Thorin Oakenshield and the Great Goblin released in Guardians of Middle-earth

Two new Guardians — Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the Great Goblin — have been added to the roster of Guardians in Guardians of Middle-earth. The DLC is live on PSN and XBLA, and they will be unlocked if you have the season pass.

Thorin Oakenshield's class is Warrior and is a tie-in to the box office record-setting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Some background information on him is as follows:

After being driven to exile with the rest of the surviving Dwarves of Erebor, Thorin, son of Thráin, leads the Company of Dwarves who are determined to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. He became the King in Exile of Durin’s Folk after Thráin died, but Thorin proved himself battle-worthy when he first led a Dwarven army into Azanulibizar, beneath the East-gate of Moria. He would later take up a tree branch in battle to defend himself, earning the moniker “Oakenshield.”

Thrain is already in the game, and has been since launch. It'll be cool to see the two Guardians on the same team. His gameplay abilities include:

• Wrath: Increase movement and attack speeds
• Revenge: Melee attack causing ability and true damage, can deal a critical hit
• Oakenshield: Creates a shield and reduces enemy attack speed
• Heart of the Mountain: Increases critical hit chance

The other Guardian included in this DLC is Great Goblin, and his class is Defender. The Great Goblin rules over Goblin-town, located deep in the Misty Mountains under High Pass. He is an exceptionally powerful leader whose rule came to an end when he was killed by Gandalf with the Elven sword Glamdring. He's tenacious in battle, quick in wit, and powerful by nature. His gameplay abilities are:

• Dizzying Smash: Area attack that deals damage and lowers resistances
• Ramming Oppression: Target area attack with damage
• Ancestral Will: Restore health and become immune to damage for a brief time
• Goblin Insult: Leap attack with knock-up, damage and taunt

I look forward to getting my hands on these two guardians, but I'm still learning the ins-and-outs of Bilbo Baggins. It's awesome that Monolith has been releasing new Guardians this quickly. So far, four of the eight promised DLC Guardians have been released.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com