Developed by Monolith Productions
Published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
Released for Xbox One (9/2014)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was developed by Monolith Productions and released in 2014. I remember buying this on a black Friday sale that same year on the cheap and just recently got around to giving it a go (roughly around four years later!). I'd been told by many people over the years to try this game out and to be honest I'm not sure why it took me so long to give it a look, but I'm definitely glad I did!
Much of the gameplay in Shadow of Mordor will be instantly familiar to fans of the Batman Arkham series and the Assassin's Creed games as well. The combat and stealth feel pretty much just like the Batman games, which is not a bad thing when it's done as good as it is here. Counters are easy to execute and it feels good slaying waves of Oruks, which are the orc-like creatures that inhabit Mordor. Unlike Batman, your character in this game uses his sword, so stabbings and decapitations will occur at a very high frequency. You are also equipped with a bow, complete with Max Payne style bullet-time slow-mo action. Your character is possessed by a spirit, which brought back some memories of Prey and also helps to somewhat explain how your character continuously rises back from the dead after being slain. The game also has a few various beasts roaming about the land, which you'll eventually gain the ability to tame and ride and add some welcome variety to the gameplay. Some areas have beasts in cages that can be released by shooting an arrow at the lock, which will break out and attack nearby enemies.
What really sets Mordor apart from the rest is the nemesis system. There is a hierarchy of Oruks and when one of them kills you, they rank up and get tougher. Things start to get interesting later on when you gain the ability to brand soldiers and take command of your enemies. For example, you can brand a captain and command him to start a fight with another Uruk Warchief. The nemesis system is a great concept, works rather well in execution and was easily my favorite aspect of the game. There are standard story missions which mostly serve the purpose of introducing new abilities. I must be honest, I never really got into the Lord of the Rings books or movies, so I had a bit of a hard time getting invested into the main storyline. There were a few missions that stood out, but for the most part I found the main quest a bit forgettable. In Mordor's case this is fine because the nemesis system and enjoyable combat was more than enough to keep me playing. Graphically the game looks good and runs at a smooth framerate for the most part, and while I found the environments weren't terribly interesting in appearance (one area I feel the Arkham games are superior in) they are very well-designed, detailed and give you several options as to how you'd like to attack your targets. The enemy Oruks look quite menacing and there is a pretty decent variety of them so it doesn't feel like you're slaying the same guys over and over.
Shadow of Mordor is a great game, but its not without a few faults so lets quickly address a few of the games issues. During a battle with a warchief I had one instance where my profile spontaneously signed out and kicked me back to the title screen. This was jarring as it happened in the middle of a big fight but luckily it only occurred once in around 40 hours of gameplay. The main story missions give you an option to restart when you fail, but the side objectives don't, meaning you have to hoof it back to where the mission marker is to retry every time you fail one of them. I don't really understand this decision and implementing a quick restart would have made many of the side missions much more enjoyable. Another gripe is the way your character sticks to walls which can be annoying when you're trying to make an escape but your player insists on hanging and climbing the walls.
Overall, despite having a story I found uninteresting, Shadow of Mordor has such solid gamplay I'd consider it a fantastic experience. If you missed out on this one when it came out like I did, then I'd definitely recommend going back and giving it a look! Unfortunately I only had the original release of the game and it's just not in the budget to get the DLC right now, but I hope to revisit this title in the future if I can get the additional content at a reasonable price.
Final Verdict: Shadow of Mordor is an excellent open-world game with some very satisfying hack 'n slash and stealth action!
Purchase Links:
Buy Shadow of Mordor (Digital) - Microsoft Store
Search Shadow of Mordor (Disc) - eBay
Related Links:
Shadow of Mordor - GameFAQs
Monolith - Official Site
WB Interactive Entertainment - Official Site
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