![]() The actual exploration and combat mechanics are solid. ![]() It takes roughly ten hours to make it through the story alone, and the rest can be completed at your leisure by way of two moderately-sized (though small by current-gen standards) sandboxes. The finale has a few cool cutscenes here and there, but considering that the last boss is a quick time event, it’s ultimately unfulfilling. ![]() The rest is basically going to be “go here, kill this, draw out this big bad, then kill him for your family” type plots. As previously mentioned it’s a basic revenge tale, with a few minor minute-long cutscenes woven in to highlight the wraith’s past and his place in the plot. With Talion and the wraith, there is that same Frodo and Sam love/hate relationship, and their moments are easily the highlight of the campaign. In addition to Orcs and other members of Sauron’s army, you’ll also encounter Gollum - who is tacked onto the story to add a connection to the films, predominately because his mannerisms and character are done in the style of Andy Serkis (though he is voiced by Liam O’Brien in the game, flawlessly I may add). While I don’t want to spoil the wraith’s identity, I found his story to be vastly superior to Talion’s. The companion aspect is cool as it’s seamlessly worked into gameplay, and allows for some good banter between the two souls throughout. What I do like about the wraith conceit is that it creates a sense of duality, as the wraith itself is an elf with a mysterious past who can manifest himself during cutscenes, and whenever Talion triggers a wraith-centric power. In short, it’s basically the setup for God of War, and the basic revenge tale theme permeates throughout in a generic fashion. Through the use of some dark magic after his own death, Talion is now bound to the spirit of a mysterious wraith, who grants him the power to essentially function as a super-being, combining dark arts with his already awe-inspiring combat prowess. Talion’s entire family has been murdered by the forces of Sauron, whose evil now encroaches the land of Middle-earth once again. Thus, Shadow is a side story of sorts, giving you minor insight into the creation of the ring while focusing on the tale of one particular human - a skilled ranger named Talion. Simply put, the game takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, pre-supposing that Bilbo has already located the One Ring, but before it is entrusted to Frodo. Shadow of Mordor generally does a great job of respecting the source material even if it doesn’t really add much to the overall universe. Released: Septem(PC, PS4, Xbox One) / Novem(PS3, Xbox 360) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One) ![]() In that regard Monolith has succeeded in creating something believable, but in the process, the game itself didn’t receive as much attention. Not only does Monolith Productions have the Lord of the Rings film series to honor with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, but the developer also has to work in many aspects of Tolkien’s other works to weave together a story that calls from multiple sources. Developing a licensed game can be extremely difficult. ![]()
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