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There's a Wonder Woman game coming from the 'Shadow of Mordor' studio
It's a third-person open-world situation using the Nemesis System.
2015 DICE Award nominations led by Shadow of Mordor
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for this year's DICE Awards, recognizing a total of 56 games. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor received nine nominations, including the Game of the Year award. The other Game of the Year nominees are Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4 and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Far Cry 4 received seven nominations, one being for Action Game of the Year. Destiny and Hearthstone each had six nominations, whereas Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Monument Valley received five apiece. The 18th Annual DICE Awards ceremony will be held at the The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas following the 2015 DICE Summit, which runs from February 3 through February 5. The event will be livestreamed on DICE's Twitch channel, starting at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT). Head past the break for a partial list of nominees; the full list can be found on AIAS' website.
GDCA 2015 finalists led by Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
The finalists for the 2015 Game Developers Choice Awards were revealed today, led by Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, which received five nominations. Monolith's third-person action game was nominated for Game of the Year, Innovation, Best Design, Best Narrative and Best Technology awards at the ceremony (on top of also being Joystiq's favorite game of 2014). The other nominees for the 15th annual GDCA's Game of the Year award are Bayonetta 2, Alien: Isolation, Destiny and Hearthstone. Blizzard's collectible card game received three nominations in total, the other two for Best Design and Best Handheld/Mobile Game. Destiny also received two other nominations for Best Audio and Best Technology. The ceremony for this year's Game Developer's Choice Awards will be held during the Game Developers Conference on Wednesday, March 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT) at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. Head past the break to see the full list of nominees.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. One game to rule them all, one game to find them; one game to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor brilliantly defies so much of its own definition – it's a game based on a movie franchise based on a beloved series of books, a description that is normally worthy of a grimace and a passing glance. Instead, Shadow of Mordor is not only a truly excellent fantasy-action game, it introduces an innovative and playful enemy-character system that is sure to be replicated in the industry for years to come.
Shadow of Mordor rings in Lord of the Hunt DLC today
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor today welcomes into its fellowship the "Lord of the Hunt," Warner Bros. informs Joystiq. The DLC will be available to purchase on its own for $10, or you can acquire it through the $25 you-shall-not season pass. Lord of the Hunt is already available on Xbox One, and should hit PS4 and PC in North America later today. As previously detailed, the DLC offers new story content courtesy of Dwarven Hunter Torvin, as well a bunch of extras. There are Uruk Beastmaster Warchiefs to fight, new beast-hunting challenges to take on, an Ultimate Beastmaster skin for Talion, five new epic runes for mounts, and more. But, most importantly of all, you get a toxin-puking Wretched Graug to mount and make your friends sick with jealousy. Or sick with something, at least. Hunt down the DLC's rather bloody, perhaps NSFW launch trailer below the break.
Shadow of Mordor is the ultimate Beastmaster in new DLC screens
Monolith detailed the first expansion to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor today, Lord of the Hunt. The upcoming DLC introduces "more tales from Torvin, the Dwarven Hunter, as you work together to tame the beasts of Mordor and fight Sauron's minions." Lord of the Hunt also features new monsters and nemeses to face off against, as well as new missions and beast-hunting challenges to take on. The DLC adds a "Test of the Wild" skill challenge mode and a character skin that turns Talion into the "ultimate Beastmaster." Lord of the Hunt will be available for purchase later this year and will be part of the game's $25 season pass program. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor launched in late September for PS4, Xbox One and PC, and the game's Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will arrive on November 18 after being delayed last month. The game's season pass also includes an exclusive Guardians of the Flaming Eye mission as well as another piece of story DLC, The Bright Lord. [Image: WBIE]
No one man should have all that Power of Shadow Middle-earth DLC
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor received a free DLC pack today that adds three new runes and a playable character skin to the game. The Power of Shadow add-on introduces the Black Hand of Sauron skin for protagonist Talion. Players can also toy with the One with Nature, Ascendant and Elven Grace runes. One with Nature grants players immunity to poison attacks from Uruk captains and Ghuls. Likewise, players get double focus time for ranged combat with the Ascendant rune. Finally, Elven Grace increases players' defense, cutting the damage taken by enemy strikes in half. Monolith recently introduced a new photo mode to the game via an update. Shadow of Mordor will get a few other content packs as part of its season pass program that add new story missions. [Image: WBIE]
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor sees all with new photo mode [update]
A patch available now for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One introduces a new photo mode, letting users play around with some camera tech to get just the right image of Monolith's action-RPG. For all its magic and mystery, we're not sure the ancient art of photography has ever reached the shores of Middle-earth until now. Toggled on and off, the mode lets you adjust things like the angle, depth of field, zoom, texturing, shading, frames, filters, borders, logos and so on. For example, trigger-happy types can apply a film grain texture or a saturated filter, very much comparable to the Photo Mode introduced to The Last of Us on PS4.
