Middle-earth: Shadow of War came out on October 10, 2017. Two hundred eighty days later, it is now free of all microtransactions. It’s a drastic change and yet another sign that 2017 was a turning point for the video game industry’s brief obsession with loot boxes.
When the video game Shadow of Mordor was released in late 2014, its most marvelous trait was its Nemesis System. This superb chunk of design and programming ensured that any evil grunt that killed the player would be elevated in the game’s bad guy hierarchy and would stalk the revived player, perhaps becoming the…
The ship may have sailed on Shadow of War, a messy sequel received angrily by fans and a game that has taken six months to start removing its controversial microtransactions. But, hey, this game just got a new expansion that adds a hookshot and a glider. That’s cool at least.
QUOTE | “Simply being aware that they are available for purchase reduces the immersion in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortresses.” - Monolith Productions acknowledges that the impact loot boxes had on Shadow of War in a blog post announcing their removal from the…
Middle Earth: Shadow of War, a game whose loot box system helped spark 2017's backlash against the practice, is removing all forms of real-money purchases later this year.
It’s not the loot boxes that bummed me out about October’s Shadow of War. When playing the game, you can easily ignore them. I had a harder time ignoring the game’s bummer mood, ugly scenery, trite and tedious quests and mechanical messiness. I liked its predecessor. I wanted to like this game. I bailed halfway but…
Five of my orcs died in Shadow of War yesterday. I callously dropped them, one by one, into the game’s new online fight pits. They didn’t make it out.
The original Super Mario Bros., which was a pretty well-liked video game, didn’t tell players the button commands for climbing up vines. It certainly didn’t pause to tell them how to jump on the turtles or remind them that they could enter a big green pipe if they’d like to.
Video games will always manipulate us. Each challenge and scenario in a game has been carefully engineered to make us react a certain way. Most of the time, that’s what we sign up for. But the moment real money enters the equation, something changes.
2017 has changed Mario for me, and not just because he might be mind-controlling poor Goombas. Nintendo has told me too much about Mario, and now I can’t look at him the same way again.
Shadow of War’s huge orc variety is one of the most impressive things about the game. In my dozens and dozens of hours of playtime, I’m still finding orc types I’ve never seen before, and many of them have interesting, hilarious, and uncomfortable things to say.
Over the past few weeks, as randomized loot boxes have dominated the conversation surrounding this fall’s video games, there have been calls for the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to classify them as gambling in its back-of-the-box ratings. But the ESRB says that’s not going to happen—because according to…
When Shadow of Mordor released in 2014, its “nemesis system” was brilliant enough that many people hoped it would define a new generation of games. Years later, that vision of industry-wide character hierarchies that learn, evolve, and remember the player never came to pass. Shadow of War, the follow-up, further…
Ever since reviews of Shadow of War hit, talk of loot boxes and microtransactions have been heavy with panic and rife with misinformation. Are the best orcs behind a paywall? Is the design of the game predatory enough that it’s going to make people feel pressured to drop extra cash on a $60 game? And what’s this…
Forget the nemesis system, loot boxes, or the well of charisma that is Talion of Middle-Earth, the element of the new Shadow of War game that I’m currently most torn on is its ancient poetry mini-game.
Following concerns from fans, Monolith Productions will offer the commemorative Forthog Orc-Slayer to all Shadow of War players for free. A donation will be made to Michael Forgey’s family in lieu of profits from sales.
Microsoft showed off its Xbox holiday line-up at a showcase in Manhattan last week. They spotlit several games and the new, more powerful Xbox One X version of the console. While the games were fun, a lack of flagship titles left me wondering how strong the new console’s launch will be.
Last week’s feel-good news that Shadow Of War developer Monolith is commemorating the game’s late executive producer Michael Forgey with a piece of charitable DLC has taken a turn amid concerns of where some of the proceeds are going.
