[Aptorian]

God damn this looks great.



They've got a cave troll freaking Balrog!

EDIT:

http://www.gamespot....i/1100-6448240/

Quote

After yesterday's leak, Warner Bros. today officially announced a follow-up to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The new game, as rumored, is titled Shadow of War.

The amazing announcement trailer can be seen in the video embed above. It's a CG video, with the first gameplay slated to arrive on March 8.

Like Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War is developed by Monolith Productions. Talion and Celebrimbor return from the first game; they must "go behind enemy lines to forge an army and turn all of Mordor against the Dark Lord, Sauron." The first game's praised Nemesis System also returns.

Here is the official plot description for Shadow of War:

"In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, players wield a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. The open-world action-adventure game is brought to life through the expansion of the award-winning Nemesis System. The robust personalization from the first game is now applied to the entire world where the environments and characters are all shaped by player actions and decisions, creating a personal world unique to every gameplay experience."

Shadow of War is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

"Following the amazing reception to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, we massively expanded every dimension of the game, including the world, the story, the RPG systems, the core gameplay, and of course the personal player stories of the Nemesis System," Monolith Productions VP Michael de Plater said in a statement. "As lifelong fans of Middle-earth, we are so grateful to have the privilege to bring to life the most incredible fantasy world ever created in a new way, for a new generation. With Middle-earth: Shadow of War, we can't wait to see the amazing stories players are going to create and share."

Shadow of War's updated Nemesis System features an element called "Followers." These are characters that will add "entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal, and revenge." The Nemesis System from the first game was a gameplay system that allowed enemies to remember every encounter with the player. The enemies also have different personalities.

Overall, Monolith is promising a "richer, more personal, and expansion world" for Shadow of War. Players can expect to see "epic heroes and villains," as well as "iconic locations, original enemy types, even more personalities, and a new cast of characters with untold stories."

Shadow of War will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam and Windows 10).

In its own statement, Microsoft confirmed that Shadow of War will be an Xbox Play Anywhere title for Xbox One and Windows 10. This means buying a digital copy for either platform provides access to it on the other. Additionally, Microsoft announced that Shadow of War will be available on Project Scorpio this holiday. The game will also be available on PlayStation 4 Pro.

Shadow of War launches on August 22 in North America and August 25 in Europe.

This post has been edited by Apt: 27 February 2017 - 06:06 PM

[Malankazooie]

Damn, I haven't played the first game yet. I guess I should try and play that before Aug. 22.

[champ]

I am so excited for this, I recently started a new play through of the first before this was leaked/announced so aye, you could say I liked the first...

Probably my favourite PS4 game so far for pure ass kicking enjoyment.

That world, expanded, fuck yes!

[Tiste Simeon]

Oh man when I saw that earlier I was so hyped. The first is one of my all time favorites and this looks like it cranks it up a couple of levels!

[JPK]

Briar King, on 27 February 2017 - 10:01 PM, said:

A new 💍 of power? That sounds dumb and like it shits on his lore.

Yeah, but step back and think of this like you would one of the Batman Arkham games - it's an alternate dimension. I mean, Shadow of Mordor through the cannonical lore out of the window about a quarter of the way through that game. Now assume that it bases itself in the original lore but allows itself some room to play with things that aren't actually cannon. In doing so, it opens up potential for a lot of fun gameplay mechanics that we would never have had a chance to play with otherwise.

[JPK]

Briar King, on 27 February 2017 - 10:42 PM, said:

JPK, on 27 February 2017 - 10:39 PM, said:

Briar King, on 27 February 2017 - 10:01 PM, said:

A new 💍 of power? That sounds dumb and like it shits on his lore.

Yeah, but step back and think of this like you would one of the Batman Arkham games - it's an alternate dimension. I mean, Shadow of Mordor through the cannonical lore out of the window about a quarter of the way through that game. Now assume that it bases itself in the original lore but allows itself some room to play with things that aren't actually cannon. In doing so, it opens up potential for a lot of fun gameplay mechanics that we would never have had a chance to play with otherwise.

Did it? I haven't played it. What does it clash with?

Spoiler

They expanded Celebrimbor's role in creating the rings of power to include actively assisting in creating the One Ring.

On the plus side, the wraith involved in assisting with the creation of this new ring is Celebrimbor himself.

[Tiste Simeon]

Briar King, on 27 February 2017 - 10:42 PM, said:

JPK, on 27 February 2017 - 10:39 PM, said:

Briar King, on 27 February 2017 - 10:01 PM, said:

A new 💍 of power? That sounds dumb and like it shits on his lore.

Yeah, but step back and think of this like you would one of the Batman Arkham games - it's an alternate dimension. I mean, Shadow of Mordor through the cannonical lore out of the window about a quarter of the way through that game. Now assume that it bases itself in the original lore but allows itself some room to play with things that aren't actually cannon. In doing so, it opens up potential for a lot of fun gameplay mechanics that we would never have had a chance to play with otherwise.

Did it? I haven't played it. What does it clash with?

If you've not played it stop crapping all over it. Seriously man, instead of moaning go and play the thing and enjoy yourself.

