The free PS3 games for PS Plus subscribers in January are BioShock 2, Guardians of Middle-earth and Mortal Kombat, says Sony. They're available from 2nd January.
Guardians of Middle-earth
Spotlight
Guardians of Middle-earth review
When two towers just aren't enough.
VideoGuardians of Middle-Earth: Gandalf or Gollum?
It's a legitimate question.
VideoGollum vs. Gandalf in Guardians of Middle-earth trailer
Legolas! Gimli! Galadriel! Sauron!
Key events
11th December 2012
9th October 2012
29th June 2012
1st June 2012
Bert the Troll: I appear to be a character in Guardians of Middle-earth
Trololololol-lolololol.
Well fancy that, I've become an extra playable character in console MOBA Guardians of Middle-earth. And since it's not-so-serious Christmas week I thought I'd tell you about it.
Guardians of Middle-earth review
When two towers just aren't enough.
There was no getting around it. As a multiplayer online battle arena - or MOBA, as League of Legends and its ilk like to be known - based on The Lord of the Rings, Guardians of Middle-earth was always going to have Gandalf fighting Galadriel. A buffed Gollum killing Legolas. Some pro hobbit from the mystical land of Detroit killing the Witch-king of Angmar, over and over again. That's chemical nerdicide potent enough to make me, just a casual fan of the films, feel a bit like a child being touched inappropriately by an elderly relative.
On the other hand, Guardians of Middle-earth certainly captures Tolkien's legendary pacing like none of the action games before it. Characters trudge heavily around the battleground, their pace pedestrian enough to make just the thought of hiking around to upgrade your team's towers fill you with Mordor's own dread.
But it's all for a good cause. Maybe you've never played a MOBA, so let's take it from the top. The translation of the MOBA to consoles was always going to be a little tricky. In the classic sense, with League of Legends and Dota, it works like this:
Guardians of Middle-Earth release dates clarified
UPDATE: Warner responds.
Update #2: Re-clarification alert! Warner seems to have changed its mind. The 4th December release date for Guardians of Middle-Earth is only for PSN, and the XBLA date is TBC, Warner told me today.
"Guardians of Middle-earth will release 4th December on PlayStation Network and on PlayStation 3 at retail on December 7th. The release on Xbox Live Arcade will be confirmed at a later date."
I asked whether Warner meant 5th December (Wednesday) for Europe instead of 4th December (Tuesday), due to the European PlayStation Store updating each week on a Wednesday. But Warner wouldn't budge from the 4th. (I'd pencil in 5th if I were you.)
MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth "isn't necessarily a game for [LOTR] purists"
"We are bending how the match-ups would play out in 'real life'."
Update: The 10th guardian whose name eluded us is Hildifons Took, Warner Bros. has informed Eurogamer. Hildifons is Bilbo Baggins' uncle, from what we can work out - and he went on an adventure, possibly at Gandalf's behest, and never came home.
Gollum out-damages Gandalf in MOBA game Guardians of Middle-Earth
But doesn't quite run Rings around him.
Dexterous little wimp Gollum has been beefed up to go toe-to-toe with some of The Lord of the Rings big boys in Guardians of Middle-Earth, an online battle arena game for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.
VideoGuardians of Middle-Earth: Gandalf or Gollum?
It's a legitimate question.
It's a legitimate question.
How Guardians of Middle-Earth brings MOBA controls to consoles
Words backed up by the first gameplay video.
Guardians of Middle-Earth is a Lord of the Rings game firmly placed within the PC-centric MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre. But it's going to be a downloadable game for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.
VideoGollum vs. Gandalf in Guardians of Middle-earth trailer
Legolas! Gimli! Galadriel! Sauron!
Warner reveals FEAR dev's Guardians of Middle-Earth game
A PVP arena game for PSN and XBLA.
Update: Guardians of Middle-Earth will cost £11.99 or 1200 Microsoft points.