Many fans of the LOTR might know that Talkien has been inspired by the European landscapes to create the beautiful Middle Earth. You are asked by devs, during this contest, is to go and look around for a place in your country (only in Europe) that remember Middle Earth environment.
Once you have found the place that you like most, take a photo and send it via mail to Codemasters with these details.
So I’ve been going through a real Lord Of The Ring Online kick lately. After finishing watching the Extended version Trilogy again, I then went through all 6 DVD’s of the Making of and now I’m going through the Cast Commentary of each film. I suppose watching all of this and immersing myself in the Film project has given me an immense appreciation for the incredible effort that went into this film, I would say more so than any other films in human history. I say this because I feel that this could be directly responsible for how I feel about LOTRO.
After finishing the films again I was left with an incredible desire to explore this world in much more detail and on my terms. A testement to the amazingness of our times that now that option is available to me. My problem however is that I wanted to explore a world as rich as the one created in the films(visually) or as captivating as the world created in the books. Perhaps this was an unfair expectation in Turbine but upon entering Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings Online I was immensly dissapointed, and my guess is that many other players also are.
You can start off as any of the main characters in the story: Dwarf, Elf, Human or Hobbit however there is no major major differences between them. By this I mean they share 90% of the same classes throughout, so each race serves mainly an aesthetic purpose which can be good in a way as it allows you to play your favorite class and explore the hobbit world or the elves but there is no real compelling reason to choose one over the other or any reason to feel special about being an elf as there is a human of the same class out there that is identical to you without the pointy ears.
Turbine will effective taking over full control on LOTRO EU starting from June 1st , detaching from Codemasters. Until then, Codemasters will continue their work on the existing servers.
Kate Paiz, executive producer of Lord of the Rings Online comments: “We are working very closely with our partner Codemasters Online to facilitate a smooth transition to our new global service.
Interactive Entertainment is bringing quality games based on The Lord of the Rings to multiple platforms, and the franchise’s expansive adventure story lends itself perfectly for LOTRO free-to-play, giving a wide range of players the opportunity to experience the game,” said Jeff Junge, Senior Vice President Online Games and Digital Games Platforms, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are focused on expanding our game franchises onto new digital platforms to maximize quality experiences for gamers worldwide and LOTRO’s new model is a great leading example of this.”
Eberron UnlimitedTM was the world’s first truly premium free-to-play online game that ushered in a new era of choice for online gamers seeking quality entertainment,” said Jim Crowley, President and CEO of Turbine. “The popularity of DDO validated the extraordinary demand by gamers for quality entertainment they can experience at their own pace and within their budget. Extending free-to-play to LOTRO will offer another premium game to a broad spectrum of fans.”
“Having successfully taken two titles free-to-play in the past we are very pleased to be doing the same with The Lord of the Rings Online in Europe,” said David Solari, Vice President and General Manager of Codemasters Online. “It’s a fantastic, award-winning game with a wonderfully realized world and this step will only broaden its appeal and increase its player base.”
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