Eurogamer writes: "The Lord of the Rings Online turns two years old tomorrow. That may sound unremarkable, but Turbine's recreation of Tolkien's world prospers despite launch-attacks by Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and of course World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Turbine, then, must be doing something right.
Recently, that was first expansion Mines of Moria, which took home 9/10 on Eurogamer - the same score Lord of the Rings Online was awarded for a remarkably solid launch. And even more recently there was the Book 7 update that began the long task of revitalising Middle-Earth for newcomers and returning players alike.
To celebrate the second anniversary of The Lord of the Rings Online, we're not only giving away an enormous 2000 free copies of the game, but also chatting to executive producer Jeffrey Steefel, key designer Alan Maki and head Turbine spokesperson Adam Mersky, who will stop everything getting out of hand - perhaps we'll lock him in a cupboard. Part one of our chat follows, covering LOTRO's its inception and its first two years. Look out for part two, which looks ahead to LOTRO's future, tomorrow."