“There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.“
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The world of Middle-earth is full of all manner of otherworldly horrors, ranging from firebreathing dragons to vengeful wraiths to massive fiery demons that shall not pass. However, while there are older and fouler things in J.R.R. Tolkien’s rich fantasy world, one of the most persistent and ugliest threats to Middle-earth at the Orcish hordes murdering, pillaging, and fighting on behalf of Sauron. In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, you’ll take on the role of Talion, a ranger of Gondor infused with the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor, and do battle with Uruks, Ologs, and all manner of orcs. But what if instead of a heroic ranger with supernatural powers, you wanted to be an orc instead?
To celebrate the release of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Warner Bros. Interactive summoned one of their most powerful makeup artists to our office to polymorph our Nerdist News and Bizarre States hostess with the mostess Jessica Chobot into one of the murderous, bloodthirsty orcs you might encounter in the game. After spending several hours in the makeup chair, Jessica completed her metamorphosis and the results were intimidating to say the least. She even hosted Nerdist News Talks Back in full orc regalia! Watch out, Talion; somehow we think Jess will become a fearsome warlord in no time.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS, and Android.
What would your orc name be? Let us know in the comments below.
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Welcome to Nerdoween! Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating everything spooky, macabre, and just plain weird. Nerdoween 2017 is presented by Alpha, our interactive membership service, which offers you exclusive content from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, as well as a 10% discount on all of our merch.
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).
