So while for most people the hype was the one thing that set this game apart from Assassin's Creed, the Nemesis system, for me I was just stoked to get more Middle Earth lore. I didn't expect a lot, and what I got was great. Mostly a lot of visualizations on how things happened back on Sauron's day (when he could still deceive people into thinking he was a nice guy), but also some other information. There are a few grating moments that really got on my nerves, like interacting with Gollum, which makes no sense at all.. And some other plot points that make less sense, but I won't get into them because I don't want to spoil the plot.
Usually I'd go through a bunch of stuff about game mechanics and some plot points, and this time is no exception, but I'm going to glaze over some of it because the game has been out for a while and I beat it ages ago. I would have glazed anyway, however, as I want to get to what I found the most fun and exciting aspects of the game.
Talion is a ranger who is equipped with a broken sword which functions as a dagger, a regular sword, which functions as a regular sword, and a magic bow that functions as a time slowing sniper rifle. Oh, and the spirit of an elf lord of old that makes him embarrassingly powerful by the end of the game. Each of these tools is used to fight orcs and uruks (taller, stronger, and I imagine smellier versions of orcs) and some animals. Each of the weapons can be equipped with runes harvested from dead captains that you've managed to prune from Sauron's army. They can add health, very specific damage output (like, when mounted, if you get a headshot, add 7% damage), and some other odd stats.
As you complete quests you gain experience and can use it to buy new abilities or upgrades to current abilities. There are two sides of the skill tree. One side grants ranger abilities, the other wraith abilities. Ranger abilities are generally centered around combat and wraith abilities are, well, mystical magicy stuff. It's pretty easy to max out both sides of the skill tree with abilities you find useful, and the rest seem to become filler. For instance, there is an ability that allows you to throw throwing knives at fleeing enemies for instant kills. I never used this, however as I write this, I remember a few fleeing captains that could have used knives in the back.
There are tons of quests to do that involve sneaking, direct combat, and ranged challenges. I really enjoyed the challenges as they were framed, stanzas in the songs written about the wrath of a weapon. There isn't a lot of emphasis on weapons in Tolkien, however when he chose to name a weapon, that weapon's legacy was nothing short of epic. There are also hunting (kill x beasts) and alchemy (find x plants) quests and some other fun sidequests.
So let's talk Nemesis. It's pretty cool. If you can't finish off a captain and have to run away, that captain becomes stronger. They gain a level and generally some kind of protection. They tell their friends about you. And when you come back for them, they remember what happened the last time. It's a great system... provided you're not constantly dying. Like I did. Constantly. More so than in Dark Souls. All the captains knew me and laughed. It took a long time for me to get the hang of the game, and by the time I got into the grove all the bosses were pushing level 10-15.
When you get around to killing a captain, they'll drop a rune for one of your weapons, then they get replaced by the next random goon who killed you. What I'm saying here is that I got so much Nemesis that I didn't feel like there was a need for a second, unique playthough. I had, like, eighteen playthroughs already.
I mentioned that this game is better than some of the Assassin's Creed games. That's because you can climb and stealth kill almost everything. Just like in AC. The difference is that it's more fun to stalk your prey in Shadow of Mordor. You get a ton of options while sneaking around to isolate your prey. If there's a giant swarm of orcs in your way, you might be able to knock a bee hive (they're called Morgul Flies) on them, causing them to flee in terror, and open your way. There are other possibilities like releasing large predators into an enemy's midst, or just telling one of your dominated subjects to start picking off everyone to cause a commotion. All while being a stealth game.
I have to say, though, that I really enjoyed Shadow of Mordor. I liked getting to plan out how I took out Sauron's army. The game takes on a new level of fun when you can start dominating orcs and forcing them to your side. It's a lot easier to take out a general when all their bodyguards suddenly join your cause. I loved the lore. Loved it. The lore drove my desire to play more than the gameplay. Yup. If you love Tolkien, you should suck the marrow out of this game.
I do have a few pet peeves, though. The first is that with all the polish in this game, Monolith forgot to give Talion ANY kind of expressions. He looks at everything with a sort of confused fear. You clash swords and Talion's expression says "Why am I here? This guy has a SWORD?"
The second peeve isn't gameplay related, but plot. They just HAD to throw Gollum in there...
There are tons of quests to do that involve sneaking, direct combat, and ranged challenges. I really enjoyed the challenges as they were framed, stanzas in the songs written about the wrath of a weapon. There isn't a lot of emphasis on weapons in Tolkien, however when he chose to name a weapon, that weapon's legacy was nothing short of epic. There are also hunting (kill x beasts) and alchemy (find x plants) quests and some other fun sidequests.
So let's talk Nemesis. It's pretty cool. If you can't finish off a captain and have to run away, that captain becomes stronger. They gain a level and generally some kind of protection. They tell their friends about you. And when you come back for them, they remember what happened the last time. It's a great system... provided you're not constantly dying. Like I did. Constantly. More so than in Dark Souls. All the captains knew me and laughed. It took a long time for me to get the hang of the game, and by the time I got into the grove all the bosses were pushing level 10-15.
When you get around to killing a captain, they'll drop a rune for one of your weapons, then they get replaced by the next random goon who killed you. What I'm saying here is that I got so much Nemesis that I didn't feel like there was a need for a second, unique playthough. I had, like, eighteen playthroughs already.
I mentioned that this game is better than some of the Assassin's Creed games. That's because you can climb and stealth kill almost everything. Just like in AC. The difference is that it's more fun to stalk your prey in Shadow of Mordor. You get a ton of options while sneaking around to isolate your prey. If there's a giant swarm of orcs in your way, you might be able to knock a bee hive (they're called Morgul Flies) on them, causing them to flee in terror, and open your way. There are other possibilities like releasing large predators into an enemy's midst, or just telling one of your dominated subjects to start picking off everyone to cause a commotion. All while being a stealth game.
I have to say, though, that I really enjoyed Shadow of Mordor. I liked getting to plan out how I took out Sauron's army. The game takes on a new level of fun when you can start dominating orcs and forcing them to your side. It's a lot easier to take out a general when all their bodyguards suddenly join your cause. I loved the lore. Loved it. The lore drove my desire to play more than the gameplay. Yup. If you love Tolkien, you should suck the marrow out of this game.
I do have a few pet peeves, though. The first is that with all the polish in this game, Monolith forgot to give Talion ANY kind of expressions. He looks at everything with a sort of confused fear. You clash swords and Talion's expression says "Why am I here? This guy has a SWORD?"
The second peeve isn't gameplay related, but plot. They just HAD to throw Gollum in there...
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