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Monolith and Warner Bros. recently released a bunch of new information on Guardians of Middle-earth, an upcoming multiplayer online battle-arena game for XBLA. The game is set to release in December, which will also see the release of the highly anticipated film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, marking Peter Jackson’s return to the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien.

First, two new characters were revealed, one from the forces of good and the other from Mordor. The first of these new characters is Eowyn, shieldbearer of Rohan. Her skill set should position her well to be a supportive hero capable of standing in the front lines during engagements, helping make the Defender class an active participant in combat. She focuses on healing and shielding others, with her ability to stun nearby enemies if they approach keeping her safe while she provides support for champions more focused on dishing out damage.

Dishing out the damage is the specialty of the other hero just revealed, Mozgog the orc. A Warrior designed to go toe-to-toe with others in melee range, Mozgog’s abilities increase his damage and mobility, sometimes at the expense of his health. Mozgog’s ultimate ability included a fear effect, nicely referencing the emotional effect the orcs had in the films. The above video highlights both of these new heroes in a bit more detail — for those readers new to the genre, Monolith has released a series of introductory clips discussed after the jump.

Monolith has also put together a “MOBA Mastery” series of videos explaining MOBA mechanics for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. The first of these videos, covering the basic concept behind a MOBA game, is below. It’s very brief and perhaps a little too simple, but keep in mind that the MOBA genre does not yet have a standout title on consoles, so this might be new information for a number of people.

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The game is looking to be a nice addition to the MOBA genre on consoles, filling a niche not occupied by any other major game on the console front. Let us know what you think of the game thus far in the comments below, and look for continued coverage of Guardians of Middle-earth as December approaches.