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
No comments:
Post a Comment