Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a third-person action game developed by Monolith Productions, a studio owned by publisher Warner Brothers Interactive. In it, you play a ranger named Talion who dies along with his family at the hands of orcs and who, in a dark ritual, is seemingly brought back to life tied to a shadow. The shadow imbues Talion with a wide range of ghostly powers which he uses to exact revenge on Sauron’s growing Uruk army. However, even with the strength of the shadow, Talion is still only human, and one man against an entire orc army is a tricky business. Instead of trying to single-handedly fight his way through their superior numbers, Talion wisely focuses on selecting higher-ranking captains and warchiefs in hopes of luring out his general, the Black Hand of Sauron, and destroying the army by cutting him down. head. .
For fans of The Lord of the Rings, Shadow of ModorThe story of could be considered pseudo-canonical. Obviously, JRR Tolkien did not write these things himself, but the team at Monolith Productions made the effort to collaborate with Middle-earth Productions, as well as the director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, Peter Jackson, to make sure that the events of the game align with the existing timelines and lore of Middle-earth. This should ensure that there is nothing in the story or its developments that could infuriate the most purist fans, and since its plot is secondary to the events of the books and movies, the game is accessible to everyone, even if you don’t know what is a frodo . In terms of story quality, the script has its moments, but ultimately, in my opinion, it’s pretty average. It’s a shame, as lead writer Christian Cantamessa is also responsible for one of my all-time favorite video game stories on red dead redemption With overused tropes like revenge and amnesia, and a somewhat confusing introduction and walkthrough, it sadly wasn’t shadow of mordorThe story that hooked me. Instead, it was the game.
It is very clear from the start that shadow of mordor takes inspiration from other popular third-person action-adventure games, especially the assassin’s Creed Batman series and games that have come out of Rocksteady Studios in recent years. Talion climbs the watchtowers and stalks his orcish prey with the stealthy safety of any white-hooded fledgling and with similar ease. Combat is a bit more challenging. If they want to survive, players will have to make use of their combo meters and finishing abilities in a similar way to the takedown system of the Arkham games. Fortunately, combat is just as fluid, and in a couple of short play sessions you’ll have Talion jumping over enemy shields, dodging arrows and spears, performing stealthy finishers, and counterattacking with ease. However, even with all of these abilities at his disposal, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by a crowd. Stealth is sometimes the smartest option. Engaging even a single orc in open combat can quickly get out of control if a nearby Captain comes to his aid, or if a passing patrol spots you and raises the alarm.
While Talion’s fighting style may resemble that of the Dark Knight, his ethos about the sanctity of life does not. In fact, shadow of mordor is arguably more violent than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies. Some of Talion’s executions are particularly bloody, with beheadings common. Depending on your abilities, a stealth execution ability allows you to assassinate an orc so thoroughly that it causes other orcs to flee the area. To put that in perspective, Orcs eat people! Considering it’s brutal enough to make people-eating monsters run screaming, it should come as no surprise that shadow of mordor it’s intended for mature audiences and certainly gets its M rating.
while a Arkham/Creed The Mordor-set mix may seem derivative on its surface, Monolith Studios manages to transcend the ‘copycat’ status by adding some cool mechanics of their own. One is the ability to gain information on Talion’s targets before engaging them in battle. Tossing around a lower level orc to learn their Captain’s strengths and weaknesses is not only fun, it’s an integral part of the player’s survival. Knowing in advance that his target is invulnerable to stealth attacks, but susceptible to a single headshot from a bow, will save you a lot of trial and error in the long run.
Don’t think you’re the only one hunting on this side of the Black Gate, either. Some captains and his bodyguard will stalk Talion as he fights his way through Mordor, and the Uruk captains will even fight internal power struggles with each other. When a Captain falls, his position is not vacant for long, as many others are eager to take his place. Orcs who win duels with each other, or manage to kill Talion or survive an encounter with him, will increase in power and will likely be promoted to Captain. It’s these types of dynamics, along with tight and fluid (if you’re borrowing) combat and movement mechanics, that make Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor a standout in his own right. Throw in your usual open-world meta-objectives like hunting critters and collecting artifacts, and there’s plenty of content to keep you busy on top of the main quest, too.
Recommended for fans of third person action games, the assassin’s Creed series, and New Zealand. Search shadow of mordor on PS4 or XB1 at your local Slackers today, or jump in and pre-order the PS3 or Xbox 360 version, scheduled for release on November 18, 2014.