Project Gray Becomes Lord of the Rings: The White Council

After months of rumors, intriguing screenshots, and press releases shrouded in mystery, Electronic Arts (EA) finally revealed what Project Gray really is. During a presentation at the Studio Showcase event in San Francisco, EA surprised the audience by confirming that Project Gray is the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings franchise. In addition, the next-gen action RPG real name was revealed: Lord of the Rings: The White Council. This was revealed a couple of days after EA confirmed that another LOTR game is in development.

With the official announcement comes new information about the game, starting off with the storyline.

The game takes us back 80 years before the events of the LOTR series when Aragorn is just 10 years old and Bilbo has yet to find his precious ring. Players will be able to build up a character to become worthy of joining the White Council. Those familiar with Tolkien‘s work would know that the White Council is a group of elders, which includes Gandalf, Galadriel, and a yet-to-turn-evil Saruman. Before becoming an agent of the Council, a player will have to complete tasks and fight off the evil that threatens Middle-Earth.

The game will also feature newly-invented characters and environments, though we suspect that the developers wouldn’t stray far from the LOTR landscape. Executive producer Steve Gray, who also played lead developer The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, confirmed that the game will use design elements from The Two Towers and Return of the King. Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee will be voicing the game-counterparts to their movie characters. Gray showed off a trailer that features breathtaking landscapes and scenery that looked like they were taken straight out of the movies.

The White Council is slated for an autumn 2007 release, but there has been no confirmation on which platform it’ll arrive on. Previous EA press releases have stated that the game is in development for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

To reflect the change, EA has updated the Project Gray website. There’s nothing much to see, but Tolkien fans can sign up for the newsletter.

After months of rumors, intriguing screenshots, and press releases shrouded in mystery, Electronic Arts (EA) finally revealed what Project Gray really is. During a presentation at the Studio Showcase event in San Francisco, EA surprised the audience by confirming that Project Gray is the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings franchise. In addition, the next-gen action RPG real name was revealed: Lord of the Rings: The White Council. This was revealed a couple of days after EA confirmed that another LOTR game is in development.

With the official announcement comes new information about the game, starting off with the storyline.

The game takes us back 80 years before the events of the LOTR series when Aragorn is just 10 years old and Bilbo has yet to find his precious ring. Players will be able to build up a character to become worthy of joining the White Council. Those familiar with Tolkien‘s work would know that the White Council is a group of elders, which includes Gandalf, Galadriel, and a yet-to-turn-evil Saruman. Before becoming an agent of the Council, a player will have to complete tasks and fight off the evil that threatens Middle-Earth.

The game will also feature newly-invented characters and environments, though we suspect that the developers wouldn’t stray far from the LOTR landscape. Executive producer Steve Gray, who also played lead developer The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, confirmed that the game will use design elements from The Two Towers and Return of the King. Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee will be voicing the game-counterparts to their movie characters. Gray showed off a trailer that features breathtaking landscapes and scenery that looked like they were taken straight out of the movies.

The White Council is slated for an autumn 2007 release, but there has been no confirmation on which platform it’ll arrive on. Previous EA press releases have stated that the game is in development for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

To reflect the change, EA has updated the Project Gray website. There’s nothing much to see, but Tolkien fans can sign up for the newsletter.