GRcade

HSH28 wrote:

jawafour wrote:I would like to play it but, after the pay-to-win, loot box and dreadful handling of that DLC, I will hold off until I can get it for a lot lower price in a sale.

Nothing is making you buy the DLC for the game though is it.

Obviously we don't know what's going to happen exactly with all that stuff, but its mere existence doesn't mean that its definitely going to be required to have fun playing the game.

Trelliz wrote:This is not being done out of any sense of altruism or generosity. This type of "service" is by its very nature underhanded and insidious. Just because WB tells you they don't have to take your money, do you think they don't want your money? Do you think that's not the point of it being there in the first place, and they won't do what it takes to get that money by making it as tempting as possible through lower drop rates throughout; a psychological test of your resolve while offering an easy way out of the problem they created.

HSH28 wrote:Of course they want your money, there isn't a game publisher out there that doesn't want to make more money out of you, companies exist to make money.

twitter.com/gamasutra/status/909877692513816577

Trelliz wrote:Developers publicly wring hands while saying not much of substance about how "optional" the lootboxes are.

Bob Roberts: Yeah, it's such a charged topic. It's frankly complicated - you see the debate play out online and forum threads where people argue with each other about it.

At the same time, it's there as a player choice. It's there, from my perspective, for people who are protective of their spare time and scared when a massive game comes along that they're not getting to see the full experience.

WB Clarifies Shadow of War Charity DLC, it will be free, WB IE will donate money

The Forthog Orc-Slayer DLC was created by the team at Monolith Productions to immortalize Michael Forgey, a dear friend and colleague, and to raise funds to help support his widow and children.

Specifically, we decided to sell the DLC worldwide and donate all profits from the DLC to the family. Although we decided to donate all profits to the family, we only planned to actively promote this donation in the U.S. (excluding certain states based on their charitable promotion laws). We hoped this approach would raise as much money as possible for the Forgey family in compliance with the law. Our decision not to promote the donation outside the U.S. (even though we intended to donate the money) caused many to question where funds from other territories were going. Answering that direct question itself could have triggered compliance obligations or put us in violation of cause marketing laws in some of the 241 territories in which the content was available.

Additionally, a factually incorrect tweet from our team exacerbated the confusion by stating that international funds would not be going to the family. For absolute clarity; our intention was always to give all profits from the DLC, worldwide to the Forgey family.

We now recognize that tying our donation to sales of the DLC was not the best way to achieve our goal of offering financial support to the family and creating a lasting memorial to Michael Forgey. We sincerely apologize to the fans and to the Forgey family for the confusion we created.

To ensure the two original aims are still met and to provide transparency to the community, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will instead make a donation directly to the Forgey family. The DLC will be withdrawn from sale and will be a free download for owners of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Anyone who has purchased the DLC will receive a full refund. If there is interest in donating directly to the family, please visit their youcaring site: https://www.youcaring.com/michael-forgey-479259.

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Offici ... ead-id/663

Saint of Killers wrote:

WB Clarifies Shadow of War Charity DLC, it will be free, WB IE will donate money

The Forthog Orc-Slayer DLC was created by the team at Monolith Productions to immortalize Michael Forgey, a dear friend and colleague, and to raise funds to help support his widow and children.

Specifically, we decided to sell the DLC worldwide and donate all profits from the DLC to the family. Although we decided to donate all profits to the family, we only planned to actively promote this donation in the U.S. (excluding certain states based on their charitable promotion laws). We hoped this approach would raise as much money as possible for the Forgey family in compliance with the law. Our decision not to promote the donation outside the U.S. (even though we intended to donate the money) caused many to question where funds from other territories were going. Answering that direct question itself could have triggered compliance obligations or put us in violation of cause marketing laws in some of the 241 territories in which the content was available.

Additionally, a factually incorrect tweet from our team exacerbated the confusion by stating that international funds would not be going to the family. For absolute clarity; our intention was always to give all profits from the DLC, worldwide to the Forgey family.

We now recognize that tying our donation to sales of the DLC was not the best way to achieve our goal of offering financial support to the family and creating a lasting memorial to Michael Forgey. We sincerely apologize to the fans and to the Forgey family for the confusion we created.

