Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/the-road-to-mordor-frozen-in-time/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/the-road-to-mordor-frozen-in-time/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/the-road-to-mordor-frozen-in-time/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

My goat snorted as it cleared the final rise, and I pulled its reins to bring it to a halt. Raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I gazed at the decrepit ruins before me.

A chill ran up my spine as I imagined the horrors that awaited me within the crumbling structure. For many days I had traveled the countryside looking for just this place, yet now that I'd found it, I was unsure whether I wanted to be here at all. My guides had long since fled in terror, abandoning gear and food in their haste to flee what they called "evil territory."

I curled my fist and summoned all of the powers of determination that remained within me. It had to be done. I had come too far and shed too much blood to turn my back on the ruins' ancient secrets right as I was on the verge of discovery. Sure, it was the beginning of every scary play ever, but I knew completely that my destiny would be made or broken in the next few minutes.

I kicked my mount into action, and we solemnly entered the deep shadows of the ruins' domain. It was do or die time.

"FREEZE TAG!" I shouted. "GAME ON!"

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Frozen in time originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>balrogbree-landburglarcaptaincheatercheaterselfelvesf2pfeaturedfree-to-playfreeze-tagfrostbitefrozengamehunterin-game-eventInternational-Association-of-Virtual-Freeze-Taglord-of-the-rings-onlinelotropvpruinsstar-warstagthawedFri, 27 May 2011 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The hero's guide to the Lone-Lands of Lord of the Rings]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/24/the-heros-guide-to-the-lone-lands-of-lord-of-the-rings/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/24/the-heros-guide-to-the-lone-lands-of-lord-of-the-rings/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/24/the-heros-guide-to-the-lone-lands-of-lord-of-the-rings/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Codemasters has released another entry in their "hero's guide" series of articles for The Lord of the Rings Online, this one centering on the Lone-Lands, home of Weathertop and many other dangerous locales.

The Lone-Lands are marked by the ruins of ancient kingdoms, each once part of the human kingdom of Arnor before shattering apart and going their own ways. Those ways ended up leading to war, with the kingdom of Rhudaur siding with the minions of the witch king in order to conquer the other two kingdoms. It was in these battles that the watch post of Weathertop fell, as it sat right on the borders between each of the three kingdoms.

For all the tasty goodies and lore-related treats about the Lone-Lands, check out the full guide located over at LotRO Europe.

MassivelyThe hero's guide to the Lone-Lands of Lord of the Rings originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arnorcodemastersheros-guidelone-landslotrolotro-europerhudaurruinsthe-lord-of-the-rings-onlineturbinewarweathertopTue, 24 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Hillmen of LotRO's Ost Crithlanc want to kill you: read about it]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/the-hillmen-of-lotros-ost-crithlanc-want-to-kill-you-read-abou/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/the-hillmen-of-lotros-ost-crithlanc-want-to-kill-you-read-abou/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/the-hillmen-of-lotros-ost-crithlanc-want-to-kill-you-read-abou/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Angmar is the source of most of the evil of the Shadows of Angmar volume of The Lord of the Rings Online. It's home to the Witch-king of (you guessed it) Angmar, the right-hand man of the Dark Lord Sauron. So it probably won't be surpassed in pure evilness (at least not lore-wise) until Mordor is added to the game in, oh, 10 years or so.

Turbine's LotRO Lorebook has been updated with an entry for Ost Crithlanc, some ruins at the border of Angmar (all bad) and the North Downs (only mostly bad). The ruins have been seized by an army of Witch-king-serving Hillmen who are preparing to sweep through Eriador and slaughter everyone -- even those cute little hobbits. God, they're evil.

The Lorebook has a little more detail on this Turbine-created, Tolkien-inspired location, along with a few pretty neat images. Enjoy!

MassivelyThe Hillmen of LotRO's Ost Crithlanc want to kill you: read about it originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angmarhillmenlord-of-the-rings-onlinelorelorebooklotroost-crithlancruinssauronscreenshotsshadows-of-angmarturbinewitch-kingSun, 28 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Second Life places: Visit Mexico Ruta Maya]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/second-life-places-visit-mexico-ruta-maya/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/second-life-places-visit-mexico-ruta-maya/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/second-life-places-visit-mexico-ruta-maya/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Visit Mexico Ruta Maya sims are sponsored by the Mexican Tourism Board. And they've done a great job -- so many sponsored sites are like someone has tried to create a real-world expo and transport it to Second Life. Visit Mexico Ruta Maya is not like that at all. It presents a solid Second Life experience, that happens to make you want to go to Mexico and find out what it's like with scent, touch and taste.

Gallery: Second Life Places - Visit Mexico


Continue reading Second Life places: Visit Mexico Ruta Maya

MassivelySecond Life places: Visit Mexico Ruta Maya originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 May 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cancuncenotechichen-itzaculturefeaturedjuego-de-pelotamayanmexicopyramidruinssecond-lifesecond-life-placesvisit-mexicoyucatanzigguratSun, 25 May 2008 07:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LotRO landmarks: Ost Guruth]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/lotro-landmarks-ost-guruth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/lotro-landmarks-ost-guruth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/lotro-landmarks-ost-guruth/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The environments that Turbine have created for Lord of the Rings Online are obviously crafted with love, always including intricate little details for the fans, so we don't blame them for wanting to show them off. The official LotRO website is running a series called "Exploring Middle Earth" where different landmarks in the game are showcased and described for aspiring travelers. If you've been occupied with the flood of brand spanking new content, this is a nice way of revisiting the roots of the game. The most recent episode features the fortress-ruins of Ost Guruth.

Ost Guruth is situated in the Lone-lands, and is a questing hub for levels 20-30, featuring portions of the game's Epic storyline -- but it's more than that too. Exploring Middle Earth hopes to give players an understanding of the lore and history of their favorite zones, and to that end, we learn that the ruins you see now at Ost Guruth belie a mighty past. They were in fact a castle that ended up being a casualty of war... but we won't spoil the details here. You can enjoy the full article via the related story link.

Oh, and since we're just now catching up on Exploring Middle Earth (and the earlier entries were from prior to Massively's launch), check out others in the series such as Barad Gúlaran and The Eavespires.

MassivelyLotRO landmarks: Ost Guruth originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barad-gularanepic-questepic-storylineexploreexploring-middle-earthlotroost-guruthruinsshadows-of-angmarthe-eavespirestravelturbineWed, 07 Nov 2007 21:20:00 EST