How Shadow of Mordor PS4 stacks up to PC's huge textures
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a great action game, and a pretty (gruesome) one at that. Those playing on consoles will get a good sense of Monolith's interpretation of the Tolkien universe, but high-end PC players have access to an even more detailed version of Middle-earth. Players with beefy computers can download the HD content pack on Steam, which patches Shadow of Mordor with the "highest resolution textures available." The content pack requires a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Windows 8 as well as a minimum of 8 GB of system RAM and a video card with at least 6 GB of RAM. Digital Foundry put together a comparison video with the PC version's ultra textures and a PS4 copy of the game, found after the break. For more footage of Shadow of Mordor in action, check out Tuesday's hour-long archived Joystiq Streams. [Image: WBIE]
Shadow of Mordor season pass trailer tastes a little Sauron
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment may have revealed its $25 season pass for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor last month, but it's now offering a closer look at the add-ons that pass holders are guaranteed access to. The DLC includes an exclusive Guardians of the Flaming Eye mission and two story missions, Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord. The latter quest has players controlling Celebrimbor, "the great Elven smith of the Second Age," eventually encountering the Tolkien universe's primary antagonist, Sauron. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor will launch tomorrow for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game were delayed to November 18 earlier this month. It received good marks critically, including our five-star review that praised the Mordor's Nemesis system. Head past the break to see the game's season pass trailer. [Image: WBIE]
Metareview: Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor
Our five-star review of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor reassured players that an appreciation for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe isn't necessary to enjoy the deep action game. "What would have otherwise been a competent sandbox game with solid combat mechanics and an interesting twist on a known fantasy world is elevated by the Nemesis System," which greatly personalizes your experience. The game's unique systems means our Nemesis in Shadow of Mordor differed from that of other critics, yet reviews around the web are mostly positive about the game. Head past the break to get a better sense of the collective opinion on the game, which launches next Tuesday, September 30 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were delayed to November 18 earlier this month.
Shadow of Mordor delayed on Xbox 360, PS3
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor won't storm retail's gates in September on previous generation consoles. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced this morning that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions "will take more time in development," with release dates now slated for November 18 and 21 in the Americas and UK, respectively. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Mordor are all set to ride on September 30 in North America and October 3 in the UK. The PC and Steam versions are also set for September 30 in the Americas and Europe.
You shall use this season pass for Shadow of Mordor add-ons
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is getting the season pass treatment, giving players bonus content when the game launches on September 30. Season pass holders will receive the exclusive Guardians of the Flaming Eye Orc Warband mission, early access to the Trials of War series of challenges and two story missions: Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord. Additionally, those that opt-in to the season pass program will be guaranteed access to future add-on content like runes and skins. Monolith's adventure based in the Tolkien-o-verse was previously expected to launch on October 7 before Warner Bros. moved the game's launch up last month to late September (October 3 in the UK). The publisher did not offer a price for the season pass, though it's not the only method of obtaining extra goodies for Shadow of Mordor; PS4 owners that pre-order the game will receive exclusive "PlayStation Legion Missions." Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is in development for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. [Image: WBIE]
Study Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor's pre-order, special edition details
One does not simply walk into a retailer, purchase Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and leave with all of the content available at the game's launch. Sorry early adventurers, this isn't like the general pre-order bonuses announced in April. This time, you're going to have to play the retailer-specific pre-order bonus game. Placing an order with Amazon will net you the Deadly Archer Rune, which makes long-distance headshots on Sauron's Captains hurt more. Going with Walmart will reward you with the Rising Storm Rune and the probably-related 'Storm of Urfael,' which lets you go nuts with unlimited executions in combat. Opting for Steam will earn the Orc Slayer Rune, which makes special moves against Captains a bit more painful. Best Buy orders will get the Flame of Anor Rune, which rewards high combo counts by spontaneously igniting your sword. Lastly, GameStop has The Captain of the Witch character skin and the Hidden Blade Rune, which supplies more damage for stealth attacks against Captains.
