Confused why Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor left “Lord of the Rings” out of its name? Well, lead designer Bob Roberts just explained to Eurogamer that the omission was a deliberate choice to make sure the game was seen as “clearly its own thing” by keeping it “separate” from established LOTR franchises. Mystery solved!

Ten Times Using Facebook Got People In A Ton of Trouble

Just because you’re on the internet doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful about what you say. Too bad some people learn this lesson the hard way. Alltime10s has an interesting countdown that details the many ways people have gotten into legal hot water because of things they did on Facebook. It’s kind of…

A Video Game Trying Its Damnedest to Be the Most Otaku Thing Ever

Two hours. At most, three. That’s all the time you’ll need to blaze through a trippy video game hallucination that zips players through everything from old-school NES games through Akira and Sailor Moon. It’s probably the most otaku thing you’ll do all year. Ranko Tsukigime’s Longest Day is the video game component of Short Peace,…

Shadow of Mordor on Xbox One vs PS4 vs PC

Depending on what platform you want kill orcs on, things will look a little different. Mind, there doesn’t seem to be a version of Shadow of Mordor that is particularly lacking in the visual department. The game is a looker! But if you’re debating which version of the game to get, this comparison video by…

Check Out Far Cry 4’s Weapons

Nowhere in video games is the phrase “evolution, not revolution” more apt than in first-person shooters. As proof, I submit for your consideration the latest trailer for Far Cry 4. It’s seductively pretty, and willfully obscene. In other words: it looks exactly like Far Cry 3. Only, ya know, snazzier. Far Cry 3 is one…

Glitches Make Shadow Of Mordor’s Orc Hunting Way Funnier

Things don’t always go according to plan when you’re trying to hunt an orc. Sometimes, things can get a little wacky—especially if you happen to encounter a glitch. Now that Shadow of Mordor has been out for a few days, people are documenting some of the glitches they’ve come across. Take the one above, for…

Pillars of Eternity has been delayed until “early 2015,” publisher Paradox Interactive just announced. The exciting-looking RPG was originally supposed to come out later this year.

The World’s Fastest Shovel Knight Player (So Far)

Playing through Shovel Knight earlier this year made me feel like a badass. “I still have my old school Megaman 2 chops!” I thought to myself. But then I remembered that speedrunners exist, and now my paltry win in the game doesn’t feel nearly as cool. But that’s ok, because holy crap look at this…

Free XCOM, Alien: Isolation Preorders, Your New Telescope [Deals]

Alien: Isolation is out in just a few days, so get your copy of the Nostromo Edition for just $37.50 with code OCTOBE-R25OFF-GMGXXX. [Alien: Isolation] Get these deals and more, and earlier on Deals.Kinja. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook to never miss a deal, check out our Gaming and Movie/TV release calendars to…

These Minecraft Players Should Design Disney Rides

The latest skin pack for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft is Doctor Who, and the roller coaster that these players built with it — block by block — is nothing short of incredible. We’ve seen plenty of crazy Minecraft creations that recreate fictional worlds, to building functional computers in the game. But the rollercoasters…

Our Best Look Yet At Final Fantasy XV‘s Combat

In just one month, Final Fantasy XV has somehow transformed from assumed vaporware to a genuine game that feels like it’s actually going to come out. After a year and a half of radio silence, today it seems like there’s FFXV news every week. Last night in Japan, FFXV director Hajime Tabata and crew broadcasted…

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku‘s reader-run community: Tokyo ESP: The Ani-TAY Review • Bulwark Post-Mortem • Xam’d: Lost Memoriesis One of Bones’ Best Shows TAY Classic—TAY Open Forum—Beginner’s Guide To TAY Follow them here.

Kickstarter Made Less Money, Funded Fewer Games in 2014

Kickstarter’s had a mixed 2014: cancelled games, shady goings on but also successesand feel good stuff. Numbers don’t lie however, and this year less games were funded and less money was spent. A lot less. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK This presentationfrom consultants ICO Partners has been looking at projects “that ended between…

Pokémon‘s Johto Region As A Middle Earth-Style Map

Artist Adam Rufino created a Middle-Earth-styled version of Johto, the setting of the Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal games. Really cool details, and it also reminds me of all those 2nd edition Dungeons & Dragons maps of the Forgotten Realms. Johto Map by Adam Rufino [Behance] To contact the author of this post, write to:…