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LotRO dares you to photograph the White Hand of Saruman
Rise of Isengard launches next week for Lord of the Rings Online, and Turbine is trumpeting the expansion the best way it knows how: by encouraging players to dip their hands in white paint and slap everything in the world around them. OK, maybe not that extreme, but close enough! With the studio's White Hand of Saruman contest, LotRO players are tasked with photographing people, objects or environments plastered with the iconic sigil of Isengard's key bad guy. Turbine's not encouraging players to flirt with the wrong side of the law, as it adds the disclaimer "Permanently defacing property or committing illegal acts is not permitted" to the contest rules. Players can download the white hand template from the contest website, set up an interesting picture, and then submit it for a chance at one of several prizes. These prizes include a custom-built Alienware PC, lifetime memberships to LotRO, and in-game Turbine Points. The contest will end on November 15th, after which the winners will be declared.
The Road to Mordor: Rise of Isengard is coming!
Tweet [Update: Made a clarification that there is no indication of "open-world" PvMP in the expansion.] Times are tough in Middle-earth, even after the inexplicable appearance of several hundred thousand new adventurers this fall. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken, Sauron is rising in power, and the White Hand of Saruman is marching across the lands. Even the bravest and hardiest soldier of the Free Peoples cannot be blamed for feeling disheartened, especially in the face of the monumental struggle to come. Welcome to the beginning of The Two Towers in Lord of the Rings Online. Welcome to Isengard. The rumors are true: Next year we will be venturing into LotRO's third expansion, titled Rise of Isengard, to confront evil in its own backyard. While this may not be the Rohan or Gondor expansion that we've anticipated, Turbine is fairly confident that it will be well-received by players and will represent an ambitious step forward on (wait for it) the road to Mordor. Turbine's Adam Mersky and Aaron Campbell were on hand to outline for us the company's near- and far-future plans with Massively, starting with the imminent November update and cruising all the way through 2011. Hit the jump as we look at interactive theater, busy bees, Monster Play improvements and, of course, Isengard.
