Shadows of Mordor - Review
Shadows of Mordor is a visually stunning 3rd person open world rpg. The game is set in the land of Mordor, the shadowy home of Sauron the antagonist from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Players would sneak, run, and murder their way through the game and Saurons minions, the orcs. All in an attempt to hinder and hopefully defeat the resurgent Dark Lord. Perhaps the most unique mechanic in the game is how player death is handled. When players are killed, they respawn due to a wraith being bound to their soul, and this enables an incredibly interesting mechanic. The Orc that lands the killing blow against the player becomes a named character, receiving power upgrades and then actively hunting the player, vocally expressing the desire to kill them again. This was called the Nemesis system, and was implemented very well.
Combat in the game was very well implemented, though it was quite challenging, especially at lower levels when upgrades had yet to be unlocked. A single named low level enemy could potentially survive a new players assault long enough for reinforcements to arrive, sealing the players fate.This very quickly lead to enemies vastly outclassing players in power. Thankfully this imbalance was negated in later content, due to the players increased skill and unlocked abilities.
Mass combat felt suitably hectic, in comparison with other games where the player would have to slowly whittle down the number of enemies attacking them. The inclusion of a large AOE ability coupled with combo based executions, made fighting large groupings of enemies a not insurmountable task. With several "Rampage" style abilities available to players, executing combos in combat becomes not just a mechanic, but a necessity. This was especially useful for defeating more the more powerful orcs scattered throughout a melee, as they would be mostly immune to standard attacks.
In later areas of the game, players unlock the ability to mind control enemies, either through stealth or mid-combat allegiance conversion. This proved to be an invaluable ability, especially with how orcs deal a set percentage of damage to any other orc they strike. By forcing mook orcs to strike a high level named enemy, the player is able to potentially only need to deal the final blow, if even that. With no set cap on the number of converted orcs a player controls, players can literally field groups of orcs against eachother, and never need to fight themselves.
The final aspect of the combat system that bears mentioning are the runes. Obtainable by killing captains and warchiefs, these runes would provide minor to extreme buffs and abilities in combat. Although players could unlock an ability to better facilitate the farming of these runes, it is largely unnecessary. By the time players can purchase it, they've already obtained a substantial amount of them from other enemies. Unwanted or duplicate runes could then be deconstructed for currency to purchase more upgrades for the player. This allowed players to always gain something useful from a defeated captain, be it either a rune or currency.
Although early reveal videos showed the game taking many cues from the existing Assassins Creed series, I am pleased to say the game stands on its own. While some aspects are similar, the differences are essential to this game, and it in no way feels like a clone. The storyline itself is very rich and engaging, even going so far as to have fully voiced dialogue appear in loading screens. I found myself interested and engaged throughout the entire game. With the ending hinting at a sequel in the future, I can eagerly say, I'd love to play it. And as far as a rating goes, I'd give Shadows of Mordor a 8/10.
Shadows of Mordor is a visually stunning 3rd person open world rpg. The game is set in the land of Mordor, the shadowy home of Sauron the antagonist from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Players would sneak, run, and murder their way through the game and Saurons minions, the orcs. All in an attempt to hinder and hopefully defeat the resurgent Dark Lord. Perhaps the most unique mechanic in the game is how player death is handled. When players are killed, they respawn due to a wraith being bound to their soul, and this enables an incredibly interesting mechanic. The Orc that lands the killing blow against the player becomes a named character, receiving power upgrades and then actively hunting the player, vocally expressing the desire to kill them again. This was called the Nemesis system, and was implemented very well.
Combat in the game was very well implemented, though it was quite challenging, especially at lower levels when upgrades had yet to be unlocked. A single named low level enemy could potentially survive a new players assault long enough for reinforcements to arrive, sealing the players fate.This very quickly lead to enemies vastly outclassing players in power. Thankfully this imbalance was negated in later content, due to the players increased skill and unlocked abilities.
Mass combat felt suitably hectic, in comparison with other games where the player would have to slowly whittle down the number of enemies attacking them. The inclusion of a large AOE ability coupled with combo based executions, made fighting large groupings of enemies a not insurmountable task. With several "Rampage" style abilities available to players, executing combos in combat becomes not just a mechanic, but a necessity. This was especially useful for defeating more the more powerful orcs scattered throughout a melee, as they would be mostly immune to standard attacks.
In later areas of the game, players unlock the ability to mind control enemies, either through stealth or mid-combat allegiance conversion. This proved to be an invaluable ability, especially with how orcs deal a set percentage of damage to any other orc they strike. By forcing mook orcs to strike a high level named enemy, the player is able to potentially only need to deal the final blow, if even that. With no set cap on the number of converted orcs a player controls, players can literally field groups of orcs against eachother, and never need to fight themselves.
The final aspect of the combat system that bears mentioning are the runes. Obtainable by killing captains and warchiefs, these runes would provide minor to extreme buffs and abilities in combat. Although players could unlock an ability to better facilitate the farming of these runes, it is largely unnecessary. By the time players can purchase it, they've already obtained a substantial amount of them from other enemies. Unwanted or duplicate runes could then be deconstructed for currency to purchase more upgrades for the player. This allowed players to always gain something useful from a defeated captain, be it either a rune or currency.
Although early reveal videos showed the game taking many cues from the existing Assassins Creed series, I am pleased to say the game stands on its own. While some aspects are similar, the differences are essential to this game, and it in no way feels like a clone. The storyline itself is very rich and engaging, even going so far as to have fully voiced dialogue appear in loading screens. I found myself interested and engaged throughout the entire game. With the ending hinting at a sequel in the future, I can eagerly say, I'd love to play it. And as far as a rating goes, I'd give Shadows of Mordor a 8/10.
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