Jackson to do The Hobbit, after all?

AustinArlitt · 2014-05-20T18:27:59.000Z

That’s the best post I’ve read all year, Dave.

Penny_Dreadful · 2014-05-20T18:30:43.000Z

Why are there no good single player Middle Earth RPGs? Angband doesn’t count.

Alistair · 2014-05-20T18:37:06.000Z

Shadows of Mordor?

Murph · 2014-05-21T07:48:21.000Z

Alistair:

Shadows of Mordor?

Not to derail, but…I’d not seen that, and holy hell that looks amazing. Generally, I know better than to buy into a trailer, but…whoa.

Dave_Markell · 2014-05-21T08:29:15.000Z

It does look good, in an Assassin’s Creed meets Arkham City meets Middle Earth sort of way.

Dejin · 2014-05-21T08:41:45.000Z

Penny Dreadful:

Why are there no good single player Middle Earth RPGs? Angband doesn’t count.

I loved War in the North. It’s really more of an Action RPG than standard RPG. But it’s a lot of fun both Single and Multi-Player. I have no idea why it got such a crappy reception. I’ve played through it once Single Player as a Dwarf, once Multi-Player as a Ranger with 2 friends, and once Multi-Player as an Elf with just 1 other player.

Murph · 2014-05-21T09:26:55.000Z

Dejin:

I loved War in the North. It’s really more of an Action RPG than standard RPG. But it’s a lot of fun both Single and Multi-Player. I have no idea why it got such a crappy reception. I’ve played through it once Single Player as a Dwarf, once Multi-Player as a Ranger with 2 friends, and once Multi-Player as an Elf with just 1 other player.

I never played through all of it, but I got a taste, and it seemed like a fine game…Always kinda meant to get around to buying that one.

Shadow of Mordor looks more action-y than RPGish (though that’s JUST based on that trailer,) but it looks amazing.

Dejin · 2014-05-21T09:39:04.000Z

Murph:

Shadow of Mordor looks more action-y than RPGish (though that’s JUST based on that trailer,) but it looks amazing.

From reading the original announcement article on it in PC Gamer my impression is similar to Dave’s. It sounded a lot like Batman Arkham set in Middle Earth.

I am a bit worried about their “You are a vessel for an evil spirit” conceit. But other than that I’m looking forward to it.

Murph · 2014-05-21T12:34:23.000Z

Dejin:

From reading the original announcement article on it in PC Gamer my impression is similar to Dave’s. It sounded a lot like Batman Arkham set in Middle Earth.

And I’d say the same about the Arkham series – but that’s not at all an attack. They very much favor “action” to “RPG,” but I love the Arkham games, and Shadow of Mordor looks absolutely fantastic.

Daagar · 2014-05-21T16:20:25.000Z

Dave Markell:

brain dump

The fact you can hold that all in your head and pull it out on demand to answer random forums rants is mind-blowing. There are days I struggle to remember main character names from a book I’ve been actively reading.

awdougherty · 2014-05-22T20:37:51.000Z

Dejin:

I loved War in the North. It’s really more of an Action RPG than standard RPG. But it’s a lot of fun both Single and Multi-Player. I have no idea why it got such a crappy reception. I’ve played through it once Single Player as a Dwarf, once Multi-Player as a Ranger with 2 friends, and once Multi-Player as an Elf with just 1 other player.

I played War In The North with my coop group and we had a really good time with it for the most part. It’s designed to run through it multiple times, so we didn’t get to experience the game in its hardest difficulty glory, but what we did see was fun.

BigWeather · 2014-05-24T20:59:46.000Z

Dave, not sure you read NeoGAF but they’re starting a Silmarillion read-through on June 1st, reading a bit each week and having discussions about it. I know you know the material backwards and forwards but figured you may be interested in some of the discussion as well as how newcomers to the material receive it.

NeoGAF

J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion' - A Read-Through By TolkienGAF (Join Us!)

Thread Table of Contents: ~ Preliminary Questions and Discussions - Begins at Post #3 ~ Ainulindalë - Begins at Post #201 ~ Valaquenta - Begins at Post #316 ~ Quenta Silmarillion (Chapters 1/2/3/4) - Begins at Post #413 ~ Quenta Silmarillion...

Dave_Markell · 2014-05-24T21:28:03.000Z

Hey, thanks for the heads-up, BigWeather. The timing is interesting. I’m in the middle of my annual Tolkien read-through and am currently completing Unfinished Tales prior to diving into the HoME volumes. I’ve already done the Silmarillion, but I may peek into that thread from time to time. I don’t really feel like following another forum, though. This one and various game-specific ones are all I generally have time for.

Dave_Markell · 2014-06-27T14:59:13.000Z

Arise! I finally saw Desolation, and I’m very glad I didn’t pay for it. With the exception of some of the Smaug/Bilbo dialogue, almost everything in this film altered the book out of recognition, and not for the better. An elf/dwarf romance? A battle with orcs in the streets of Lake Town that no human even wakes up for? Coating Smaug in molten gold? The meeting with Beorn? Bleah. I could go on and on.

There was only one change that I thought was interesting: Thorin hoping to burgle the Arkenstone, now a symbol of kingship, so that he can unite the dwarven clans and attack Smaug with their combined might. The plan in the books to open the door and steal some stuff was very pedestrian and, even if successful, wouldn’t have accomplished anything significant. Giving Thorin a higher purpose was a tweak I could have appreciated if the rest of the film hadn’t been so bad.

Desslock · 2014-06-29T23:26:04.000Z

I liked the plan to coat Smaug in molten gold for the same reason as you/we liked the Arkenstone point – it at least gave the dwarves a plan to defeat a clear obstacle to recovering their home. I liked all the Smaug bits, actually. Except for the need for a magical ballista arrow.

Dave_Markell · 2014-06-30T08:35:09.000Z

The ballista bugs me too. Bard the Bowman is now Bard the Ballista-firer? It doesn’t have the same ring to it, and it takes away from the significance of Bilbo discovering the bare patch in Smaug’s armor. In this version of the story, everyone already knows that Girion damaged it.

And while I see what you’re saying about the dwarves’ fight against Smaug, it makes them too heroic for my tastes. Thorin and Company weren’t heroes until the very end of the book, when they joined the Battle of the Five Armies. Bilbo had to save them over and over again and was the focus of the party by that point. By contrast, his role in the gold caper was irrelevant and it shifted the spotlight back to the dwarves.

Telefrog · 2014-07-23T10:18:53.000Z

Speaking of Bard the Bowman…

WhollySchmidt · 2014-07-23T10:35:23.000Z

Wait, was it always called THE HoBbIT?

Dave_Markell · 2014-07-23T10:47:19.000Z

It’s amazing how much I don’t care about this.

Mike_Cathcart · 2014-07-23T13:19:13.000Z

But Dave it’s the defining chapter.