Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Take the Fight to Mordor.

Like many people who watched (or were at) E3 this year, I was impressed by a new game in the Lord of the Rings franchise. That game was Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor.

The best way I can describe the game to someone who hasn't heard of it is that it is the platforming and combat from the Assassin's Creed series, mixed with the combat from the Batman: Arkham games and rolled up in Lord of the Rings mythology. And to be completely honest, that really isn't that far off the mark.

You play as Talion, a ranger of Gondor whose family was slaughtered by the Black Hand of Mordor. Talion was killed too, but was 'banished from death' and subsequently possessed by a Wraith. Now, this isn't your typical possession, nor is the Wraith that possesses him your typical Wraith¹. Talion's dark passenger gives him power and the ability to take the fight to Mordor and the Uruks that reside there.

Talion and his Wraith buddy get to do awesome things like this.

The combat mechanics in Shadow of Mordor are, as I've already said, a mix of those from the Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham series. Moves and counter moves, stealth and all-out brawling. It's all there. And it's backed up by an unlock system that allows your bag of tricks to grow as you progress through the game. One thing that neither AC or Arkham have that SoM has though is the Nemesis System.

As you fight your way through Mordor, you are invariably going to die. And by that same token, you will have Uruk's that run away from you. Well, both of these contribute to how future encounters will play out. An enemy that has killed you in the past will most likely get promoted in the Uruk ranks, and he will remember you the next time you face. Did you throw someone in a fire in a previous battle, and they survived? The next time you cross paths, they will bear the scars from your prior encounter and will want to get you back for it.

This makes for a unique experience in the gaming world today. I've probably played around 6 hours or so of SoM, and most of that has been simply hunting down Uruks that bested me in combat, or hunting down the Captains that annoyed me the most. I only recently went back to running story missions due to not being able to unlock anything new until I completed more of the actual story.

Another thing that impressed me about the Nemesis System was the level of detail that it goes into. With the exception of a few Uruks, every one of them is randomly generated, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and fears. This makes for a truly dynamic experience, as you never know what kind of Uruk you may run into next.

In regards to the actual story, what I have played of it is great. SoM gives a fresh point of view on a time period in Tolkien's universe that hasn't been covered in books or film. Not only that, but it's a whole lot of fun to see what happens next as you are playing.

Shadow of Mordor gets a near perfect 9½ star rating

Overall, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a great game. It has an interesting story, has a high replayability value, and most importantly, is a whole heck of a lot of fun. I personally can't wait to finish the game. If you haven't already done so, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy yourself. It's available on Steam for PC, as well as the PS4 and Xbox One now, and will be released on the PS3 and 360 on Nov. 18th.

1. Due to not having completed the game fully myself, I will not disclose the identity of this Wraith.

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