This Is Why Shadow Of War Is Not a Pay-to-Win Game

We enjoyed playing Shadow Of War, so a large part of this episode of our gaming and pop culture podcast - Transition - is all about that game. Rishi Alwani and Mikhail Madnani join host Pranay Parab for this episode. We also discuss Forza Motorsport 7, Star Wars Battlefront 2, WWE 2K18, and the games we’ve been playing this week. We really enjoyed playing Shadow Of War so both Rishi and Mikhail talk about their experiences with the game. There was a big controversy around micro-transactions in the game and that is where we clear the air. Do you need to pay to win in Shadow of War? We answer that and many other questions including whether The Lord of the Rings fans will be disappointed.

Then we talk about more micro-transaction related controversies in AAA gaming. Forza Motorsport 7 and micro-transactions in the game are at the heart of our latest rants on this podcast. Then we talk about what Microsoft did to fix this, and whether that helped players who were upset at the launch of the game. Then we speak about WWE 2K18 and what's new in the game. We begin by sharing our experiences with the preview of the game, discuss our interview with game producer Mark Little, and finally talk about micro-transactions and game modes. Rishi complains about certain aspects of the game that annoyed him too.

Finally, we speak about Star Wars Battlefront 2 Beta and EA’s strange game design decisions. We answer the question, "Should I buy this game?", quite emphatically, before talking about the games we've been playing this week. This includes Gundam Versus, Cuphead, Stardew Valley, Golf Story, Shadow of War, Star Wars Battlefront 2 Beta, The Sexy Brutale: Full House Edition, Pyre, and Everybody’s Golf.

You can subscribe to Transition via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below. The music for this episode comes via Magnus Souleye Pålsson's album PPPPPP, which is the soundtrack for the game, VVVVVV.