MiddleearthShadowofMordor_TalionFaceoff_ScreenshotToday, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) and Monolith Productions released the Shadow of Mordor Story Trailer ­ Sauron’s Servants.

Talion sets out to rage war against Sauron’s servants, The Black Captains, who forced the Ranger to watch as his son and wife were murdered.

Get a look behind the scenes of this fall’s highly anticipated action game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, as Troy Baker, who stars as Talion (The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Origins) and Alastair Duncan, who stars as Celebrimbor (Mass Effect, Uncharted 3), discuss their experiences creating the game.

MiddleearthShadowofMordor_Logo
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor delivers a dynamic game environment where the player orchestrates their personal plan of vengeance as they bend Mordor to their will. The game begins on the night of Sauron¹s return to Mordor, as his Black Captains brutally execute the Rangers of the Black Gate. Players become Talion, a ranger who loses his family and everything he holds dear, only to be returned from death by a mysterious Spirit of vengeance. Based on the player¹s actions with the in-game Nemesis System, every enemy encountered is distinct and can evolve to become a personal archenemy through the course of the game. As Talion¹s personal vendetta unfolds, players uncover the mystery of the Spirit that compels him, discover the origin of the Rings of Power and confront the ultimate nemesis.

The Palantir App is available to download for free from the App Store. A partnership between WBIE and Wikia, Palantir will sync with game assets and the final game, to reveal additional layers of information, insights and fan-authored content, creating a unique second-screen experience. Enable Palantir¹s sync mode while the Shadow of Mordor Story Trailer ­ Sauron’s Servants video plays to try it out.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor will launch in the Americas on September 30, 2014 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360; and on October 2, 2014 for PC and Steam.

Shortbread Pie

Join Fili to learn how to make a sweet summer treat that even elves will devour… or will they? See recipe below!

STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD PIE

For the crust:
Remember — this exact recipe may end up being a little more than enough for just one pie. If this happens, use the extra dough to form shapes to decorate your pie! This makes a great cookie, too!

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup confectioner’s sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Mix together the cold butter, flour, and confectioner’s sugar. Using a pastry cutter to mix it all together will help. Once it is mixed together into an even crust, take the amount you need to evenly cover the bottom of the tin. Make sure it is not too thin on the bottom or else it will burn, and not too thick on the edges.
3. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Always set the bake time lower in case your oven is acting up!
4. Remove from oven and let it cool completely before you dress it up with the berries!

For the filling:

Ingredients
1 quart fresh strawberries (or more!)
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. After the crust has baked and cooled, arrange around half the whole strawberries until the crust is covered.

2. Mash the remaining berries in a bowl before adding the sugar. Once mixed, cook it together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Be sure to stir it the entire time!

3. On the side, whisk together cornstarch and water. Once the berry mixture is boiling, stir the cornstarch mixture in and reduce heat to low. Stir constantly until it thickens into a gelatin-like substance. This could be 5 to 10 minutes depending on how your stove cooks, eyeball it!

4. Once it is ready, pour it over the strawberries that are already in the crust. Place any decorations such as the hearts we did above on the pie before it sets up too much. Then last, put it in the fridge for several hours before eating!

5. Eat it all! Whip cream or not, this pie will be gone in a night! Especially if you have Legolas around ;).

Enjoy!

scale comparisonsWelcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week.  If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights.  Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most active discussions.  Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards.  Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup — August 10, 2014”

935410_10151402223201334_498251264_nOver the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Shaun Gunner, Chairman of The Tolkien Society.  We discussed what he thinks of the Peter Jackson films and where he sees the Tolkien Society heading to in the 21st Century.  And because he said he didn’t mind answering some silly questions, I just couldn’t resist putting grammaboodawg’s favourite question from our Getting to know you Q&A’s to him.

Continue reading “TORn talks to Shaun Gunner, Chairman of The Tolkien Society”

After a bit of a break while we digested all the news from Comic Con, finally seeing the first Teaser Trailer and then seeing the first clip from the DoS Extended Edition, welcome back to your weekly doses of the Oakentoons 🙂

Don’t forget to check out the Oakenstills and Oakencrossovers while you’re there and to say hi to Peckish Owl.

As always, just click the images to go to Peckish Owls site to see the full size images (you’ll also need to click on the longer ones once you’re on her site to see them in full size).

Continue reading “Oakentoon #82 – Harp Play; Oakentoon #83 – Shazara; Oakentoon #84 – Christmas Special”

The annual tradition of determining who won or lost at San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing across the blogosphere. The all-volunteer staff of TheOneRing.net (who always attend on their own accord and dime) experienced all the booths, panels and exclusive lines at SDCC 2014.

After taking it all in, here are just a few reasons we think 2014 SDCC belonged to The Hobbit. Continue reading “The Hobbit totally won San Diego Comic-Con. Here are just eight reasons why.”