I hate defending fortresses in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. I hate it so much, in fact, that when an army of orcs from the Machine tribe showed up at the gates of my fortress in N rnen in Mordor s sunny southeast, I just went to the menu, clicked Leave Mission, and let them have it.

And so it often went with Shadow of War s controversial fourth act – called The Shadow Wars – which involves a 10-stage series of battles over different fortresses before you can reach the real ending. Some say it s essentially impossible to complete without using purchasable loot boxes stuffed with legendary quality gear and orcs for your army if you run out of money, with Polygon going so far as to say that the system is predatory. I, on the other hand, said in my own Shadow of War review that I didn t get the point of the loot boxes. I never felt the need to use them. After playing a lot more of Shadow Wars, I feel the same way, and although I mainly came to that conclusion by pulling stunts like the one above, that “stunt” made the game more fun. I sincerely believe developer Monolith Productions could remove the boxes right now and it d make little tangible difference to the game. (more…)

Are you strong enough to read the Steam Charts? Do you have what it takes to read all the way to the end? Can you defeat the Plunkbat final boss? NO! NO YOU ARE TOO WEAK! (more…)

I never thought I d be playing Pok mon with Tolkienian orcs, but here I am in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, standing with my army before the fortress of Kharguk r amid the snowy peaks of Seregost.

The orc in charge is a dainty fellow who calls himself Kr mp the Rhymer, and I can t help but admire his fashion sense in this grubby world. That immaculately crafted leather jerkin. That bycocket with the two red feathers that match the shafts in his quiver. Such style. I almost want to let him be. Fortunately he shatters that thought when we meet in person and he blurts the cringy battlecry Your fate has gone from bad to worse / You face an orc who speaks in verse! Some crimes can t go unpunished. (more…)

A Middle-earth: Shadow of War [official site] DLC character created to memorialise and fundraise for a deceased member of the development team will now be given free to all players, Warner Bros. have decided after it raised a stink. Styled after executive producer Michael Forgey, who passed away in 2016, the Forthog Orcslayer is a friendly NPC who was initially sold to benefit Forgey’s family. But a communication mistake suggested WB would only donate money from purchases in the US, keeping money from elsewhere for themselves (WB later clarified that wasn’t the case). After the memorial became a mess, WB will make the Forthog Orcslayer free and themselves donate money direct to the family. (more…)

Have you heard the one about Humble making a new Bundle? It’s a good one. Rather, it’s a Very Positive one.

Following on from the original ‘Very Positive’ Bundle back in May this year, Humble has brought the idea back for another go – in the Humble Very Positive Bundle 2, funnily enough. The collection of games brought together here all feature Steam ratings of ‘Very Positive’ or above and while we can’t always rely on those ratings as proof of a game’s intrinsic qualities, as recent happenings have taught us, rest assured these games are quite good>.

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As exciting as an expanded Nemesis system and an itsy busty spider might sound for Middle-earth: Shadow of War [official site], Warner Bros. had been sitting on a hot, juicy, and thrilling marketing blast. Now they have finally let rip: heck yes Shadow of War will have optional microtransactions to hasten powering-up in this singleplayer game. Come on gang, give me a “Hell yeah!”

I said give me a “Hell yeah!”

No? I thought one of you Willennials would at least do it ‘ironically’. (more…)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War [official site] expands on its predecessor’s innovative Nemesis System and its believable NPCs take us one step further away from the static worlds of most open world games. I’ve been thinking about how that works, and why so many games make me think of The Truman Show.

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When Middle-earth: Shadow of War [official site] arrives in October, players will be fight alongside their worst enemy from the first game with their dearest friend. Warner Bros. today added the ‘Nemesis Forge’ to Shadow of Mordor, which can transfer your top Nemesis and most loyal follower over to the sequel. The Nemesis system was the most exciting idea of Mordor — and one that far too few games have copied, both Adam and John will tell you — as random foes became unique recurring loathed enemies, changing and growing after each fight.

Oh, but if you haven’t played Shadow of Mordor, good news: it’s free to play in full this weekend, and on sale with a big discount too. … [visit site to read more]

It’s warm! Luckily the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show, have come together to talk cold games, like chilly survivalist city-builder Frostpunk. That’s because Adam is back from E3 and can tell us (Brendan and Pip) all about it. He’s also played Destiny 2 and Middle Earth: Shadow of War, the lucky sod. Spill the beans, Adam! No wait, don’t. We need those.

This week’s back-to-normal-length episode also sees us talking about Darkest Dungeon‘s latest expansion, The Crimson Court, esoteric desert survival RPG Kenshi, and some news about GTA V and the sad fate of its modders. Also: the return of our patch notes quiz, Patch Adam, this time featuring Dwarf Fortress. … [visit site to read more]

Each year E3 rolls around like a giant evil worm, crushing all that’s good and pure. BUT that worm also announces lots of exciting gaming news as it wreaks its carnage upon the Earth. Here we have gathered every announcement, reveal, and exciting new trailer that emerged from the barrage of screamed press conferences over the last few days. And lots of it looks rather spiffy.

A rather enormous 47 PC games were either announced, revealed, or updated upon, with new trailers, information, and released dates that will all be missed by at least three months. We’ve collected the lot, with trailers, in alphabetical order, into one neat place, just for you. … [visit site to read more]