[Traveller]

I liked the Nemesis system, and I quite liked the first game. Nothing against people getting more of PJs version, but personally I'd rather they'd used the system in a different setting.

If only because, before Peter Jacksons movies, the main source/foundation of Hobbit/LotRs games were the books - and although they (the games) weren't amazing or anything, some of them at least explored the escape from the shire, the Barrow Downs, and wider aspects of the books. Now the only LotRs games we're ever going to get are visually based on the movies, and are solely centred on combat. Which is ok from a 'what will sell' point of view, but it means no hope of any other attempts at games set in Middle Earth.

(You can say I'm moaning as well if you like, I am, but I'm just adding my opinion... that *personally* the trailer turned me off as soon as they started messing with the original story, instead of opting for something more subtle.)

This post has been edited by Traveller: 28 February 2017 - 11:35 AM

[Tiste Simeon]

No, it's a fair point Traveller. I've nothing against people moaning or disliking something, I just think it's a bit rich to do so without having played it. If BK plays the games and hates them, fair enough!

I personally am not that bothered about the lore/canon or whatever. I just loved the gameplay mechanics, the nemesis system, the awesome skills and abilities you can develop and the general atmosphere/tone of the game. It's another piece of media that has drawn inspiration from Tolkein's wonderfully crafted world. It's an homage, IMO.

[QuickTidal]

They probably can't snag the rights from Christopher Tolkien for anything else, he's NOTORIOUSLY stingy with the license. These games were probably only agreed to with the knowledge that they would NOT be canon.

They look like fun...but I bet my Tolkien-canon brain would disallow me from enjoying them on more than a surface level.

[amphibian]

QuickTidal, on 28 February 2017 - 02:02 PM, said:

They probably can't snag the rights from Christopher Tolkien for anything else, he's NOTORIOUSLY stingy with the license. These games were probably only agreed to with the knowledge that they would NOT be canon.

They look like fun...but I bet my Tolkien-canon brain would disallow me from enjoying them on more than a surface level.

I doubt that you'd dislike it for that reason. It really does do a great job making the atmosphere/story its own and keeping the experience fun.

[Aptorian]

There's a ton of little lore bits scattered around the map in the first game as collectibles. They all tell small stories about the inhabitants of Mordor before the "shadow" fell over them. There's also glimpses of the first age or is that the second age? when the elves were around.

To me the games are "What if" scenarios. What if some kind of Superhuman Ghost-Warden Hybrid emerged before Sauron came into his power and was able to create a formidable resistance to Sauron? The first game was a pure power fantasy of a tortured hero fighting and wining against overwhelming odds.

[QuickTidal]

Meh, it's not like I'll get a chance to play. These days getting around to a video game in its entirety is tough with a little one to entertain.

[Traveller]

It gets better, QT. Once you get a bit of a routine, at least you can make the choice between game time or sleep!

[Tiste Simeon]

It did! I think others have answered it better than I anyway.

If you want to know about gameplay it's kind of Assassins Creed meets the Batman Arkham series but set in Mordor. Also the Nemesis system makes it quite unique.

Forcing orcs to obey you is fantastic. Gathering an army and launching them at someone is great fun!

[Traveller]

Briar King, on 28 February 2017 - 06:35 PM, said:

You ll gain more time to play in future esp if you get her into them also she ll demand to watch you play certain games and watch.

(Haha I went from playing the entire Souls series on my own, mostly late at night.. until Saturday, when I thought I'd have a go at one of the dlc bosses during the day. The kids came in. Watched for a bit, then started shouting advice, and things like 'kill it, kill it!' and 'smack him in the eye!'

The look my wife gave me when she walked in was priceless. As was the cheering when I won - having them watching while explaining what I was doing was actually made me play better!)

This post has been edited by Traveller: 28 February 2017 - 08:12 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Sheesh, I'm not sure I can perform in front of an audience...

[Cause]

QuickTidal, on 28 February 2017 - 02:02 PM, said:

They probably can't snag the rights from Christopher Tolkien for anything else, he's NOTORIOUSLY stingy with the license. These games were probably only agreed to with the knowledge that they would NOT be canon.

They look like fun...but I bet my Tolkien-canon brain would disallow me from enjoying them on more than a surface level.

Yes and even then they were given only half the licence. I cant remember the names of the new creatures but their are trolls that are not trolls in the game and wargs that are not wargs in the game because their licence specifically forbade them from using these terms.

[Aptorian]

Cause, on 01 March 2017 - 09:56 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 28 February 2017 - 02:02 PM, said:

They probably can't snag the rights from Christopher Tolkien for anything else, he's NOTORIOUSLY stingy with the license. These games were probably only agreed to with the knowledge that they would NOT be canon.

They look like fun...but I bet my Tolkien-canon brain would disallow me from enjoying them on more than a surface level.

Yes and even then they were given only half the licence. I cant remember the names of the new creatures but their are trolls that are not trolls in the game and wargs that are not wargs in the game because their licence specifically forbade them from using these terms.

Ah, that explains it. I always wondered why they went with Graughs or what ever they were called, in stead of just calling them Cave Trolls.

[Tiste Simeon]

Graugs and Caragors.

I never even thought about it! Haha that makes sense now.