expansion itself will be available to play on September 27, 2011. These special offers will only be available for a limited time.

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Lord of the Rings: Conquest trailer looks tedious

Wow, people still make and play Lord of the Rings games? I mean seriously, it’s been a while since the King returned it’s not like we’re magically going to be seeing prequels of it some 20 years in the future (OK, maybe the Hobbit). But what the hell, when EA has a franchise, they’re gonna make sure it’s milked clean.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest is being developed by Pandemic Studios, the same guys behind Star Wars: Battlefront (they were acquired by EA not very long ago, you will remember). As you can probably guess, Conquest is the Lord of the Rings version of Battlefront (which in turn was a Star Wars version of the Battlefield series). Hmm.

In the epic struggle between good and evil, you get to pick your side. The game will get you up close and personal with Lord of the Rings’ mass scale battles. In the good campaign, you will be able to play as one of the many heroes of Middle-Earth: Gandalf battling Saruman, the battle of Isengard through the eyes of an Ent and such. The dark campaign, however, will take you to an alternate route, where Sauron managed to kill Frodo and secure the One Ring. Now he must battle across Helm’s Deep, the Shire, Weathertop and so on, ultimately in Rivendell.

Personally, the trailer doesn’t look too exciting. It reminds me of the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King game, which I had absolutely no interest in. The graphics don’t seem to be in with the times, and the art style wears me out a but. They remind me of the Age of Conan game that came out recently. Not interested.

But if you are, then this game is coming out later this year for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and the Nintendo DS.