Last week, Warner Bros. and developer Monolith Productions showed off the first gameplay from Buy Now . The sequel to Shadow of War looks nothing short of stunning, with an advanced “Nemesis” system, new combat abilities, and flying mounts that completely change the course of battles. But a character only briefly visible in the footage — the late Az-Laar The Demolisher — has fans pouring out a pint of grog and shedding a few tears.
YouTube users have already begun uploading their own Az-Laar tributes, showcasing the best moments of the warrior’s short life before he was cut down in a shower of oil and fire. One video, which couples his death with a somber black and white filter and sad piano music, even features a comment from Az-Laar himself.
“This video brings to me comfort. It is appreciated. Though I am gone, I will return,” Az-Laar said.
Naturally, Warner Bros. wasted no time jumping on the Az-Laar grief train itself, releasing its own memorial video that highlighted the audience’s grief as they were forced to watch him charge through a gate, only to be ensnared in an oil trap and set ablaze along with several other members of Talion’s army.
But who could forget Az-Laar’s valiant effort before he was killed? After breaking through the fortress’ initial gate, he picked up a small enemy and ripped its head off without skipping a beat.
Az-Laar is just one of the many characters you can recruit for your ever-growing army in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. The game’s expanded Nemesis system now even allows for characters to leave your side and align with the enemy, and one’s “death” can never be a sure thing this time around. The game launches for Buy Now , Buy Now , and PC on August 22, with enhancements coming to PlayStation 4 Pro, and Project Scorpio.
Remember when transparent gadgets were the coolest things you could own? Sony is bringing that late '90s aesthetic back with its new PS5 Prism Collection. The gorgeous lineup gives your DualSense controller and PS5 console a glossy, see-through makeover in three eye-catching colors.
https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2115459064981512662?s=19
For years, Call of Duty’s campaign mode has used big, scripted set pieces to tell the overarching story amid all the adrenaline-pumping action. The 2023 Modern Warfare 3 tried to shake up the established formula by introducing a handful of short open combat missions, and I genuinely liked the idea, but the game's overall negative reception seeped into how those missions were received.
I feared the next iteration might abandon the idea because of the backlash, but I am glad it didn't. MW4’s “Stranded” mission uses the same approach, but instead of fragmenting it across the campaign, it puts it all in a single large-scale open-world mission.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.