As of January 12, the online servers for the open-world action-RPG Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor have shut down, publisher WB Games confirmed on the game's support page.WB Games cited "changes with our network" as the reason for Shadow of Mordor's servers to have gone offline. As a result, several online features, like Nemesis Forge and Vendetta missions, are no longer available on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.Players familiar with the game's sequel, 2017's Middle-earth: Shadow of War, may recall the Nemesis Forge. A featured added to Shadow of Mordor shortly before Shadow of War launched, Nemesis Forge allowed players to import their most-hated nemesis and most-loyal ally from Mordor into War. This feature is offline now that the servers have shut down.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Blizzard is launching a major update for Battle.net, representing the biggest front-facing upgrade to the PC platform in years, according to the developer.The upgrades, which have been available to beta testers for some time already, include things like an improved layout and navigation tools. Specifically, you can now "favorite" games and select how you want them to appear in your library.Battle.net 2.0 looks a lot cleanerThe Battle.net 2.0 update also includes a "much more expansive layout" to help you catch up with news about your games more easily. The social plane has also been updated for greater visibility, while there are a number of accessibility improvements so you can quickly access many things on Battle.net with just the keyboard. The color contrast has been improved as well, as screen support has been updated, Blizzard said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The PS5 hasn't stayed on store shelves long, with stock depleting almost as quickly as it goes up. However, if you're a Sony Rewards member, you have another opportunity to snag the new console soon. Starting tomorrow, a limited number of PS5 units will be made available through the Sony Rewards website. The Sony Rewards Twitter account says it'll tweet out the direct link tomorrow, and we'll be sure to update this story when that happens.It's free to sign up for Sony Rewards, though if you're a new user, you won't be able to get one of the consoles tomorrow. Every product on the Sony Rewards site is exchanged with points, meaning you'll need to have built up enough to claim one. To earn points, there are a number of things you can do. The first is make purchases with your Sony or PlayStation Visa credit card. You can also earn points by registering specific DVD and Blu-ray discs and uploading select movie tickets through the Sony Rewards app.* taps microphone *A limited number of PS5 consoles will be available tomorrow. Stay tuned & we'll let you know when they are live on the site. You might want to turn on post notifications. 👀⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ek25thJ3QN — Sony Rewards (@SonyRewards) January 14, 2021 Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Dungeons & Dragons is filled with larger-than-life characters, mystical elements, and out-of-the-ordinary items. And while WizKids has been producing collectibles based on content from D&D books for years--like these two dragon miniatures--it's now moving into items that won't help your campaign but will look great on your shelf. And arriving this February is the Hand and Eye of Vecna, which is--simply put--a severed hand holding an eyeball.For a little background from D&D lore, Vecna was a powerful wizard who used dark magic to create a horrific empire. Fearful of his eventual death--as he was a mortal--Vecna learned from the demon prince of undeath, Orcus, how to live on after death as a lich. Vecna became the greatest of all liches, but his lieutenant, Kas, found a way to defeat him. And all that remains of Vecna is his left hand and eye--both coveted items with magical abilities. WizKids sent us the collectible a bit early to check out, and you can see the photos of it below.Gallery The WizKids collectible comes with the hand, the eye, a glass jar and wooden stand, a metal wire mount, and a piece of cloth to cover the mount. The eye fits between the fingers of the hand, with a little help from a magnet. How much does something like this cost? $130, and while it is available for preorder on Amazon, there isn't an official WizKids Store listing at the time of this writing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With the release of the Beyond Light expansion, Bungie removed several of Destiny 2's destinations. One of the major issues the game has faced since then, however, is that some of its remaining destinations aren't really worth visiting thanks to changes to its weapons system. Luckily, the next season of Destiny 2 will see that changed, with Bungie reworking its loot system to make the Dreaming City and the Moon into places you're going to want to go to shoot aliens.Bungie ran down a bunch of changes to its loot system in its This Week at Bungie blog, detailing the changes it'll make to two of its destinations, and the high-level activities you can complete there. As it stands right now, weapons and armor earned from the Dreaming City and the Moon have