MMORPG.com’s Carolyn Koh brings us this first look at the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Siege of Mirkwood.

If there is one thing that players of The Lord of the Rings Online are not surprised by, it is what is coming down the line. That is the pro as well as the con of designing a game based on as famous a piece of literature as Tolkien’s epic work. However, now that the story has progressed beyond the Mines of Moria, the anticipation turns to answering the question, "Which area comes next?" Turbine Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel and I chuckled over that as he took me on a run through the upcoming expansion – Siege of Mirkwood. "Black squirrels?" I asked. Indeed. All that is dark and evil lurk in Mirkwood, so tainted that even the squirrels are black.

Read the First Look Preview