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Middle Earth Online news

Renamed, new website.

In news that is almost as old as Bilbo Baggins and tucked away at the bottom of a very dull press release, Turbine has changed the name of forthcoming PC MMORPG Lord of the Rings: Middle Earth Online, which is good, because we were never sure if it needed a middle-hyphen or not.

Yes, struggle to stay awake through no less than SIX paragraphs of a press release that's headlined "Turbine unveils new vision to the creation of the Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar", and you too will finally learn that Shadows of Angmar isn't a "new vision" at all - it's a game that's been in development for nearly three years.

Still, at least there's a new website, complete with screenshots, concept art and development updates - you can find it here.

LotR: Shadows of Angmar offers you the chance to explore an online version of Middle Earth, either on your own or as part of a Fellowship. Lots of epic battles, mental weapons and long beards are promised, and there'll probably be loads of wizards and all that.

The game is being developed by Turbine, whose previous credits include Asheron's Call, and will be published by Vivendi next year.

We phoned Turbine to ask who would win in a fight between Peter Jackson and George Lucas, but they weren't in.