Kotaku: Expansion Plans

LotRO Expansion Explores Mines Of Moria

Mike Fahey — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:40:34 MDT

With so much free content coming on a regular basis for Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online, the announcement of the first retail expansion, Mines of Moria, took me completely off guard. Announced today at the Connect 08 event and slated for a fall release, the expansion signals the beginning of Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online, and brings with it some pretty significant new features. First and foremost the expansion includes two new classes, the Rune-keeper and the Warden, both of which they can take up to level 60 with the accompanying increase in level cap. The expansion will also introduce item advancement, which allows you to craft magnificent, customizable weapons that level along with you, complete with weapon titles, virtue advancement, and runic legacies. To celebrate the announcement, players can register at http://www.unlocktheminesofmoria.com, where starting March 31st they can play mini-games that will unlock previews, assets, and in-game items.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: Mines of moria™ unveiled at connect 08

Volume II of the 2007 PC Game of the Year Expected to Arrive at Retail This Fall

BIRMINGHAM, UK - March 14, 2008 - Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online today unveiled Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online™, the first retail expansion for the award-winning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG). Announced in Birmingham, the childhood home of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Online™: Mines of Moria™ will expand the online world of Middle-earth to let players explore the ancient underground cities of the dwarves, battle epic characters in the depths, face off with the Watcher, be a part of the fateful release of Durin's Bane and more! The Lord of the Rings Online expects to open Volume II of its epic story in the fall of 2008 with an increased level cap, two new classes and the introduction of a unique item advancement system.

"The Mines of Moria is one of the most epic settings in all of fantasy fiction," said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "No one delivers more quality content than Turbine and with our journey into Moria, we will raise the bar even higher. We are adding vast amounts of content, debuting massive new environments and unveiling numerous unique feature sets, like item advancement, which will create entirely new dimensions of compelling game play and social interaction which are unique to The Lord of the Rings Online experience."

NEW FEATURES:

Ø Speak Friend, and Enter - Moria, called Khazad-dûm by the dwarves, was their capital and the grandest of cities. This enormous underground cavern in north-western Middle-earth, comprises an immense network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls that run beneath and ultimately through the Misty Mountains. For the first time, players of The Lord of the Rings Online will enter this ancient city which has served as the foundation for the modern-day dungeon-crawling adventures to battle the hordes of goblins and the Nameless of the Deep and journey through hundreds of new quests within six new kinds of stunning environments.

Ø The Epic Continues! — The Mines of Moria represents the beginning of Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online. Players can experience six new books as part of this update and participate in the release of Durin's Bane, battle the Watcher, aid Galadriel and more!

Ø Increased Level Cap — Players will be able advance their characters up to level 60, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. The crafting system will also expand, giving players the ability to craft even more powerful items.

Ø Discover Two New Classes — The Rune-keeper and the Warden, the first new classes to be introduced since the launch of the game, allow players to build exciting and powerful new characters in The Lord of the Rings Online in diverse new ways.

Ø Forge Legendary Items - The Mines of Moria will introduce Turbine's new item advancement system to The Lord of the Rings Online. Players will be able to forge weapons and class-related equipment and evolve them to build a legacy the likes of Bilbo's Sting and Gandalf's Glamdring. These legendary weapons will level-up along with the player, allowing customization by advancing the item's virtues, adding runic legacies, modifying its titles and forming fables.

To celebrate this exciting news, Turbine and Codemasters also announced today that they will kick off a major promotion that invites everyone to unlock the Mines of Moria by visiting http://www.unlocktheminesofmoria.com. Visitors can learn more about Mines of Moria and play special mini-games that will be periodically released over the coming months. Certain players who participate can complete special deeds through game play and other means to unlock exclusive previews, assets and special in-game items that may help them when they delve into Mines of Moria this fall. The Unlock the Mines of Moria promotion is scheduled to begin at the end of this month.

Two Expansions For Two Worlds

Mike Fahey — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:40:30 MST

Well you certainly can't call the folks at SouthPeak Games quitters. Despite low opinions from gamers and critics alike, they stand behind their persistent online RPG Two Worlds for all they're worth, announcing two new downloadable expansions for the Xbox 360 version of the game that look to greatly enhance the multiplayer experience. Highlights include an entirely new PVP mode that centers around land control, additional maps, co-op missions, and an arsenal of new weapons to play with. The new content will be spread out between two expansions, one in March and the next coming a month later in April, both costing 600 points.

Two Worlds To Get Bigger And Better Online Downloadable Content Packs To Add All-New Multiplayer Mode And Expand Online World Of Antaloor
Tuesday 26th February/... SouthPeak Games has announced two downloadable content expansions for its open-world role-playing hit, Two Worlds. Both packs will be made available through Xbox LIVE® for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, expanding and improving the game's online multiplayer experience.

The two expansions will add a host of new content to the vibrant and populous multiplayer universe of Two Worlds, featuring first and foremost an entirely new player-versus-player mode based around controlling key areas of a multiplayer map. Along with this new strategic play mode, additional maps, co-operative missions and a suite of new weapons are also included, adding a considerable amount of play time to the already content-packed world of Antaloor.

"Two Worlds has been a huge success for SouthPeak and much of its appeal can be credited to having a huge game-world to explore," said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. "Reality Pump has worked tirelessly to improve the multiplayer experience and this new downloadable content is geared towards expanding upon it, offering lots of new missions and areas to explore with friends."

The first expansion pack for Two Worlds will be available for download in March, with the second becoming available in April. Both will cost 600 MS points.

AM3 Brings Downloadable Media To The DS

Mike Fahey — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:00:46 MST

You may remember AM3 from their Advanced Movie peripheral for the Game Boy Advance, which allowed you to play movie clips on a tiny, fuzzy screen. Well AM3 is back, and now they've got two tiny screens to work with! Today the company announced DSVision, a download srvice that promises to bring not only movies and TV shows, but books, magizines, anime and comics to Nintendo's surviving handheld, all via PC download. The service will work via a special microSD adapter cartridge, not unlike the ROM carts the bad people use to do bad things that are better off not being mentioned. Users will download media to their PC and then transfer it to the microSD card via a USB reader for viewing on the DS. The service, fully licensed by Nintendo, is due to launch in Japan in March of 2008, with a trial kicking off in January where testers will be able to purchase the equipment for 3,980 yen (roughly $36).

AM3 is aiming to capture 10% of the estimated 20 million strong Japanese DS user base, offering 300 titles at DSVision's launch with plans to expand to over 10,000 by the year 2010.

Chances of the service coming to the states? Very slim indeed, though who knows? If it is as hugely successful as AM3 is hoping, we could all be watching television on fuzzy little screens within the next couple of years.

DS Gets Vision [IGN]
image courtesy of Famitsu