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The Nemesis System is huge in 'Middle-earth: Shadow of War'
The standout feature of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was the Nemesis System. It added a layer of strategy to an otherwise standard action game, allowing players to see the strengths and weaknesses of specific Uruk soldiers before striding into battle. The Nemesis System was like a game of chess superimposed on top of a rich fantasy world, innovating on the genre and tapping into players' desire to command an army rather than simply run around Mordor as a doomed man possessed by the spirit of a vengeful Elf. In Monolith's Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Nemesis System is bigger, badder and more robust. Players will be able to not only gather information on the enemy armies -- staffed not only by Uruk anymore but also by mountain trolls and other beasts true to JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe -- but also to view strengths, weaknesses and personal history of their own armies.
JxE Streams: Bring on the Bright Lord in 'Shadow of Mordor'
Last year was a mixed bag for fans of magical rings and short dudes with a penchant for going barefoot. On the one hand, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies was a disappointing close to the mediocre second Tolkien film trilogy. On the other, Monolith Games made one of the best pieces of Lord of the Rings-related fare in years in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Its thriving world and "Nemesis System," which has you intimidating, manipulating, and confusing an army of monsters, made it one of the first standout successes on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We're diving into "The Bright Lord," a brand new downloadable story campaign, on JxE Streams at 4PM ET.
Palantir iOS app listens to you play video games, offers tips on the second screen
Apps like Shazam and Zeebox can listen to songs and TV shows and identify what's playing or what you're watching, but until now the tech hasn't been used much for gaming. A companion application for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor could change that. The Palantir iOS app (named after the networked seeing stones from Lord of the Rings canon) uses the aforementioned audio-sync technology to deliver exclusive content and contextual info (like walkthroughs) by listening in while you play the game. That content is curated from Wikia, which hosts vast reserves of lore, guides and minutia for games and pop culture. Shadow of Mordor doesn't have a release date just yet, but the Palantir app also works on trailers. If you want to give it a go for yourself, we've embedded the debut gameplay video after the jump.
