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The Fellowship will be assembled again next month on consoles. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced that Lego: Lord of the Rings is available today for 3DS, DS, and PlayStation Vita in North America, with a launch for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PC slated for November 13. The game will debut in Europe ten days later on November 23.

Lego: Lord of the Rings is based on Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy and will follow the storylines of each film, using dialogue from the movies. Unlike the Lego Harry Potter franchise, which was split over two games, the entire Lord of the Rings saga will be told in one entry.

The game follows Frodo Baggins and the unlikely fellowship that sets out from Rivendell on a dangerous journey to destroy The One Ring and bring peace to Middle-earth. Throughout Lego: Lord of the Rings, players will enter the Mines of Moria, climb the Misty Mountains, and battle orcs, uruk-hai, and the nasty balrog.

In keeping with the staples of the Lego franchise, Lego: Lord of the Rings will be peppered with lighthearted interpretations of the source material, with gamers tasked with solving puzzles along the way. Character players featured in the game include Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.

In other Middle-earth news, Lord of the Rings Online is coming to Mac five years after the game launched in 2007. Speaking to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Turbine vice president of product development Craig Alexander announced that a Mac client for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game will be available sometime this week.

[Update]: Infinity Ward has updated its official Twitter feed with the following statement regarding the news story, below. “Interesting news today, but it’s not true,” said Infinity Ward reps. “We’ve not talked with any voice actors, so all news is speculation.”

The next chapter in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops II, isn’t out until November 13th, but already another game in the series is being readied. Modern Warfare 4 is in the works, at least if voice actor Bill Murray is to be believed.

The actor, who has played Captain Price in the previous two games in the series, told This is Xbox that he is set to reprise his role soon. He said, “Yeah, on Monday I am off to meet Infinity Ward about the next game, Modern Warfare 4, I’m doing work on the sequel to Modern Warfare 3, it carries straight on and I only ever appear in the Modern Warfare games…”

News of another entry in the Modern Warfare franchise should come as no surprise. Traditionally, development duties on the Call Of Duty series are split between Infinity Ward and Treyarch, with each studio producing a game every two years.

Infinity Ward’s last game was the critically acclaimed Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Since then the studio has remained largely silent following the loss of head Jason West and Vince Zampella, as well as outspoken creative strategist Robert Bowling,

Black Ops II is due for release worldwide on November 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. PlayStation Vita game Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is due out also on that date, with a Wii U version following as a launch title for Nintendo’s new console on November 18.

Today’s announcement that Disney has purchased Star Wars studio Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion will reportedly not affect the upcoming video game title Star Wars: 1313, which is currently in development at LucasArts.

According to a statement from LucasArts (as first reported by IGN), it’s “business as usual” for all internal projects at the studio.

The acquisition deal–which will see Disney release a new Star Wars film every two to three years after bringing out Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015–was discussed by Disney chief executive Robert Iger during a conference call earlier this week.

In the call, Iger spoke about Disney’s plans to utilise the Star Wars license for games, revealing the that company will focus on social and mobile games internally, and rely on licensing deals to allow third-party developers to create Star Wars titles for consoles.

Star Wars: 1313 was first announced in May this year. The internally developed third-person action adventure game will see players take on the role of a bounty hunter navigating a subterranean metropolis, Level 1313, beneath the surface of the planet Coruscant.

At the time of its announcement, LucasArts had revealed that the game was being developed with the help of artists across the Lucasfilm organisation, including LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd, and Skywalker Sound. The game will be based on the Unreal engine and feature full-body performance capture.

According to LucasArts, the game will emphasise fast-paced combat, and the game’s hero will use human skills and gadgets, rather than supernatural Force powers. In addition, the game will feature a combination of cover-based combat, platforming, and “playable cinematic gameplay.”

Everybody has a chance to assume a double identity this week, with the release of Assassin’s Creed III and 007 Legends. Will you be donning an assassin’s cloak and revisiting the American Revolution, or do your preferences demand the subtle suaveness of an MI6 agent?

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III hits Australian shores this week for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, whilst its spinoff title Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation will see release for the PlayStation Vita.

