A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day!...Instead today we'll mosey on back to the end of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring into Moria, Khazad-dûm, the ancient stronghold of Durin the Deathless. Yes, the geek-fest that is Lord of the Rings Online will soon breath life anew.

Yesterday game developer Turbine, Inc. announced that the first expansion to Shadows of Angmar, LOTRO: The Mines of Moria will be distributed in retail in North America by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. The game will come in three flavors:

• The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Complete Edition which will include the original The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar game (Volume I), all content updates released since launch, and The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
  (Volume II). The Complete Edition will be available at retail stores
  nationwide and offers new players who wish to journey through the most
  complete and authentic recreation of Middle-earth the full,
  award-winning experience.
• The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Collector's Edition
  which will feature the content of the Complete Edition as well as compelling
  digital and physical items for collectors. Limited quantities of the
  Collector's Edition will be available at retail outlets in a unique
  leather-bound book packaging and will include:
• 3 exclusive tokens that can be exchanged for the player's choice of 8 different in-game items
• 22" x 22" premium quality cloth map of the Mines of Moria
• Special gold-plated ring complete with chain and pouch
• Mines of Moria poster
• The Lord of the Rings Online Art and Music Collection with the official Mines of Moria Soundtrack
• A full color Collector's Edition Starter Guide
• The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Digital Expansion as a
  digital upgrade that will allow existing subscribers to The Lord of the
  Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar to continue the ultimate interactive
  adventure into the vast, terrifying and unparalleled world beneath
  Middle-earth.

One of the biggest gripes LOTR fans have with any portrayals outside the books is that so much of what Tolkien created was left on the cutting room floor in the movies. The expansions to LOTRO, and many are planned, will fill these gaps including visits to Rohan, the Dead Marshes and perhaps Isengard and Fangorn in the next expansions dealing with The Two Towers and doubtless later visits to Minas Tirith, Osgiliath and the black gate in the portion reflecting The Return of the King. The geek-fest begins Fall 2008.

Check out the trailer released with this latest announcement below:

--Hobson's Choice

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