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Weta Workshop is making its own Lord of the Rings game
Publisher Private Division said the title is slated to arrive by March 2024.
'Bugsnax' will be the first free PlayStation Plus game for PS5
Come November, PS+ members will have their pick between Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition. You can get it between Thursday, November 12 and January 4, 2021.
Gollum is the star of Daedalic's new 'Lord of the Rings' game
The Lord of the Rings universe just keeps on expanding. Even though the original blockbuster trilogy finished up 16 years ago, and the subsequent Hobbit films sort of bombed, entertainment giants think there's still mileage in the franchise. Amazon has announced a forthcoming TV series, and now Daedalic has revealed it's working on a new game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
A 'Lord of the Rings' game is coming from the publisher of 'Warframe'
If you're itching for a new Lord of the Rings game to move past the controversy of Shadow of War, we have good news -- although it might not be quite what you're expecting. Athlon Games (partner to Digital Extremes and Splash Damage) has signed a licensing deal that will see it create an "online game set in the world of Middle-earth." There are precious few details beyond that, but you can likely rule out seeing the likes of Frodo or Aragorn when the title will be set "long before" the events of the LOTR novels, with new places and characters. Much like Amazon's future show, Athlon isn't messing with the canonical material.
The sequel to 'Shadow of Mordor' arrives August 22nd
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was one of the most important blockbuster games of 2014, proving that an open-world title set in a very familiar fantasy world could still feel fresh and innovative. And apparently, it was popular enough to get a sequel... including on a platform that isn't even out yet. Warner Bros. has unveiled Middle-earth: Shadow of War, a follow-up that will be available on PS4, Windows PCs, the Xbox One and Project Scorpio -- yes, this is one of the first known titles for Microsoft's 4K-capable console. The publisher isn't saying what the Scorpio version will bring to the table, but it'll launch this holiday season. Every other edition arrives on August 22nd.
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]
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]
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.
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]
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes the Tolkien universe to next-gen systems
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a new third-person action game in development by Monolith Productions, publisher Warner Bros. announced today. As the title indicates, the game is placed in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe, and has players assuming the guise of the "valiant ranger" Talion. Both Talion and his family are killed by series baddie Sauron, leading to Talion's resurrection by a rather vengeful spirit that grants him Wraith-like supernatural abilities. Warner Bros. boasted a "dynamic world" in the game that is expected to remember and adapt to players' choices as well as "craft their own battles, enemies and rewards." While no release date was given for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the game will arrive on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3 and PC.
Guardians of Middle-Earth: A fun game doomed by its business model
The MOBA genre has exploded in recent years, with global giant League of Legends becoming the most actively played video game in the world and competitive tournaments getting more viewers than some televised sports. Today's MOBAs appeal to casual and competitive gamers alike, but until recently very few had crossed the console barrier. Released on PS3 and XBox 360 last December, Guardians of Middle-Earth took traditional DotA gameplay and made the quite experimental leap onto consoles. I'm not much of a console gamer (you can take my mouse and keyboard away when you pry them from my cold, dead hands), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see how Guardians of Middle-Earth stacks up against its PC-based counterparts. Monolith Studios has done great things in adapting MOBA gameplay to a console control scheme and audience, and the core game really is a lot of fun to play. But in charging an initial purchase price for a game that relies on having a large community, publisher Warner Bros. may have accidentally consigned Guardians to the scrapheap. In this hands-on opinion piece, I explore Guardians of Middle-Earth and ask why it's already a ghost town just three months after launch.
Guardians of Middle-Earth brings competitive MOBA gaming to consoles
It seems as if the world has gone MOBA-mad in recent years, with Dota 2 launching the first ever million-dollar competitive tournament and League of Legends becoming the most played game in the world. While there are plenty of PC games following in the competitive footsteps of classic DotA, the console market has remained largely untested. Today that changed with the launch of Guardians of Middle-Earth, the first 3-D console MOBA to be designed for classic DotA-style competitive matches. Guardians of Middle-Earth gives players control of iconic characters from the Lord of the Rings lore, like Gandalf and Gollum. Each character has an array of special abilities, and teams of five players battle against each other in short competitive matches. A streamlined item system and directional attacks adapt the game for the controls and faster pace of gameplay console gamers expect, but it remains to be seen whether the console audience will form a hardcore competitive tournament scene. The game went live on the Playstation Network today and goes live on XBox Live Arcade tomorrow.
