LOTRO Volume II, Book 8 released
Turbine has released Volume II, Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dum, the latest major content update for subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria (LOTRO). Book 8, which is now available to North American subscribers (available in Europe on 6/25), delivers the next installment to the epic story for Volume II of LOTRO, a new 12-player raid, several new instances for small fellowships, major gameplay enhancements, and the Summer Festival.
Full details on this new update can be found at www.lotro.com.
The Rundown: Jan. 22, 2009
Another day in New York. It’s hard to work with all this talk about Priceline and the flurry of nerf darts that pierce an otherwise quiet Thursday afternoon. Today in the news NOBY NOBY BOY gets a date and a price on the PlayStation Network, Mines of Moria gets an award, the IGF Student Showcase winners are named, details on Global Game Jam, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad goes gold and much, much more. Please join us for yet another pulse pounding edition of The Rundown - right after the break.
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Category Action, Adventure, DS, Film, Genres, Industry, MMO, Mobile, Online Play, Other, PC, PSP, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, RPG, Sports, Strategy, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Tags: 2009 Independent Games Festival,Beta,Blade3D,DanceDanceRevolution S Lite,Dawn of Heroes,Demo,Direct2Drive,Ether Saga Online,F.E.A.R. 2,Gunbound Revolution,IGF,iPhone,iTouch,Killzone 2,Konami,Majesco,Mega Man Star Force 3,Mines of Moria,NOBY NOBY BOY,Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad,Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers,Puzzle Quest Galactrix,Raptr,Silent Hill: The Escape,Steam,Student Showcase,The Lord of the Rings Online,The Rundown,Tomy,Turbine,Zeno Clash
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Turbine Cuts Staff
Midway is not alone today in reducing its staff to deal with the realities of the economy. The company has cut staff at its Massachusetts and California studios, though it declined to reveal just how many were laid off. According to a GI.biz report these jobs were in quality assurance and account management. The company cited the completion of its Mines of Moria expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online as one of the key reasons for the layoffs.
“We just finished a major project with the launch of Mines of Moria and are now adjusting our resources to focus on several other projects that are in development,” a company spokesmen told GI.biz.
Turbine’s California office was launched in October of this year, and was staffed by a number of personnel displaced by the failure of Bill Roper’s Flagship Studios. Some of these poor people just can’t seem to catch a break.
While Turbine was tight lipped about the layoff numbers, it did say that it is actually hiring, and expects to grow in 2009. The company also added that it would not outsource QA or tech support duties and that it had “no plans” to lay off any more staff in the immediate future.
Mines of Moria Movies
Turbine has released 3 brand new trailers that give you a glimpse at two new classes and one of the new areas that will make their debut with the release on the Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Mines of Moria. The new classes are The Rune-keeper and The Warden, while the third video gives a brief fly through of the new are: The Foundations of Stone. You can check out all three movies below by following the links below, or by checking out the brand new Crispy Gamer Community.
The Warden
The Rune-keeper
The Foundations of Stone
Mines of Moria Beta Sign-Ups
Turbine’s latest The Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Mines of Moria has entered the final stages of its beta program today. Players in North America and Europe are can sign up now for a chance to explore the newest and darkest of worlds beneath Middle-earth.
Turbine says that The Mines of Moria Beta Program is by invitation only and over time, more and more players will be invited. Beginning today, players can register for a chance to participate in the Beta Program by visiting www.unlocktheminesofmoria.com.
WBIE To Distribute Mines of Moria
Turbine is preparing for the roll out of the first major expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online later this year, by announcing a retail distribution partner (Midway is out of the mix this time around) and several packages for retail and digital distribution.
The company has inked a deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to distribute The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria at retail in North America. Turbine also revealed that two versions of the game will be rolled out to retail later this year: The stand-alone expansion and a special Collector’s edition of the game. For those not interested in getting a boxed copy of the expansion, Turbine is also offering a digital distribution.
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LOTR Book 14 Goes Live
LOTR Online players will be interested to hear that Turbine has released the sixth content update to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The next update, Book 14: Ring-forge of Eregion finishes the story arc from Volume I using several new storytelling mechanics combined with live in-world events that allow players to work together to be part of the rise and fall of Amarthiel at the Ring-forges of Eregion.
This will in turn unlock the prelude quests that leads players to the Mines of Moria, the first expansion pack scheduled to be released this fall. Book 14: Ring-forge of Eregion is now available to subscribers in North America and Europe.
