Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

One of the greatest lord of the rings Novels with the perfect ai and Nemesis system

Middle Earth Shadow of mordor is an interesting game for sure. In that, it is at point a trumph in video game mechanics but also a failure at one. At the same time it has good writing but also, it has bad writing. It has a great open world but at the same time, it has a bad open world. At the same time it has great missions, and at the same time it has terrible missions. And the entire root of said problem and the root of its success can be defined by two words that define the identity of this game: Nemesis system. Basically, there are two ways you can play this game. Just focus on the main story to get to the end, or explore everything, including making it your target to get everyone in sauron's army to be your minion, from the lowest end to the highest warchief. That is where the conflict of whether a player will hate its aspects or love its aspects comes into play. If you are the former. The main story is fucking bland, and feels like someone's awkardly written lotr tabletop campaign that they rushed to finish, since one of the party members was permanently leaving town because he got a girl pregnant and doesn't want to pay alimony. Yeah, that's a far cry from the era of monolith writing some fantastic stories in form of no one lives forever, condemned, or fear. However, on the other end, For the second type of player, the writing talent hasn't gone to waste. Also every main mission feels like a side mission that is trying to teach you basic combat. Like in skill trees, you literally cannot unlock some of the moves until you have done a main mission. The nemesis system in a way forms a dynamic storytelling that not only forms interesting unique stories for the player based on their own winnings and failing, but it is also reflected in the conversation that uruks have in the world, harkening back to your actions or a bigger look into the race where everyone is hungry to gain power. That is where also the point of the open world comes in. It is beautiful, but also very repeating. I don't its accuracies to its lore to lotr, but like there are so many times i can see the same texture pack of the rock models forming half broken once lived in structure or those fishing village looking wooden villages. Not saying there aren't any good structures, and again it looks beautiful, but it is only so many times i can tolerate the almost similar looking texture packs all over the place. However, contrary to that, the open world transforms a little when you get the branding ability and routes of exploration can be easier or harder depending on if you have a man on the inside. Also, the collectibles such as ithidian, artifacts, and the controversial decision to make you pluck flowers to heal your health can be annoying for some, but i liked those decisions, made it feel more lived in, and made me strategize my combat better. Now i can go on and on, on how this game is a contradictory paradox of itself. For every good that it does, it does something bad, but depending on how you are playing it, the good will feel bad and the bad will feel good. The point is, its a fine and enjoyable game. And for an open world game it doesn't outstay its welcome, but it does leave you will a compelling dynamic story of its own that you can take enjoyment in endlessly. Yes, the protagonist (s) have zero chemistry between them, and you would assume celebrimbor being inside tallon will atleast check his dick size but i digress...they had all the chemistry of your mom and that dude steve that she dated off Craigslist, and only halfway through did steve's dick died out because he suddenly got a heart attack and you had to call ambulance, and later it turned out it wasn't a heart issue, but an intestinal infection. Point being...what I wish to say, that despite its issues, i wish there more games like this. Because i had a fun jolly time with it. And that is what matters in the end. Having fun. Though on Last note: the combat is satisfying once you fully unlocks skill tree, music is bland, and steve died at aged 61, sOwwy for your losS.

quite fun, but nothing original here of substance tbh

My first experience playing Shadow of Mordor was many, many years ago, back when I first got my PS3. To say it disappointed me would be quite the understatement, though hindsight being what it is, I eventually realized that was because I was playing one of, if not THE worst possible version of the game. I could write an entire review based on that de-make, but suffice to say, I didn’t really imagine myself ever returning to this. But curiosity reeled me in once more, and thus my journey through Mordor began anew.

I’ll cut immediately to the chase and talk about what is, undoubtedly, the greatest feat of this title: the nemesis system. The simplistic yet internally complex mechanic presented is unlike anything else I’ve seen (I’ve read online that the mechanic is supposedly patented, perhaps explaining that absence in other games). Being able to directly manipulate the strength of your enemies, pitting captains and warlords against one another, wiping out leaders with their own troops, sending death threats between captains to boost rewards at the cost of a more difficult battle. The list goes on and on, with the possibilities for any conflict being seemingly endless. It is, legitimately, one of the coolest systems I’ve seen in any game, ever.

The rest of the game is…perfectly fine. The gameplay can be pretty addicting as a result of the aforementioned system, though collectibles are shockingly easy to obtain, and the missions can feel a bit samey after a while. At times it felt like I was playing a slightly tamer Assassin’s Creed game, which isn’t necessarily an insult or a compliment. To be perfectly honest, I was a little confused as to why it was nominated for GOTY in 2014, but after looking at the other nominees, I suppose I can see why.

I’m glad I was able to put to rest my history with this game, and though I’m not nearly as big a fan as others made it sound like I would be, I can still appreciate this game for the innovations it brought to the industry, even if they’re not exactly being utilized.

The Nemesis system rocks 🤘

I regretted buying it in the first 14-15 hrs. Then BOOM!!!
Wow am so glad that I didn't uninstall it. I hope to play shadow of war too eventhough I heard it is not as fun s this.