The Game Archaeologist: Steve Nichols' The Realm Online debriefing, part 2
This week we continue our interview with Steve Nichols, one of the original lead developers on The Realm Online. After his work on this pioneering title, Nichols expanded his MMO resume with projects such as the never-seen Middle-earth Online (MEO), the seminal Freelancer, the PvP-centric Shadowbane, and the cult classic Dungeon Runners. These days, Nichols is with Retired Astronaut Collective, continuing to create games for all of us nutty players to enjoy. In this riveting conclusion to our talk on The Realm Online, Nichols discusses the difficulties of the game's promotions, lessons learned from his time on the project, and the sundry secrets of hanky-panky in this early MMO.
Guardians of Middle-Earth on Xbox 360 Dec. 5
Guardians of Middle-Earth will launch on Xbox Live Arcade one day later than previously stated. The official Twitter account for the game confirmed the new Xbox 360 date of December 5.The account also confirmed the PS3 version is still on track to launch one day earlier on December 4. The PS3 version will be available both at retail and as a download through PSN.
The Soapbox: League of Legends is the new World of Warcraft
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Every now and then, a game comes out of nowhere with such incredible financial success that it causes the games industry to completely lose perspective. All it takes is one game to start raking in the millions for developers, publishers and investors to stumble around with dollar signs in their eyes for years to come. Innovation grinds to a halt and everyone starts blindly copying whichever game just hit the jackpot. It's like some huge industry-wide superstition takes over and convinces people that if they do the same dance the same way, it'll rain again. World of Warcraft has consistently had this effect since shortly after its launch in 2004. To this day, several studios per year excitedly announce yet another fantasy MMO that lifts its entire feature set and every gameplay mechanic wholesale from World of Warcraft as if it were a model for automatic success. The same thing is happening again in online gaming today, not from MMOs but from MOBAs, a new genre based on the competitive gaming classic DotA. Developers are still chasing the massive money made by yet another hugely successful game, and this time it's League of Legends.
Why I Play: Lord of the Rings Online
It's confession time, folks. I change MMOs like most people change socks, so while many of my colleagues write about their long-term MMO love and possibly a backup game or two in this column, I'm more inclined to write about four different titles in as many weeks. In fact, by the time you finish reading this, I may well have moved on to something else. That's OK, though, and that's one of the great things about the modern MMO space: There are just so damn many games that there's really no excuse for ever getting bored. And this week's infatuation is Lord of the Rings Online.
The Daily Grind: Do you play classes you don't like?
I recently returned to Lord of the Rings Online in anticipation of the Rohan-themed expansion pack due later this year. As I was looking over my character page and deciding which of my toons I should take to 75, I reluctantly decided to abandon my highest level avatar. You see, he's a Guardian, and despite the fact that I'm basically throwing away 58 levels and some pretty decent gear, I simply can't bear the thought of playing what is absolutely the most boring class in any MMO, ever. Why did I roll one, then? Mainly because my launch-day guild was going for class balance, and no one else wanted to play a tank. And that's my long-winded way of leading into today's Daily Grind question. Do you play classes you don't like (and if so, why)? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
See the shores of the Anduin in LotRO's Update 6
Lord of the Rings Online has a lot of ground to cover in its quest to follow the fellowship across the wilds and deep into Mordor. And like the mighty river Anduin, the game is slowly but inexorably snaking its way across the world that Tolkien created. Update 6: Shores of the Great River adds seven new explorable areas to Turbine's digital Middle-earth, and the company has taken the wraps off some new screenshots and videos to whet players' appetites. The patch brings us to Thinglad, Parth Celebrant, Eorlsmead, Wailing Hills, Limlight Gorge, the Brown Lands, and the Rushgore. Take a look at each of these areas in our Update 6 gallery below, then click past the cut for video tours of Limlight Gorge and Eorlsmead. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-149032%
Turbine releases GameStop-exclusive LotRO Mithril edition
Turbine snubbed box collectors with its last two Lord of the Rings Online expansions, but the company hasn't abandoned retail altogether. The new Mithril edition is exclusive to GameStop stores, and while it may not be as valuable as Frodo's life-saving waistcoat, it does provide $50 worth of content for a paltry $29.99. Exclusive bonus items include a Steed of the Horse-lords mount, Path of the Fellowship quests, and 2,000 Turbine points to spend in the game's cash shop. It's worth noting that the Mithril edition is basically a starter kit for the full game, as it does not include the Siege of Mirkwood expansion or the Rise of Isengard expansion. Further details are available at the official LotRO website. [Source: Turbine press release]
