A Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor Review
By Rob Meush
Intro:
Shadows of Mordor is by far the best game I have played based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. It combines a fast, action-packed adventure full of back story, side quests, achievements and more. More is exactly what I want after spending nearly 30 hours in the game already. From full-fledged face to face combat, to stealth, to picking off Uruks from a distance, this game has got you covered.
The game begins with a pretty gruesome scene where Talion, the main protagonist, and his family are brutally executed (quite graphically I might add) in a blood ritual. Talion’s spirit is then bound to an elf ghost with no memory of his past. Together, they journey back to Middle-Earth to exact revenge on his killers, discover the elf’s past, and save other innocents along the way.
With special appearances from beloved characters such as Gollum, Sarumon and even Galadriel, as well as lovable new characters, the game moves forward as Talion kills, brands (takes control of) and executes Uruk Warchief’s and more as he as his elf counterpart quest for answers and vengeance.
Gameplay:
The game actually starts off being quite difficult and I found myself dying left right and centre. However, here in lies the brilliance. When an Uruk slays Talion, the game does not just reset to the last save point. That Uruk instead gains strength in the world, you learn his name and if he is fortunate, he progresses through the Uruk ranks making your death actually mean something. You are then returned to the closest forge tower (towers from an age past) where you too gain a little experience and continue questing through Mordor.
If you slay an Uruk captain (or any rank higher), they drop runes which can be slotted in to one of your 3 choice of weapons. Your sword for close quarters combat, your dagger (or broken sword) for stealth combat or your Bow for ranged combat.
As you level up, you gain ability points which can be applied to unlock several different abilities from either the Ranger tree or the Wraith tree. Beyond that, you also gain points for a different tree which can increase your health, focus, or amount of arrows you can carry, as well as unlock additional rune slots for all 3 weapons.
Progressing through the main story will also yield new powerful abilities from domination (mind control) to the ability to ride a Graug (huge troll like creature). Here in lies the clincher though, even when fully maxed out, you are still not invincible and the game still provides a challenge.
Battle System:
There are so many aspects to the Battle System that I thought I would create a whole category for this one. The game provides several different combat choices to suit your fancy.
The up close and personal face to face combat with Talion’s sword, Urfael, consists of an almost Assassins Creed feel, but not as easy. You can take on 30 Uruks at once and lay waste to them all or easily become overwhelmed only to watch an unimportant Uruk slice your head off. In this combat mode, you can utilize several different special abilities such as execute, an ability that utilizes the “Matrix slow motion” effect to allow you to watch Talion slice the head off an Uruk, or sever him in half, instantly. If execute gets boring, you can always instantly brand an Uruk (taking control of him) or unleash a sort of Wraith Fury which effects everything around you as an AoE (area of effect) offensive spell.
Aside from the sword, there is also Acham, your dagger, which grants you all sorts of epic stealth attacks from instant kills, to instant brands to brutalize, which is essentially Talion ripping apart an Uruk to cause the other Uruks nearby to flee in terror.
Lastly, the Bow, Azkar, allows you to peg off your enemies from a distance, fire fire arrows and detonate barrels and explosives which are, luckily for you, often placed near Uruk gatherings. Using the bow also allows you to “slow time” giving you more time to aim and fire or even peg Uruks to the ground by shooting their feet.
Graphics/Sound:
Having only played this game on the PS4, my thoughts on the graphics may seem one-sided or biased but assure you I would have felt this way on any console. I can say for certainty that the game delivers brilliant graphics, landscapes, animations and more. It flows nicely and I experience almost no lag at all, even with 30 Uruks and a Graug on screen at once, I was in total control. I also did not experience any tearing at any point at all.
The game also boasts a very large variety of Uruks and I never felt as though I had seen the same face twice.
The voice acting and music are also top notch. The actors have done an amazing job and it doesn’t seem like second grade quality or “B-Movie” status. The orchestral music takes me right back to Lord of the Rings and fits the game in a way I can only describe as absolutely perfect.
Lasting Appeal:
The game has a ton of content. Aside from the main story line which became a little dry in the middle, there are several side missions you can do of all different sorts, collectibles and memories to find, and if that is not enough, you can always hunt Uruk Captains and Warchiefs which, for this reviewer, was plenty of fun. Not to mention the DLC content which is coming which will provide new stories and Lore, new missions, new monsters, new Runes and more. The base game (including side missions and collectibles) takes anywhere from 35-45 hours to complete and with DLC coming, you can expect another 10-15 hours easily.
Conclusion:
It’s hard to break this game down in to a few paragraphs and it has so much to offer. If action-packed RPG style adventure if what you like, this game will definitely float your goat. I would give this game a straight 10/10 if it weren’t for the main story dragging a little. In the end however, I would definitely recommend the game and this reviewer will be playing it for many more hours I am sure.
Gameplay – 9.5/10
Battle System – 10/10
Graphics/Sound – 10/10
Lasting Appeal – 10/10
Overall – 9.5/10
The post One Game to Rule Them All – Shadows of Mordor appeared first on Bacon Sauce.