Have some more lore in new Shadow of Mordor trailer
October 7th's helmeted headbutt between prominent fantasy games is officially over: Dragon Age Inquisition is moving to November, while Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor gets an earlier debut, on September 30. According to developer Monolith Productions, the open-world orc-stalker is progressing well enough to reach PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 a week earlier than first announced, with the PC version coming in on October 2. Warner Bros. has also released a new trailer to coincide with the game's promotion at San Diego Comic-Con. The spectral figure paired with Shadow of Mordor's protagonist, Talion, is revealed to be Celebrimbor, the long-departed Elven smith who forged the Rings of Power. Beyond their connection to Middle-Earth's notorious mind-control jewelry, both Talion and Celebrimbor have reason to venture into Mordor and hijack Sauron's army for their own purposes.
One does not simply move up the Shadow of Mordor release date (but WB did)
Warner Bros. revealed it's moved Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor away from the October 7 madness, bringing the game forward to September 30 in North America and October 3 in the UK. According to a press release, Warner Bros is releasing the game earlier "based on hearing fans' excitement." It may also have something to do with the number of high-profile games releasing on the game's original street date of October 7. Dragon: Age Inquisition's already abandoned the October 7 ship for November, but the date's still home to the likes of Alien: Isolation, Driveclub and NBA 2K15.
Golden freebies: Gotham City Impostors today, Guacamelee tomorrow
If you like the idea of wearing ridiculously extravagant costumes whilst beating up people, but don't have the money, lack of moral code or WWE career to support it, we're here for you with a friendly reminder: As part of Microsoft's Games with Gold service, Gotham City Impostors is free right now for Xbox Live Gold users. So go get already. The Xbox 360 multiplayer shooter is joined tomorrow by wrestle-former Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition on Xbox One, and between those two you'll get enough masks, spandex and wacky violence to sustain you right through to winter.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor trailer warns of the Gravewalker
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor received a new CG trailer today to commemorate the upcoming week of E3, in which attendees will be treated much like the Uruks in the video. The trailer takes place after a battle and shows a dying Uruk speaking of the "Gravewalker," whom players will know as Talion. Announced in November and developed by Monolith Productions, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe. In the game, Talion and his family are killed by uber-villain Sauron, though Talion is resurrected and seeks revenge. We strolled away impressed with the way Shadow of Mordor plays out after our hands-on time with the game late last month. It will launch on October 7 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. [Image: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]
Shadow of Mordor forms a fellowship of gaming's acting talent
Warner Bros. revealed Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor brings together an array of gaming's most famous voices, including Troy Baker, Nolan North and Laura Bailey. Baker, who's featured in lead parts for The Last of Us, BioShock: Infinite and Infamous: Second Son, stars in the Lord of the Rings adventure as player character Talion. WB also unveiled veteran TV, film and game composer Garry Schyman as the man behind the game's music, following his award-winning score for BioShock: Infinite.
Trailing and trolling orcs in Shadow of Mordor
I'm perched on a building's wind-hewn skeleton, overlooking a lake. It looks like the sun has just woken up, its warm yawn creeping over the waters. It's a pretty nice day in Mordor, which, if you're unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings, is the forbidden domain of orcs, dark lords and standoffish volcanoes. Somewhere else in Mordor, I imagine, an orc warchief is just waking up. He's stretching out, making sure he hasn't lost any warts in the middle of the night, brushing his tooth, pleasantly unaware of the nightmare that awaits him today. His greatest fear will find him, and I'll be riding it. In developer Monolith's Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, you're planning masterful executions before you even know it.
