Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and those who enjoy its healthy number of video game adaptations can expect another roleplaying game based on Peter Jackson's films. Electronic Arts announced during its fiscal year 2008 financial report conference call that LOTR is set for 2009, while BioWare's Dragon Age is coming sooner. Details at the full article!

For a J.R.R. Tolkien geekmeister, if there's anything better then getting a full set of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (+ "The Hobbit"), it's probably getting a full set of LOTR: The Battle for Middle-earth on PC. It's quite a big franchise that's been kept alive by Electronic Arts across the years. And surely, even some of the fans might have missed out on some installments in the series.

Well, just in case you want to eat, drink, and breathe LOTR for the next couple of weeks/months, EA just announced their shipping of the LOTR: The Battle for Middle-Earth Anthology. It's be on sale March 22. This compilation (worth for only US$ 39.99) puts together all of the installments in the series, namely:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II Collector's Edition
• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch King.

While the first two in the list could have been enough, it's glad to see the Collector's Edition and Rise of the Witch King tagging along for the ride. The Collector's Edition gives players access to limited special content, including "behind the scenes" features, various exclusive maps, and control over an exclusive fire-breathing Dragon unit on the battlefield.

We've been introduced to the different racial classes that inhabit the world of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. As with other MMORPGs, the most appealing classes to gamers are those that excel in combat. In LOTRO, the clear choice would be the Champion class. But sometimes, there's this man's desire to be in control, driving him to lead his troop to victory (or defeat) as a Captain. Being a Captain in Turbine's LOTRO means boosting the morale of his troop. Brute force takes a backseat in favor of morale-boosting pep talks and encouragement. It's one tough undertaking, but every group has to have one.

A Beta participant entered the world of LOTRO as a Captain. Admittedly, he struggled with the usefulness of his role in the fellowship. But all the hardships can be attributed to his character being in the lower level. That all changed when he decided to explore the town of Bree and found Aragorn, who has a quest ready for the eager Captain.    

The quest entails finding a man corrupted by the wraiths. Knowing how deadly wraiths are, the Captain invited people to join him. Boosting his fellowship's morale and ferocity, the Captain gave a call to attack which caused the enemies to engage the troop. For the first time, it dawned on him what a Captain was for.

Though he has gotten several more levels, he still finds soloing a fun experience, but he admits that nothing compares playing with a fellowship as a Captain.