caps placed on their Power levels, the numbers that determine how strong those pieces of gear can be (and, when averaged with the rest of your gear, how strong your character is overall). Not too long ago, Bungie instituted a time-based system to cap the Power levels of weapons and armor, so that it can slowly phase out old gear in favor of new stuff. Since the loot from the Dreaming City is from the Forsaken expansion and the Moon loot is from the Shadowkeep expansion, it's all old enough that it has reached its cap, thus making it effectively obsolete.In its next content season, Bungie is tweaking rewards from those locations to make them viable again. Armor sets from the Dreaming City and the Moon are getting reissued, along with four guns from both locations. One of those guns at each location will only be accessible through dungeons, the Pit of Heresy and the Shattered Throne. Here's the rundown of loot changes:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Gearbox Software has released the full patch notes for the latest update for Borderlands 3, now live in the game. The update adds a new limited-time mini-event called Supercharged Crystals and makes a few in-game quality-of-life adjustments.Supercharged Crystals ensures that all the crystals in the Takedown of the Guardian Breach, an optional endgame mission, do not lose their charge after you move away from them. Normally, these crystals lose their charge when no one is charging them--only maintaining their charge once you've capped them off--and if any become completely empty, then you have to restart from a checkpoint.So basically, this mini-event ensures you can't be wiped during the crystal charging parts of this Takedown, allowing you to more easily reach the next phase. For folks who haven't managed to beat Takedown of the Guardian Breach, this mini-event is the ideal time to try again. Supercharged Crystals ends on January 21 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In the age of social media, we get movie leaks from social media and forums. Matt Reeves' The Batman is going for a decidedly old-school look, so it feels appropriate that we get our first official look at one of its main characters in an old-school way: on a soda label.Spotted by BestProducts, The Riddler is getting his own flavor of Mountain Dew. This flavor actually surfaced a few months back, but quickly disappeared, as noted on the Mountain Dew wiki, which is a thing that exists. Back then, keen-eyed Redditors spotted the Riddler's Brew along with a Catwoman-themed Mountain Dew Zero Sugar and a standard Mountain Dew with Batman on the label.The drink is called Riddler's Brew, and the label features a look at the villain, who looks much as he did in the first moments of the Batman teaser we got during DC Fandome earlier this year. The extra space around him is adorned with his favorite punctuation mark. We did get a clear look at him in the trailer, but this is the first official marrying of the goggled character and the Riddler name that we're aware of.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Crossovers have become a staple of the CW's growing collection of DC superhero shows, uniting the actors and characters across a multi-part story, with last year culminating in the huge Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. Thanks to COVID-19, though, that annual event is off--at least for this year.After the Crisis event last year, the CW had been looking to go with a smaller crossover according network president Mark Pedowitz, who said in May that the crossover would be a two-hour event, most likely including Batwoman and the upcoming Superman & Lois show.In a new interview with EW, though, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries confirmed what we'd already assumed.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Almost six years after its launch, Axiom Verge is getting its first piece of post-launch content--and it's free! The new content is a Randomizer Mode, which is currently live in beta for the PC version of the game. The mode will be released for consoles (also for free) at a later date.Originally existing as an unofficial mod, Randomizer Mode has been worked on by Axiom Verge speedrunners NoReset Games, Chris Couture (aka VideoGameRoulette), Dimitrios Lianopoulos (GVirus), Mark Rawls (Willow), Lars Lehmann (Leemyy), and CrowdControl's Matthew Jakubowski (Jaku)--as well as the mod's creator, Pozzum, for years. Now, the mod is being officially implemented into the game."They spent years working on this and refused any compensation I offered," Axiom Verge developer Thomas Happ wrote in a blog post. "It was a labor of love, and I'm hugely grateful to all of them."