Shadow or Mordor 2 revealed by leak

Once Mordor unto the breach

Good news fans of all that is Hobbit-y, a sequel to the surprisingly decent Shadow of Mordor is reportedly on its way.

So far nothing's been announced officially, but the folks over at Nerdleaks got wind of the game thanks to a resume posted online by a stunt woman. Listing all the games she's worked on, the stunt woman mentioned working on Shadow of Mordor 2. Her employer is listed as Blur Studio, the team known for cutting beautiful CGI trailers for games like Dark Souls, the Arkham series, The Division and Assassin's Creed.

Presumably, this means a CGI announcement trailer for Shadow of Mordor 2 is on the cards, one that we might just see at this year's upcoming E3 Games Show.

As previously mentioned, the first game is a solid stab at bringing Tolkien's Middle-Earth (or at least Peter Jackson's vision of it) to current-gen consoles, and well worth playing just to sample the novel nemesis system. A sequel that expands on and improves this would be very welcome indeed

Walking Dead teaser offers first look at Negan

Since The Walking Dead returned from its midseason break, Rick and his crew have encountered whispers of a mysterious madman known as Negan. Following the brutal events of a couple of week's ago, the gang thought they had taken this shadowy antagonist out of the game, but unbeknownst to them the real Negan is still very much alive, and given what our heroes did to his followers, likely to be looking for a little payback.

Before he arrives to make our heroes' lives hell, viewers can take a look at the character in action (sort of) in this new promo for The Walking Dead's series finale. We get a quick look at Negan from behind, as well as his weapon of choice: a nasty looking baseball bat garnished with barbed wire.

In the comic upon which the show is based, Negan is known for his notoriety and for employing the kind of language that would make a docker blush. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who is bringing the character to the show, said that the writers were doing all they could to make this version of Negan as close to his comic book counterpart as possible. There's even talk that one of the show's main characters will neet their fate at Negan's hands in the finale, with star Andrew Lincoln saying he felt "sick to the stomach" upon finishing the script.

Batman v Superman review round-up

Dawn of disappointment?

 

 

Last night reviews for hotly-anticipated superhero smack down Batman v Superman went live. In contrast to the effusive comments bombarding social media from fans who attended pre-screenings, the critics' opinion of Batman v Superman is nothing short of scathing, suggesting that this long-gestating grudge match between DC's big two is an indulgent, over-long and overwrought affair.

I've yet to see the movie for myself, but as someone who found Man of Steel to be a risible retelling of Superman's origin, these reviews have left me more anxious than excited to finally see Batman v Superman this Friday. My review will be up sometime next week, but before then let's take a look at what the critics are saying about this clash of titans.

Helen O'Hara pulls no punches in her review for GQ Magazine, stating this "astonishingly dumb" comic book movie "will make you hate Batman, Superman and The Justice League" and leave viewers questioning whether or not heroes really exist. The full review, which isn't nearly as scathing as the headline would suggest, is well worth a read, throwing up a few things that may leave diehard Batman and Superman fans scratching their heads in disbelief - it sounds like this iteration of the Batman has more in common with Marvel's right-wing recidivist The Punisher than the conscientious crime fighter we all know and love.

If you're looking for a slightly more positive take, head over to Variety and check out what Andrew Barker has to say. Like Helen, Andrew found Batman v Superman to somewhat unwieldy, a film whose inchoate plot elements never quite gel into a satisfying whole, but called the film a "pure visual spectacle." Total Film felt similarly, admitting that while the film's action scenes sizzle, it lacks depth and emotion.

Most reviewers, however, fall somewhere in the middle, conceding that while Batman v Superman has enjoyable moments, the resulting spectacle is too overstuffed and unfocused for its own good. Empire called the move "worthwhile" (talk about damning with faint praise) and awarded the movie 3 stars, while Andrew Pulver from The Guardian was left yearning "for the lighter touch of the Marvel films."

Not the most auspicious of starts for DC's cinematic universe, then. Now the professionals have had their say, it'll be interesting to see how audiences react to Zack Snyder's super-powered slug-fest, as well as how well it does at the box office.

Jeremy Renner open to Hawkeye Netflix series

Of all the Avenger's members, few are as perfectly suited to the small screen as Hawkeye. He's more relatable than Cap or Tony, not as overpowered as the Hulk of Scarlet Witch, and he looks a hell of lot better in spandex than Nick Fury. His power-set, too, is more in-tune with the world of television; realistically, few networks could afford the pyrotechnics one would expect from a series featuring big-hitters like Hulk or Iron Man, but Daredevil, Jessica Jones and -to a lesser extent- Arrow, have shown that the small screen can perfectly accommodate these more grounded, down-to-earth heroes.

Of course, a major stumbling block would be convincing an actor like Renner to take on a TV series. As it turns out, though, it doesn't look like he'll need much convincing; whilst speaking at the Silicon Valley Comic Con the actor told the crowd he'd be okay with Hawkeye appearing in his own TV show, saying "the Netflix model is where all the character drama goes to now, you’re doing a superhero movie or a Netflix or HBO kind of model. So I’d be open to it."

Of course, Renner being open to it doesn't mean it's a done deal, but him being on board with the idea is a positive first step. Plus, it would help further bridge the gap between Marvel's film and TV properties, which, outside of a few cagey references, have remained stubbornly separate (yes this author is still chapped that Daredevil won't have a cameo in Civil War).

Multiplayers modes revealed in new Doom trailer

Bloody hell

Doom's release date is steadily approaching, and to whet your appetite a new trailer detailing the shooter's six multiplayer modes has been released.

The new trailer gives viewers a brief overview of all six modes, as well as a look at the game's frenetic gameplay. At first glance, it looks not unlike Halo 5's own multiplayer offering, albeit with more gore, gibbets and gouts of hellfire.

Players that step into the arena will be able to face their opponents in Team Deathmatch, Clan Arena, Soul Harvest, Freeze Tag, Warpath and Domination.

Doom will bring hell to PC, Xbox One and PS4 on May 13th.