New AAA Open World LOTR RPG in development

I would venture that the lore and expansive universe of Star Wars offer a lot more avenues for game progression than LotR. I can't comment on PnP LotR games but surely the social experience adds to anything left wanting in the actual setting.

Still, this won't be an open-ended game as LotR has been struggling to be; so, it could be entirely possible to reward players with fifty decent hours of smart character progression (ie, not fighting wolves at the end of the game) and varied locales.

Originally Posted by Drithius
I would venture that the lore and expansive universe of Star Wars offer a lot more avenues for game progression than LotR. I can't comment on PnP LotR games but surely the social experience adds to anything left wanting in the actual setting.

If there was anything wanting about them I'd blame that more on the mechanics than the setting. Even by today's standards, Middle Earth is a relatively well developed setting. Of course, if this is specifically a LOTR setting, this does imply a specific epoch in the Middle Earth timeline. IMO MERP modules were at their best when they weren't specifically set during the War of the Ring.

I hope is really a SP game

It won't be better than their best game, No One Lives Forever 2, but I love the idea. Hope it turns out well.

Originally Posted by booboo
Waiting for more information to emerge … the good news it's not an MMO (?). I would love a solo or party-based tactical RPG which is strongly story driven, and ties into Middle Earth lore. All they need to do is look at old MERPS modules/setting and read the books Tolkien wrote. I guess that since they said "LOTR" they mean more stomping about in territory that has already been done to death? No, I do not want to play as Gandalf or Aragorn. Unless it made sense (which it doesn't really - they are too well established) - I want some new hero I can build up, perhaps in one of the earlier epochs when the Witch King was at large or move tey story focus to some of the lands that were only hinted at. The Middle Earth setting is so vast and rich and all we get are games based on the movies.

Signed!

If it anything like War in the North then I'll be getting it for sure. I do expect more RPG elements this time tho.

I assume that it'll use the same plot we've seen a hundred times before. Don't get me wrong, it's a good plot, but I just can't stand seeing yet another game with the exact same characters and the exact same story. There is literally thousands of years of potentially good lore in Middle-Earth, yet no-one ever gets the rights to write any of it.

I don't want Star Wars like fan fiction all over the place (let's face it, most Star Wars novels are crap and closer to fan fiction than anything serious), but it would be excellent if certain high quality writers were allowed to expand the LotR lore a bit. Only then would I be interested in more games, movies, books, series and what not.

not sure I'll like it. Sounds to me like a single-character action game like Skyrim or The Witcher, which I know many here love, but I'm not one of them. Now, if it's party based and turn based (or at least RTwP) then I'll be excited.

Originally Posted by wolfing
not sure I'll like it. Sounds to me like a single-character action game like Skyrim or The Witcher, which I know many here love, but I'm not one of them. Now, if it's party based and turn based (or at least RTwP) then I'll be excited.

I'll take either of those if the lore / story / gameplay is done well and that they focus on single player.

I'm also tired of the War of the Ring. I hope it's set in a different time period. There are so many themes / regions / eras to explore in Middle Earth. Tolkien built this great framework and history and no one is utilising it. Everyone is just doing WotR to death.

I agree. I'd like to see an open world RPG for the first age in Beleriand or the conquests of the Numenorians during the second age.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
I agree. I'd like to see an open world RPG for the first age in Beleriand or the conquests of the Numenorians during the second age.

I'd kill for a game set in the first age that manages to capture some of the mood of the tales in the Silmarillon.

I'll take a new LOTR game in any time period. The lore is just so dang good!

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
I'd kill for a game set in the first age that manages to capture some of the mood of the tales in the Silmarillon.

as long as it's not as boring I tried reading the Silmarillion twice and both times had to abandon it before page 100. Don't remember why (last attempt was like 15 years ago) but I think there were just too many names for my brain to process.

Originally Posted by wolfing
as long as it's not as boring I tried reading the Silmarillion twice and both times had to abandon it before page 100. Don't remember why (last attempt was like 15 years ago) but I think there were just too many names for my brain to process.

Personally, I think The Silmarillion is one of the greatest works of fantasy literature ever written. That said, it's not an easy read, and I can see how some people might be turned off by the multitude of long-winded names and locations.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Personally, I think The Silmarillion is one of the greatest works of fantasy literature ever written. That said, it's not an easy read, and I can see how some people might be turned off by the multitude of long-winded names and locations.

This. It's the bible of Tolkien's universe. It increased my appreciation of both the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tenfold, as it let me glimpse into its incredibly rich mythology…
It for sure is my favorite of Tolkien's works.

Even though the book as a whole couldn't realistically be turned into a game, there are a huge number of separate stories in the Silmarillion, many of which would make a good game. Beren and Luthien and the Fall of Gondolin are a couple which spring to mind.

Originally Posted by coaster
Even though the book as a whole couldn't realistically be turned into a game, there are a huge number of separate stories in the Silmarillion, many of which would make a good game. Beren and Luthien and the Fall of Gondolin are a couple which spring to mind.

The War of Wrath would be interesting I think.

Yeah, I think the Silmarillion doesn't offer actual stories that may be presented in a video game, but rather some cool settings.
There's a mythology, there are races, creatures, locations, landmarks etc. And there are a lot of gaps that could be filled with stories presented in video games, blending into these settings.

It was a bit hard for me to get into LOTRO after 600 hour of Skyriming, but now… I'm in LOTRO for 5 or 6 months already and I don't have time for any other game. LOTRO is OK game for solo player, group content is nice, but game can be fully played solo, that's something that game developers are very careful with.
LOTRO was not not free for many years. It is now F2P because it is (graphically) outdated (compared to Skyrim for instance), I think. Yet, the gameplay is so rich and number of quests, deeds, possibilities, features and options for me to do is so huge, that I'm probably still be playing it till ESO (or EQN) comes to the market. Now, do I get time for M&M X in between I wonder ?

Here's new info about the game:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com…dor-announced/

As per usual it's set during the war of the ring. Or in this case, between the Hobbit and the War of the Ring. Too much to ask for a different era when it's aimed towards the mass market I guess.

Also, I'm not sure it's a RPG.

You play a fixed player character:

It puts players in control of Talion, a "valiant ranger" whose family is killed in front of him the night Sauron and his army return to Mordor. After he is killed, Talion is resurrected by a spirit of vengeance and, given Wraith abilities, heads into Mordor to enact revenge against those who killed him and his family.

C&C seems to be a feature:

"Players will explore the dark and very personal theme of vengeance in a world where decisions have a consequence, and those consequences persist even after death," said Warner Bros' senior vice president for production and development Samantha Ryan.

Everything about it sounds meh.