'Middle-earth: Shadow of War' Trailer Released: New Ring, Character Return and More Teased; Warner Bros. Discusses 'Massively Expanded' Game
Warner Bros. finally makes official "Middle-earth: Shadow of War," the sequel to the acclaimed 2014 game "Shadow of Mordor," with an epic announcement trailer (embedded below).
The unveiling comes a day after the game was leaked on the website of U.S. retailer Target. As stated on the leaked listing, "Middle-earth: Shadow of War" was confirmed by the publisher for release on Aug. 22 in North America and Aug. 25 in Europe.
Warner Bros. has announced that the game will be available to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Steam and Windows 10, in which it will be playable in Xbox Play Anywhere program.
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"Middle-earth: Shadow of War" sees the destructive comeback of Talion in Middle-earth accompanied by his companion Celebrimbor. The sequel, set between the events in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," will set the stage for a "monumental battle."
The game features a new Ring of Power, which players can wield as they take on enemies both new and old, including the tandem of Sauron and his Nazgul.
The official description for "Middle-earth: Shadow of War" as per the press release reads:
"The open-world action-adventure game is brought to life through the expansion of the award-winning Nemesis System. The robust personalization from the first game is now applied to the entire world where the environments and characters are all shaped by player actions and decisions, creating a personal world unique to every gameplay experience."
Game developer Monolith Productions teases that they "massively expanded" every element of the game for "Middle-earth: Shadow of War," including the world, the story, the RPG systems, the core gameplay and the Nemesis System.
The Nemesis System allows enemies of different personalities to remember encounters with players. In "Middle-earth: Shadow of War," it will be revamped to include a new feature called Followers, which are characters that add "entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal, and revenge."
"As lifelong fans of Middle-earth, we are so grateful to have the privilege to bring to life the most incredible fantasy world ever created in a new way, for a new generation," Monolith Productions vice president Michael de Plater said in the same press release.
"With Middle-earth: Shadow of War, we can't wait to see the amazing stories players are going to create and share," he went on to say.
The first "Middle-earth: Shadow of War" gameplay showcase takes place on March 8.