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks in California remain closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, once they open there will be a massive change at both parks: Disney has announced it's ending its long-running annual pass program.In an email sent to annual pass holders, Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock said, "For nearly four decades, our Annual Passport program has been an important part of connecting with some of our most valued Guests. We are incredibly honored and grateful for that legacy, and the memories and magical moments you have helped us create over the years... I know that sunsetting the Annual Passport program will be disappointing to many of our Passholders who are just as anxious as we are to reopen our gates and welcome Guests back when the time is right." The company also released a statement on Twitter, which you can see below.pic.twitter.com/6Wir9aO5hy — Disney Parks News (@DisneyParksNews) January 14, 2021Those who have active passes will receive refunds from the company and, according to Disney, there will be "membership offerings" announced at some point. It remains to be seen what those would entail.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Square Enix has announced a release date for Dragon Quest Tact, a mobile spin-off in the Dragon Quest series. Originally launched last year in Japan, the strategy game will launch on January 27 in the West.Pre-registration opened today on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Pre-registering for the game will grant you a King Slime monster for use in the game once it launches.Dragon Quest Tact is a grid-based tactics game featuring monsters from the Dragon Quest series as playable units. You can take your army of Slimes, Hybirds, and Hammerhoods to fight against the evil forces threatening the land of Orchesterra. Each monster has its own strength and rarity level, and Square promises a range of free monsters that will let you build out your army without paying.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

New Predator challenges have come to Fortnite with the most recent update. Players will need to complete them in order to unlock the intergalactic hunter. One challenge will send you to three different locations across the map in order to talk to different NPCs. The challenge is to talk with Beef Boss, Remedy, and Dummy. These challenges just dropped this morning, so completing them will be hectic. This guide will show the best way to find all three NPCs and complete the challenge quickly.Where To Find Beef Boss, Remedy, and DummyBeef Boss, Remedy, and Dummy are all located right next to the Stealthy Stronghold where you find the mysterious pod. They each have multiple spawn points on the map--but it appears those have been tweaked so they always show up around the same area so players can complete these challenges. Here's a map with their specific location.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

GameFly is evolving in 2021 to offer more subscription plans for both video games and 4K Blu-rays. In addition to the standard subscription--which is still the same price--GameFly has now added Budget and Elite tiers as well as a plan dedicated to movies. The new subscription plans are live now, and you can still get a free 30-day trial to see if you like the service before committing. GameFly offers game rentals for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch as well as PS4 and Xbox One. Here's a quick overview of the new plan options:Budget: $8.95 per month, rent one disc at a time, excludes new releasesElite: $29.95 per month, rent two discs at a time, includes new releases and 4K Blu-raysMovies-only: Four subscription plans ranging from $8.95 to $18.95 per month See plans at GameFly The Budget plan is cost-effective at $8.95 per month ($5/month for the first three months), but it does come with a couple of significant limitations. With the Budget plan, you won't have access to new games until four months after release and movie rentals are limited to DVD and standard Blu-ray. The Budget plan also only allows you to rent one game/movie at a time.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

While developer Treyarch has been silent on its more competitive Ranked mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the studio is insisting the playlist is still in the works.In response to a thread on the Black Ops Cold War subreddit, Treyarch community manager Josh Torres said Ranked mode is coming but no release date has been nailed down yet."Yes. Ranked Play will be a thing." Torres, who goes by FoxhoundFPS, said when asked if the mode is in development. "I currently don't have a timetable to share with you, however."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Originally penned for early 2021, the Odyssey expansion for Elite Dangerous has been delayed to later this year. Folks can expect the upcoming expansion to hit PC in late spring, and the Xbox One and PS4 versions will go live in the fall."Our PC plans have only been affected by a small amount, however our plans for the console release will unfortunately see a larger development shift," developer Frontier Developments wrote in a Steam blog post. "Please do know that these difficult decisions have been made with a focus on making Odyssey as incredible as it can possibly be for all our Commanders regardless of their platform, while also respecting realistic project deadlines for our teams during this difficult global situation."The difficult global situation being, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio writes that the ongoing impact of the pandemic and 2021's renewed lockdowns has "put added pressure" on the team.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com