Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

LOTRO Book 8 for EU on Thursday

US today. Many dungeons inside.

Codemasters will introduce Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dum to Lord of the Rings Online this Thursday, adding a new raid, new small-party instances, gameplay tweaks and a Summer Festival. The update launches in North America today.

The story follows some sorcerer bloke who wants to do evil things in the depths of Khazad-dum, which is also known as Moria - the big Dwarf place that Gandalf fights a Balrog in. Small parties will try to put a stop to this in a host of new instances, and there's a Dark Brotherhood quest arc that culminates in a 12-man raid.

The Summer Festival provides light relief to all this, tickling hairy toes with costumes, quests and Inn-based challenges.

Plus, as a thank you, Codemasters is offering a 20 per cent stablemaster discount to all active subscribers from 30th June.

There's no meaty list of gameplay tweaks just yet, but keep a Sauron's Eye on the European Lord of the Rings Online website for the Book 8 patch notes.

Pop over to Eurogamer TV for a Book 8 trailer.