From Living Room to Live – How Gaming Got This Social

It’s time to suit up in your Mithril vest and return back to middle Earth with some of your favorite characters. As The Hobbit trilogy has opened with its first of three movies, Lord of The Rings fans, avid readers, gamers, and Peter Jackson lovers are counting the days until the second movie is released. Jackson’s 500 million endeavor has received both good and bad criticism, but still performed well at the box office. The next two movies might bring in more crowds like the LOTR trilogy, but until then, there are plenty of fantastical ways to get your middle Earth fix. Click ahead for a list of suggestions!

Hobbit Background

For those unfamiliar with The Hobbit, J.R. R. Tolkien wrote it as a Children’s book in 1937. It features the journey Bilbo Baggins takes, by selection of Gandalf, with a trove of Dwarves as they journey to reclaim their mountain home, which is guarded by an evil dragon. Although it’s a children’s book, no summary can do it justice.

Hobbit and LOTR Books

Gandalf & Gaming Galore

The online gaming site Kabam recently launched the game “The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth” for mobile applications. This is the same studio that has met with great success launching games like “The Godfather,” so bringing the big screen into the hands of gamers with little screens has proven a successful endeavor.

“Kabam has crafted a mobile game that will thrill strategy gamers and “The Hobbit” film fans alike,” said Andrew Sheppard, president of Kabam Game Studios. “We’re excited to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to deliver a free-to-play game for iOS and Android that fans can experience wherever they go.”

The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth for mobile apps

Fantasy Gaming Goes Further

For the gamer who can’t get enough of fantasy/strategy games, the digital world is your oyster. In addition to The Hobbit games, there are 40 LOTR based games that stretch across every angle of middle earth, and are available for just about every type of gaming platform, from “Riders of Rohan” to 1987’s “The Shadows of Mordor.” The fantasy genre isn’t waning in popularity anytime soon.

For those whose love of fantasy knows no boundaries, there are prize sites like iWin.com where you can download games online and win icoins which you can exchange into raffle tickets for many great prizes. Prizes include money, cars, electronics, appliances, and more.

The game “Haunted Hotel: Charles Dexter,” the player’s quest is to track down your missing twin using only the necklace he left (a journey with a sacred relic, sound familiar?). “Royal Detective: Lord of the Statues” also provides the fantasy game lover with familiar medieval fodder. In this romp, the player must save the besieged village of Martlet and rescue its residents from living statues, a hidden object game that’s also reminiscent of Bilbo’s quest to conquer the dragon.

Whatever your taste in movies and games may be, the upcoming releases of the new Hobbit films have, and will continue to spawn action-packed digital adventures.

The Shadows of Mordor