Destructoid's Brad Nicholson writes: "Tuesday, Turbine's Mines of Moria expansion hit retail outlets. In addition to giving players access to the granddaddy of all dungeons, it also provides several key upgrades. On the visual side there's a new dynamic lighting system, as well as "dual-height" mapping, which has been described to me as flipping mountains to create more dynamic ceilings in structures. There's also a new way to view unique items. It's called Legendary Items, and it will allow players to imbue, customize and even name their own weapons. Plus, any MMO update wouldn't be complete without adding two additional character classes and a larger level cap.
To celebrate the release, I recently got the opportunity to talk to executive producer of the game, Jeffrey Steefel. We talked about what he felt some of the more enticing features of the expansion were, how long it took to complete it, and even what Tolkien would think about Turbine's work.
I also tried to get to the bottom of the mystery MMO Turbine is working on for consoles, but as you'll see, Turbine is quite tight-lipped about such things. Hit the break for the full interview."
New raids, class updates, festivals and more are on the calendar.
Now this makes me feel old! I remember playing the beta while I worked at Gamestop. I honestly didn't even know this game was still online! A quick search showed that it's even F2P now, so I may check it out for nostalgia's sake.
I only subbed at launch for 1-2 months bc I was already caught up in WoW at the time. I love the LotR universe though and would like to see how it's being handled these days.
Before the Shadow is the latest expansion to the still-thriving MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online, introducing new regions and mechanics.
From MMORPG: "Some Lord of the Rings Online players may have been aware of an unofficial rogue server project that was set to release this month called Echoes of Angmar. Aiming to create a true vanilla version of LOTRO, trait lines and map-less Old Forest and all, the server ran the real risk of drawing legal ire down on its head because of the unlicensed use of a very much still-operating and still-in-development MMO.
PLAY LOTRO FOR FREEAnd in fact, the Echoes of Angmar’s team received a cease-and-desist letter from Middle-earth Enterprises today demanding the cessation of all work and operation: “It is thus with a heavy heart that we must ask that you immediately cease all of your unauthorized use of Echoes of Angmar, and all other Tolkien-related IP on all platforms.”
