Back to Mordor

Many publishers attempt to make video game adaptations of other fictional works. As far as I am concerned, most of those games are poor attempts from developers to capitalize the market, and the products are fairly mediocre, and even laughable. However, once in a while, great games emerge from the crowd. A recent example would be Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game based on stories and characters from the DC Universe.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is not the first game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe, though the other attempts so far have been good but not exceptional. The recipient of praise from critics and very positive opinions overall, Shadow of Mordor might just become the one game to rule them all. Shadow of Mordor takes elements from many other titles in the action/RPG genre, namely Assassins Creed, and combines it with unique elements. Despite not being able to play it myself just yet, I’ve seen a number of friends and streamers who found the game very enjoyable.

Set in a time period between the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Shadow of Mordor puts players in the shoes of Talion, a ranger captain who merged with wraith of ancient elf king and is seeking revenge for the death of his family, against Sauron’s army. To become stronger, players’ characters can acquire runes and learn abilities within the game that can be separated into two trees: Ranger tree, which symbolizes Talion’s life as a ranger and focuses on his various fighting and stealth maneuvers, and Wraith tree, which symbolizes his merging with elf wraith, and focuses on archery, crowd control, and the domination of enemies. These two trees established a great dynamic that formed Talion’s arsenals.

What sets Shadow of Mordor apart from other games of the same genre is a truly dynamic player-enemy interaction system called the “Nemesis system,” and somewhat novel encounters and missions. Every Uruk, or orc-like, opponent is uniquely generated and entered into the player’s memory. The player can then gather intelligence of his enemies and, through hunting higher and higher ranked targets or even dominating certain enemies to fight for you, gain experience and powerful runes to upgrade himself. Despite a fairly short main storyline and a semi-predictable plot, the game further boosts the Nemesis system with a selection of random events, encounters, and quests that often affect enemies you are hunting after – an infighting between Uruk Captains can provide opportunity for you, or an Uruk Warchief might be drawn out by a feast or hunting event. These time and decision-sensitive occasions force players to make important choices.

Shadow of Mordor also supplements its system fairly well down to the details. Dying normally results in a slap on the wrist in this game – you simply resurrect after a certain time in the game elapses. However, the world “changes” during passing of game time and this can affect the Nemesis system. The great amount of dialogue and voice put into the game means generic conversations, a bane often in other games, are actually entertaining to listen to. Regardless of how many times the player crosses blades with an Uruk Warchief, their taunts will be vastly different. Furthermore, any enemies that survive encounters with you will remember all such encounters. Captains that escape from you will remember your tactics. Uruks that have killed you will be surprised when you came back to life to hunt it down. The opportunities for interactions are virtually endless.

But the game has its flaws. Besides its short main storyline and frequently repetitive quests, Shadow of Mordor can devolve into a lackluster Assassins Creed–Batman: Arkham Asylum hybrid if extensively played. However, with the certainty of action and small chance of disappointment – what are you waiting for? No other games have recently featured such a dynamic open world system and freestyle gameplay. Bottom line, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will not disappoint any fans who enjoy the Lord of the Rings, orc-slaying, or RPG mixed with action and strategy.