‘Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor’ tells a brand new story in the LOTR universe

By Adam Rosenberg November 12, 2013

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is set to return to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings universe with the Monolith Productions-developed third-person action game, Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor. The game sends players off on a brand new adventure set during the time of the Rings trilogy, starting off with a ranger named Talion, who is murdered alongside his family on the night that Sauron and his army return to Mordor.

Talion may be dead for most of the game, but that doesn’t mean he’s done fighting. The ranger is resurrected as a Spirit of Vengeance and granted the abilities of a Wraith – you know, those creepy robed skeleton dudes who are in constant pursuit of the One Ring – as he sets out to exact his revenge on those who wronged him. The press release gets a little cagey at this point, suggesting there’s more to Talion’s resurrection than simple revenge: “Through the course of his personal vendetta, Talion uncovers the truth of the Spirit that compels him, learns the origins of the Rings of Power, and ultimately confronts his true nemesis.”

See?

The announcement notes that every enemy players encounter is unique, each with its own personality, strengths, and weaknesses. There’s also mention of a “Nemesis System” in which “enemy relationships and characteristics” are shaped by the decisions that players make. These are the big picture ideas, at any rate. We’ll have to wait for a more detailed reveal to really get a sense of how the game works.

Monolith is perhaps best known for its work on the first two F.E.A.R. games, as well as Gotham City Impostors, and the Tolkien-inspired MOBA Guardians of Middle-earth. Shadows of Mordor is in development for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, though there’s no release date or window confirmed at this time.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Is Manor Lords multiplayer or co-op?

A medieval market in Manor Lords.

You can easily lose hours designing your village and appeasing your citizens in Manor Lords all by yourself. There are so many different avenues to achieve victory, but the only competition or help you can normally find is in the form of NPCs. Other factions around the map can be helpful or harmful depending on how you play, but what if you wanted to team up with a friend to combine resources, or perhaps compete to see who can crush the other first? Many strategy and city builders thrive on multiplayer components, but does Manor Lords offer those same modes? Make sure you know the answer before making your purchase if that's your intention.
Is there multiplayer or co-op in Manor Lords?
To cut to the chase, the answer is no. Manor Lords is a purely single-player experience through and through. There are no cooperative or competitive modes in the game at all, so there's no way to interact with anyone else either on PC or console. This game was just released out of early access, and there is plenty of content on the way, however, we regret to inform you that multiplayer is not in the plans for the time being.

One developer took to the Steam forums to release an FAQ on the game. One question specifically asked if there is any multiplayer or cooperative gameplay in the game. The response said that "he focus is on a refined single-player experience, with no multiplayer or cooperative modes planned at the moment."

Gaming

All console commands and cheats for Fallout: New Vegas

The courier holding a gun with a welcome sign in the background in Fallout: New Vegas key art.

From the moment you begin your adventure in Fallout: New Vegas, you've already cheated death. Your first playthrough of the game should be done as the developers intended, though maybe with a couple of mods to make the experience a little smoother, but nothing that breaks the game. That said, it's been over a decade since the game came out, so odds are you've already played through the intended way at least once. This is when you can have some fun tinkering with the game and play using console commands and cheats if you're on the PC version of the game. There are a ton of commands you can input to manipulate your character, the world, objects, and more. Here's a full rundown of all the cheats there are and how to activate them.
How to enter console commands
Opening up the command console to type in your cheats is just a single keystroke away. While in the game (not paused), hit the ~ key located below your escape key. This will remove your HUD and bring up the prompt to type in any of the below cheats.
All Fallout: New Vegas console commands and cheats

Because there are so many console commands, we're going to break them down into general categories to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for based on what you want to do.
Faction and reputation cheats
addreputation <form id> <variable> <amount> -- Increases your reputation with a faction.

Gaming

How to get a gun in Another Crab’s Treasure

Kril has a gun

Another Crab's Treasure no doubt looks like a kid-friendly game, but hiding beneath its charming and cute exterior is a challenging soulslike experience that can test the mettle of genre veterans. Those who either can't or don't want to engage with such intense difficulty throughout this underwater adventure can make great use of a variety of assists. Among these is a rather shocking, but hilarious option that can completely negate nearly all of the game's challenge while providing some laughs along the way. Here's how to get a gun in Another Crab's Treasure.
How to get a gun
To give yourself a gun in Another Crab's Treasure, head over to the Settings menu. Navigate to Assist Mode at the bottom of the menu, then scroll to the bottom once more to a setting called Give Kril a Gun. Toggle this on, then back out and resume your game to find that Kril now has a massive pistol on his back in place of a shell.

This new gun on your back provides you with more than just a funny visual, though -- it actually allows you to shoot and kill any enemy in a single hit, nearly eliminating all of the challenge from the game. Additionally, if you're after trophies or achievements, the first time you shoot a crab with the gun will also unlock "This Kills the Crab."