Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor


Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Players: One
Genre: Action Role-Playing
Distribution: Optical Disc, Download
Platform: Playstation 4
Release Date: September 30, 2014

One of my first computer gaming experiences was War in Middle Earth in 1988. It was with excitement and a hefty dose of nostalgia that I returned to Middle Earth. The game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The player takes the role of Talion, a ranger of Gondor who guards the Black Gate. Talion is killed by Sauron's forces, but is resurrected with strange new abilities and a ghostly companion named Celebrimbor, who the player finds through flashbacks is the smith that created the rings of power.

The game plays like a mixture of Assassin's Creed and the Batman Arkham games, and if you've played either, or both, you'll fall into a familiar rhythm. Because of the setting, between well known stories, the player knows what they can affect in the world and what won't change. There's no way that your actions can really influence the outcome of the events we know will happen, so there's a bit of a feeling of powerlessness in regards to the over-arching narrative. The game designers tried to combat this by telling a personal story of loss and vengeance, with only middling success. I felt like this was due to the dry nature of both the main characters; they're both on quests of retribution and both are very serious fellows. It would have aided the player's connection to the characters had they been a little less alike.

The supporting characters, what few of them there are, sometimes help to alleviate this issue, but not to the extent they should have. Gollum makes a few appearances, serving to tie the story into the elements of the world with which the player is already familiar; but he seemed under utilized. There's a dwarven hunter named Torvin who does serve to lighten the mood occasionally, but he seems so stereotypically jovial most of the time that he's more a caricature of a rambunctious sidekick than a living, breathing character.

The deficiencies of the story aside, the game itself is rather fun. Sure the collectibles are a little lackluster, but the combat and the method by which you get to the conclusion were satisfying. The most talked about aspect of the gameplay is the Nemesis system. It boils down to this: there are various orc captains roaming the countryside, you can kill them for big rewards. If they kill you however, they gain power. If a non-captain orc kills your character, and there's an open captain spot, they'll be promoted to captain. There are also war chiefs that are tougher than your run of the mill captain, often with only a couple of weakness and bodyguards. Powers granted to Talion by Celebrimbor allow the player to manipulate the captains, and with some patience, the war chiefs, into doing the player's bidding. Some of my favorite gameplay moments occurred when I installed my newest puppet at the top of the enemy's hierarchy.

After some practice the combat isn't terribly challenging; especially once you've advanced your character enough to unlock some rather powerful abilities. Once you've gotten a feel for the game there are few combat situations that you'll hesitate to jump in to. Stealth is typically a more satisfying way to get where you want to go, but it's nice to know that if you're discovered you're not punished too terribly for the mistake. One aspect of the game I found lacking is the loot system. You gain runes for your three weapons that augment their abilities when you kill captains or chiefs. Late in the game you can greatly increase the chances of finding an Epic rune, but even these offer only small perks in combat. I never found a rune that I felt I couldn't be without, as their effect on play was often too small to matter.

Conclusion: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is an entertaining open-world game, the most innovative aspect is the Nemesis mechanic, which I hope pops up in more of these types of games. The dry characters and weak loot detract slightly from the game, but the intense action, and multiple ways to accomplish your objective, mitigates the impact they have on the player's enjoyment.

Rating: 8/10

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