Set during the American Revolution, Assassin’s Creed III features a new protagonist named Connor who will involve himself in the ongoing struggle between the Templars and the Assassins. The game was built by Ubisoft Montreal and six collaborating studios on a new engine called Ubisoft-AnvilNext.

Assassin’s Creed III will enjoy Ubisoft’s biggest marketing campaign in company history, the firm’s vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key, said in March. Additionally, the executive called Assassin’s Creed III the largest launch in the publisher’s history and noted that, by the time it arrives, the game will have been in development for three years.

Are you a fan of the Bond universe? 007 Legends is also out this week for Xbox 360 and PS3. The game includes missions from the newest Bond film, the yet to be released Skyfall, as well as five other Bond flicks: Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moonraker, License to Kill, and Die Another Day.

On top of its story campaign, 007 Legends features the single-player MI6 Ops Missions mode, which made its debut in last year’s well received GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. Additionally, the new game sports a local four-player split-screen mode, as well as a traditional online competitive play.

Other titles out this week include Transformers Prime: The Game, Angry Birds Trilogy, and Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park. Check out the full list of new releases below.

October 31, 2012
Assassin’s Creed III (360, PS3)
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (Vita)
007 Legends (360, PS3)
Angry Birds Trilogy (360, PS3)
Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park (3DS, DS)
Pool Nation (360)
The Trash Pack (3DS, DS)
Transformers Prime: The Game (3DS, DS, Wii)

November 2, 2012
Football Manager 2012 (PC)

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, a Bethesda representative told GameSpot the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Premium Edition is a special version of the game that will be released only in Europe. It will be available in the United Kingdom, Benelux, and Germany.

The original story follows below.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may be returning to retail this holiday season. A listing on Amazon’s German website (via Official Xbox Magazine) indicates Bethesda is preparing a Skyrim: Premium Edition for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC for launch in December.

According to the available product information, the Skyrim Premium Edition will include a range of collector’s items, including a map of the game world, a t-shirt, a copy of the Hell City spinoff novel, and various concept art.

No mention was made of downloadable content being included with the Skyrim Premium Edition. Previously released add-ons for the role-playing game include the Dawnguard and Hearthfire expansions, both of which have seen release for Xbox 360 and PC, but not PlayStation 3.

The Skyrim Premium Edition is listed at “59.99, or about $77.

Bethesda has not made any announcements regarding a new version of Skyrim, and the publisher was not immediately available for comment at press time.

Former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski has offered to help Capcom “fix” the Resident Evil franchise.

“Hey, Capcom. Call me,” he said over Twitter. “We can fix Resident Evil. Together.”

Bleszinski did not go into any further detail regarding why he believes the Resident Evil franchise would need fixing. However, it is likely he is referring to the franchise’s latest effort, Resident Evil 6, which shipped this month behind very mixed reviews.

Bleszinski left Epic Games after 20 years with the company earlier this month. At the time, he said it was “time for a much needed break” before embarking on the “next stage” of his career.

It is not clear where Bleszinski is headed, though his Twitter feed of late has led to much speculation. Since leaving Epic Games, Bleszinski has visited the offices of Activision, Zynga, Double Fine, and Electronic Arts. He has also met with God of War and Twisted Metal designer David Jaffe.

Iron Man meets Call of Duty in a new live-action advertisement for Treyarch’s Black Ops II. Activision released a new sixty-second spot for the game today titled “Surprise” (below), which was directed by Guy Ritchie and features Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man, U.S. Marshals).

The advertisement will debut on network television tonight during Monday Night Football in the United States and across the world during “high-profile” European football matches. It also features French actor Omar Sy, as well as the Internet-famous FPSRussia and iJustine.

Ritchie has directed a number of films, including 2000’s Snatch and 2009’s Sherlock Holmes. Additionally, Ritchie is not the only Hollywood figure Activision has sought the help of for its newest Call of Duty game. The Black Ops II title track was composed by Academy Award-winning musician Trent Reznor.

Further, Ritchie is not the first Hollywood director to helm a trailer for one of this fall’s big-name games. Fight Club and The Social Network director David Fincher led production on Halo 4’s launch trailer.

Black Ops II is due out across the world November 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. PlayStation Vita game Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is due out also on that date, with a Wii U version following as a launch title for Nintendo’s new console on November 18.