In a new trailer from Snowblind Studios players are given a look at some of the immense eagles of middle-earth, capable of hurtling giant trolls, devouring orcs, and giving heroes swift transportation over the mountains.

Alongside the Great Eagles, the developers also reveal the most powerful of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king, the darkest and most feared of Sauron’s minions. During the Siege of Gondor in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien describes this fallen lord of Númenor as:

“In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.”

He is featured in the video below.

On a side note, fans of the films should be excited as series director Peter Jackson has announced the titles and dates of the upcoming Hobbit movies. The first film, titled ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’, will be released on December 14, 2012. The second film, titled ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’, is scheduled for release the following year, on December 13, 2013.