Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor Story Trailer Introduces Ratbag

One of the biggest surprises of E3 was just how good Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor looked. Now the open world action game from Monolith Productions is continuing to turn heads at PAX Prime, complete with a new story trailer for would-be rangers to clap their peepers on.

Posted on the PlayStation Blog this afternoon and showing off many of the game’s features and evolving story beats, this latest Shadow of Mordor trailer gives players an idea of the type of combat and strategy-heavy action they can expect when the game releases on Sept. 30.

For those of you who happen to be attending PAX over the weekend, you can actually drop by Booth 1640 to get some hands-on time with Shadow of Morder and experience its unique brand of orc blood-letting for yourself. You’ll also have the opportunity to get a photo with various Uruks at the Warner Bros. Interactive booth, as well as pick up a shirt proudly showing off your blue hand brand.

“In celebration of PAX, we are unveiling a new story trailer introducing Ratbag, one of the many Uruks in Sauron’s army, and one whose ambition far outweighs his skill,” said Monolith Community Manager, Andy Salisbury. “But, in that desperation for the rank of Warchief, you’ll find an ally that just might be able to help you.”

Diving deep into one of the game’s missions at E3, I had the opportunity to see Shadow of Mordor’s hierarchy system at work. As you complete tasks and take out various generals, their underlings will rise in the ranks, giving you an ever-changing tide of enemies to crash against as these baddies fulfill their own devious goals. With your special wraith powers, you have the ability to possess many of these orcs, sending them to do your bidding and, quite possibly, placing your new minions in a position of power.

It sounds like Ratbag has dreams of one day reaching the top and, even better, you won’t have to use any of your undead magic to bend him to your will. Having a frienemy at the top of the food chain could be a huge advantage, especially is said ally doesn’t pose any real threat to you in their own right.

It’s also worth mentioning that, while Ratbag will be a standard character for all players, the rest of the game’s Uruks and missions will be created on the fly, meaning that each player will enjoy a different experience, taking on enemies with different strengths and weaknesses and tackling different goals.

Look for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor to bring quite a bit of violence to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 late next month. After that, you can expect even more content to be coming down the pipeline in the months that follow.