Review - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Review by Jamie Ross
Format Reviewed - PC
Developers; Monolith Software 
Publisher; Warner Bros.
Formats; PC, PS4, XO, PS3, X360 
Release Date; Out now 
So, before we get started, I feel there is something I should confess; I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan-boy. It was with great excitement that I fired up Shadow of Mordor and plunged myself back into Middle-Earth. Would this latest instalment of the epic saga live up to expectations, and stay true to the tales that I have grown up with?
The story follows Talion, who has been brought back from the dead by a mysterious Wraith with suspiciously pointy ears.  In gameplay terms, it is hard to fault Shadows of Mordor. The combat system, whilst fairly complicated at first, quickly becomes intuitive, allowing for an impressive number of combos and kill moves without a massive amount of key mashing. There is nothing particularly ground-breaking with the approach taken to the fight sequences, however, and those familiar with either the Assassins Creed or Arkham games will quite happily fit right into the quick succession of slashes and blocks required to thin the ranks of the armies of Mordor. The stealthy approach, however, alongside hit-and-run tactics gains more rewards than the head-on charge, as Talion struggles in the early stages against more than a handful of enemies. It seems much better to stalk around the edges of an enemy camp, kill the odd scout, and try to get as close to the Captain without being seen. This is no hack and slash romp through tides of nameless scrubs.
Visually, the game is also rather nice. The ruins and Orc camps scattered across the map really show the corruption that comes hand-in-hand with all things evil in Middle-Earth. The weather effects turn the dusty landscape slick with mud, and the flickering shadows cast by the burning detritus left by the Orcs gives a grim atmosphere to the once-proud castles of Men. Furthermore, it runs on seamlessly on my rather modest gaming rig, even in the more hectic fights I have gotten myself in to.

Ultimately, it is the game’s Nemesis system that really sets the game apart from other similar titles *cough cough Assassin’s Creed cough cough*. With the initial scenarios out of the way, I decided to take it for a spin. I chose a side-quest which involved me invading some Orc-Captain’s feast in order to undermine his position in Sauron’s armies. The quest got off to a flying start, but as I leapt down to finish the kill, I was laid low by a grunt, suffering my first death. To add insult to injury, the brute was elevated to the rank of Captain, replacing one of my earlier kills as a high ranking member of the Dark Lord’s forces.
Picture
The Orc Captains you encounter grow in power as you fail to kill them, remembering injuries dealt to them as well as gaining scars from the various inventive ways you try to take them down. I decided to take my revenge on the recently promoted Ushaka the Cruel, tracking him to a nearby slave-camp. 

The Nemesis system allows the player to gather intelligence on the various Orcs roaming Mordor, either by interrogating low-ranking minions or by picking it up from their corpses. A few side missions and torture sessions later, I had taken out enough of the captains surrounding Ushaka to feel up to having a pop at him. I snuck into the camp, now aware that my target was weak to stealth attacks. 
The Nemesis system seemed to be having an effect on me, as well as the various Captains scattered around the map. I approached the camp with my blood pumping, releasing caged beasts and dropping wasp’s nests on my target’s his minions. Ushaka spied me, and charged after me, but I disappeared into the bushes. As the oaf wandered around searching for me and laying out taunts, I jumped him from behind, and his head went sailing through the air. I disappeared into the shadows as his war band sounded the alarm.

Wrap up

It is this Nemesis system that makes Shadow of Mordor really stand out from the crowd. What could quite easily have been another fantasy RPG quickly turned into a personalised quest for revenge against the various backstabbing Orcs you run into throughout the quest. Coupled with some excellent nods to the books, the game makes the player feel like they are a part of the living, breathing universe of Middle-Earth. Gollum’s nonsense rhymes as he acts as your guide, alongside the mysterious Wraith go far beyond Peter Jackson’s imaginings of Tolkien’s world, drawing on the Silmarillion just as much as the Lord of the Rings for inspiration. For any fans of the Lord of Rings, as well as those amongst you who want an immersive, story driven gameplay experience, this game is a must-buy.

5/5
Picture
Game purchased by reviewer
Images courtesy of Premier