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Shadow of Mordor enemies less devious on Xbox 360, PS3
Monolith Productions is doing "whatever we can" to ensure feature parity between the Xbox 360, PS3 versions of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and the Xbox One, PS4 offerings. But the developer admits this may be an impossibility and reveals the game's core hook, the Nemesis system driving its procedurally-generated enemies, will likely lack some complexity on Xbox 360 and PS3 when the game launches this year. "To break it down, some of the stuff we're pretty confident will still be very similar on current gen: the core mechanics, like combat, stealth, ranged and movements; the basic control and gameplay, that should all be really solid," Monolith Design Director Michael De Plater told IGN. "What it won't have is the same level of depth and variety and simulation within the 'Nemesis system.'" De Plater added that the Nemesis system is "just so huge in terms of content, calculations and AI we'll just have to try and get as much of it in as we can." The Nemesis system is the mechanic driving Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's core gameplay loop. Protagonist Talion, on a mission of revenge, explores Mordor and isolates Orcs in order to extract information on Sauron's army. This information reveals not only Orc hierarchy, but also the vulnerabilities and strengths of individual Orc commanders, each of which are procedurally-generated by the game. We were able to go in-depth with Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system last month, though admittedly all we saw was the next-gen version running on a high-end PC. Monolith was unwilling to discuss the planned Xbox 360 and PS3 versions at the time. [Image: Warner Bros.]
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's 'Palantir' app listens while you play
Through a joint collaboration with Wikia, Warner Bros. will offer a custom companion app for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The app is a dedicated hub for all of Wikia's community-curated Shadow of Mordor content, including player-written guides to help with certain missions and background info on characters. While in the app's "reader" mode, users can peruse a wealth of information about the game and the lore surrounding it. More interesting, however, is a secondary sync mode within Palantir. Once initiated, sync mode constantly listens to the game audio coming off your display and automatically retrieves relevant information surrounding protagonist Talion's current going-ons. Information runs the gamut from character biographies to mission walkthroughs and more. An initial version of the app will be available later this month, with limited sync capabilities – not that it's useful unless you're watching a trailer for the game. Wikia and Warner Bros. will offer the app free of charge on iPad, though Wikia isn't opposed to offering Palantir on other platforms down the line. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, in development at Monolith Productions, launches this year on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3 and PC.
Research is a vehicle for revenge in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is more than mindlessly killing scores of Orcs. Sure, there's plenty of that, but more important are the game's main hooks surrounding guerrilla information-gathering and systematic assassination of key targets in a growing military force. Like an undercover cop busting a drug addict on the street and climbing the chain to the top, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor sets players on a course of disruption as they ascend through the ranks of the Dark Lord Sauron's army on a mission of revenge.
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.
