Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

By: Robert Murphy

We all have at one time or another seen the stories of Frodo and The Lord of the Rings stories but what is so fantastic about Middle-Earth is the fact that it is rich and full of many more stories hidden in it's lore and we get to see one them here and now with Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Players in this game take on the role of a human ranger named Talion who has watched over Mordor and it's people, ever vigilant and ever watching for fear that evil may one day return to the land and Sauron with it. When this day finally comes it leaves you a broken man after a devastating attack from The Black Hand leaves you and your family dead. But it seems that you were not destined for the after life just yet and you return, a man torn between two worlds and now fated to roam Middle-Earth when an elvish wraith with an unknown past binds himself to you. The two of you will travel the land seeking answers to both of your futures here in this world and kill many, MANY Uruks along the way.

Shadow of Mordor is one those fantastic games that blends stealth and action together in an open world setting that every Lord of the Rings fan has dreamed about since they first read the books or saw the movies. The game offers a deep amount of lore that left me craving more and more every single second that I learned more about it's characters or found ancient artifacts strewn throughout the land. Immediately following the tragic events of the stories beginning tutorial/cut scenes, you're are set free to do as you wish whether that means looking for hidden treasures, fighting Uruks or working with the scheming Golem to find out about the hidden past of your new wraith bff, it is entirely up to you. 

I myself started out slicing my way through any read arrow that came across my mini map and getting addicted to the enjoyably familiar feel of the combat system. Fighting feels like a potent mix of any Batman game acrobatics and Assassin's Creed style sword play but with the added benefit of having an other worldly friend to watch your back. Talion and your wraith friend (I leave him nameless for a reason) are a potent combination, Talion was already an excellent swordsman and a ranger of Mordor, add to that an elvish wraith who has stellar sword and bows skills, not too mention ancient knowledge and the ability to bend Uruks to his will, you become an almost unstoppable power house. You're able to slash through large numbers of Uruks with ease once you start going, countering attacks with button prompts and chaining together attacks for instant killing moves and stronger attacks. 

Uruks however will get you with their numbers and their more powerful captain and warchief fighters and you will suffer from the unfortunate death or two but this brings us to one of the most interesting aspect of the game, the nemesis system. Uruks in the game are not just nameless faces in the crowd, they all have personalities, weapon preferences and the desperate urge to prove their power and become high ranking members of Saurons army. So every time a low ranking Uruk manages to get that final blow on you they are promoted and become captains which range from elite to veteran and more. Here they can battle one another for more power and control over an area and try to hopefully become a warcheif, the highest ranking among the Uruks in the game. You of course will come back to life as the "Gravewalker" who haunts Uruks nightmares and the best part is they know that you come back to life. You will continually face enemies that may have already killed you and they will talk to you about it briefly before combat or if they ran away and you fight them again they will remember your last fight with them and how you may have exploited their weaknesses and fears. It's an insanely enjoyable conversation system that is a little perk to experience in the gameplay for the players.

Now I mentioned above that you can exploit weaknesses of a given Uruk, well that is because captains and higher levels will develop attributes to make combat more challenging for players to fight them. Some Uruk captains have fears like anyone else, they could be afraid of fire or susceptible to ranged attacks by you, some even can instantly be killed by a certain attack. However, they also have powerful strengths to them as well, these can also vary from anything like not being affected by ranged attacks or becoming enraged at the fact that they're losing a fight and they will fight harder and stronger than before. It is a great system to add a varying experience for players but it does become a little repetitive after you start to slay one enemy after another, it's not a big deal but you will notice it after awhile. This though brings me to the fact that you can thin the ranks of the captains all you'd like but a new one will be coming right after it, I don't think I could have more than four captains dead without new ones instantly replacing the last one I killed. I understand that it is probably done for a reason and I think I just let my blood lust get the best of me.

My blood lust did lead me though to unlocking the many skills and abilities that you can unlock for your character and your wraith/ranger arsenal. There is a basic skill system to the game where you earn points to spend on abilities such as flaming arrows, the ability to explode enemies in finishers with your wraith powers and even brainwashing Uruk enemies to your biding. Yes, that's right you can amass your own force of Uruk minions to your biding and turn them against their own captains or even turning the captains around to make one fight the other for power. There is also a rune collecting aspect to the game, this allows you to collect various runes from captains to be used on your sword, dagger and bow to increase their power. You can have at any one time up to five runes equipped to your weapons and they can do a variety of things from returning your wraith power to full and many more. There are also weapon specific missions spread throughout Mordor and completing them will unlock an ancient rune that your lovely assistant inscribes on them to increase their power even higher. 

Overall, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is an exceptional gaming experience. I feel that I am a perfect mix for what this game offers, as a fan of The Lord of the Rings it gave me an in depth story about a part of the Middle-Earth story I haven't seen before but also offering the gamer side of me an insanely fun open world action/stealth game to play through. Developers have done a top notch job hear in creating an almost interactive experience between your character and the characters in the game with the variety of Uruks you will face along the way, it's like you're a part of LotR history. The appeal of killing Uruks does not last forever but the wraith storyline and the story told for Talion is exceptional and is brought to life in a way for gamers and fans alike. 

Good:

- Mordor is a vast and open experience drenched with LotR legends to see

- A balanced combat and stealth system that will fit any players preference

- A variety of skills and abilities to unlock for your characters and weaponry 

- The nemesis system creates an interactive and immersive experience that creates new Uruks with personalities, attributes and stories of their own to tell 

Bad:

- Some repetitive material with the Uruks strengths/weaknesses and some of the minor side quests

Scully Rating: 9.2 out of 10