To ensure the two original aims are still met and to provide transparency to the community, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will instead make a donation directly to the Forgey family. The DLC will be withdrawn from sale and will be a free download for owners of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Anyone who has purchased the DLC will receive a full refund. If there is interest in donating directly to the family, please visit their youcaring site: https://www.youcaring.com/michael-forgey-479259.

https://community.wbgames.com/t5/Offici ... ead-id/663

Our decision not to promote the donation outside the U.S. (even though we intended to donate the money) caused many to question where funds from other territories were going. Answering that direct question itself could have triggered compliance obligations or put us in violation of cause marketing laws in some of the 241 territories in which the content was available.

jawafour wrote:

Our decision not to promote the donation outside the U.S. (even though we intended to donate the money) caused many to question where funds from other territories were going. Answering that direct question itself could have triggered compliance obligations or put us in violation of cause marketing laws in some of the 241 territories in which the content was available.

I don’t know anything about promotional compliance law... but I would be surprised if it meant that you cannot tell customers whether their money is gong to a charity or not.

During the Microsoft E3 briefing, it was revealed that Xbox 360 gamers who pick up Rock Band: The Beatles for that console will be able to download an exclusive song, "All You Need is Love," a "special version" of the track. No date was mentioned, though one can assume it will be available on day one. It was also announced that all proceeds for sales of the tune will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Speaking of difficulty levels, it would be impossible to review Shadow of War without addressing the inclusion of loot boxes and microtransactions that caused such a stir just a couple of months ago. In essence, loot chests can be bought from the game's market using Mirian, an abundant (and free) in-game currency, or gold - which is given out in much smaller measures and can, crucially, be bought with real money. These chests give out gear, XP boosts, new followers and training orders (essentially follower upgrades) for you to put to use, improving your fortunes as you go about the game world. Given how freely the game gives you skill points, gear and orcs to turn into loyal soldiers, however, these chests are wholly unnecessary. If you need them in order to get by in Shadow of War, in fact, you are almost certainly playing on the wrong difficulty setting.

However, Shadow Wars is spoiled by two major issues.

First, it’s not just postgame content. While the main plot of Shadow of War wraps up in relatively tidy fashion before act four begins, Monolith has confirmed that there is a “true ending” hidden behind Shadow Wars. I love the idea of offering dozens of hours of grindy yet fun content for players who really adore this game to sink their teeth into. But that works better as an option rather than a looming obligation for completionists. Having the game’s real finale locked away behind those dozens of hours — hours that, while fun, are devoid of story missions, side quests, cutscenes or other distractions that help mix up the pace — is a disappointment.

When you run out of in-game money, you have two choices: Make a huge time investment by hunting down orcs in your game world and earning chests via vendetta missions, or spend some real money to get the more powerful orcs you need now. Does the game ever force you to spend money? No. I’m sure you can get to the end of Shadow Wars without spending a dime, as long as you’re patient and persistent. But locking progress through this mode (and, again, toward the game’s true ending) behind either spending more money or doing tons of tedious busywork feels at least greedy if not predatory.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/5/16428 ... war-review

In the game's actual final act, you cycle through the four fortresses you explored previously for a total of 20 more defending siege battles. If you haven't upgraded the Orcs you met early in the game--and up until this point, there was no reason to--you have to replace and upgrade your entire retinue of Orcs to match this more powerful invading force. The enemies you face level up with each encounter, so you're also forced into upgrading each castle over and over again, either by building up your current Orc army or finding new fighters and replacing the old. This Sisyphean quest has no corresponding significant characters to keep you company or explain why it's important to tackle the defense missions in the order you do. It's not even clear, exactly, why you want to do them at all.

More than once I felt like giving up on this quest thinking I'd stumbled onto some optional side content that was clearly only made for obsessed completionists. But enduring on, I found that finishing every stage unlocks the final cutscene and credits. It did not feel worth it.

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/middle ... 0-6416783/

Now all you have to do is die. That sounds easier than it actually is because your objective is to be killed by a particular kind of Orc. You rarely encounter lone Orcs, so it's easy to accidentally have the wrong one make the killing blow. You can always try over though, so don't get discouraged if you end up with a dud.

Once the Orc of your choice kills you, it's in the hands of the Random Numbers Generator. First, there's a good chance the Orc that took you out will spawn as just a regular old Orc Captain. Secondly, if the Orc in promoted in a region with no empty spots for new Orcs, they'll duel someone for their place. This can either end up in your brand-new dream Orc being killed, or one of your other favorite Orcs in the region being murdered.

However, if everything goes right, and you've cleared out a spot in advance for your new Orc, you can get an Epic or Legendary Orc Captain to spawn precisely how you want them to be. This method is incredibly frustrating, but it's the only way to exert any influence over what kind of Orcs spawn.

http://www.gamesradar.com/middle-earth- ... rcs-guide/