Tomorrow(The 11th) the sequel for Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War, drops finally so what better time than today to review the game that somehow received universal acclaim and whilst Shadow Of War has been marred with controversy and shady business practices, lets take a trip down memory lane to 2014 and dust off our ranger blades and hunt some orcs in the review for Middle:Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
PLOT and SETTING:
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Shadow of Mordor takes place, you guessed it, in Mordor the legendary tolkien creation of where the ultimate evil lives, however this game takes place before the lord of the rings trilogy in the 60 years between the hobbit and said franchise when Mordor was relatively under Human control after the evil king sauron had been defeated for the first time and the rangers of Gondor guarded the black gate.
You take control of Talion, a ranger of the kingdom of Gondor, after getting to know your family and train your son, your family is brutally cut down by invading orcs and you yourself are killed by the black hand of sauron and thrown away, however you awaken some time later in a death like state, confused and disorientated as to what has transpired when you are suddenly met with an elven wraith who explains your situation and guides you into the lands of Mordor to search for answers for the tragedy that just took place.!
The wraith in question has a very long history in the world of Middle-Earth( I won't spoil it) but suffers from amnesia after centuries of being a wraith, he knows only that the answers lay within lands beyond the black gate and merges with Talion as they both begin to search for answers, in a barren inhospitable, hostile land he will serve as your only guiding light for the foreseeable future.
STORY LINE:
The story line of ME-Shadow of Mordor isn't the tightest of stories while there is an over arching story line to the entire game it mainly focuses around the elven wraith and thalion searching for answers, as such the events of the game don't really move forward until you do there are some minor plot points and side missions but overall as an open world game it's not structured in the way that linear games are in the sense that it's possible to go hours without learning anything new about your journey until you actively seek it out through missions.
However fans of the Tolkien universe will love every aspect of it as you visit places fully visualized for the first time and meet characters from books and transcripts that didn't make it to the big screen, you will also meet some familiar and not so familiar faces, again without spoiling it, the Elven wraith has played a significant part in the Tolkien universe and some say he is even the linchpin that ties all the stories of Tolkiens middle earth together.
However as for Talion you never really feel connected to him as a human, this is more to do with the fact that he's given no time at a backstory and the only thing that ties you to him is the here and now and as such you tend to view him as one sided in the sense that he's a Gondor ranger who destroys everything in his path to get answers, however this is also due to the fact that it's an open world game as they tend not to have the tightly knit story lines of linear games it still does a fair a job of connecting you to the story line insofar as that you can follow and be surprised and learn things but overall this game is meant for the game play aspect.
GRAPHICS and DIRECTION:
The game itself is absolutely stunning to look at, I remember getting it in 2014 and seeing the little icon that said "To play on Ultra you will require a 6GB card" and thinking to myself "Jesus 6GB?" however it does pay off, the graphics options blend together perfectly and add a very welcoming environment to look at, the environment itself may not always be attractive but even the unattractive parts are great to look at even just stopping and looking around in certain places shows the graphical fidelity of this game as the screen shots will show you.
The atmosphere is great for the game play itself as well as a ranger you will often be fighting atop high fortresses, in the depths of a cave or just in the mud with rain pouring down and thunder as you're surrounded by enemies on all sides, it breeds a unique environment for a game that is set largely in a barren land destroyed by marauding orcs and the machines of war they bring with them, however on the other hand there are lands that seem relatively unscathed, lush forests,plains and wild lands were vegetation grows unchecked and where nature has reclaimed the areas giving ruins and settlements a vibrant but downtrodden feeling to them, remember even though the scenery may look great, you're still surrounded by angry monsters on all sides.
Direction wise the game does a good job of giving you enjoyable set pieces and large levels to deal with as sometimes stealth is the only option you will have to climb beams and watch towers silently taking enemies out giving you full views of the war camps below and the land in general sometimes you'll have to climb spiraling mountains or the black gate itself and as this is an open world game you'll see everything involved in it on ultra, the barrels and supplies, ladders and crates, stairways and enemy fortification, overall it's a game that may of aged just a tiny bit but still looks amazing when you're immersed completely in the game.
GAME PLAY:
This, this is what sets the game a part and why you buy this game, the game play is amazing the combat is extremely fluid there are enough mechanics and the like to keep you interested for hours and allows for differing types of game play so lets break down some of the main points of the game play below.
CRITICAL REVIEW:
Overall Shadow of Mordor is worth your money, it's a beautiful looking game with more than enough content to keep your interested, the game play is sleek and enjoyable and not repetitive even though technically it is repetitive you'll never approach a group of enemies the same way every time and sometimes you will need to adjust your strategy to achieve your goals, running into a fortress of a hundred orcs may seem like a good time but eventually you're going to get swarmed and die.
Story wise it's not the strongest game and the boss fights leave a bit too be imagined but as i stated before this game is about game play and the boss fights do offer you some differing ways to play it, as for the story line if you want to focus solely on it you can however you will miss some things in your play through and as such i'd suggest that you complete as much content as you can if you want to get the most out of it.
In summary, Shadow of Mordor is a game that stylish, adaptable and enjoyable and definitely worth a play if you enjoy open world combat games, especially if you're a fan of the Tolkien universe or Lord of the Rings in general.
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY REVIEW, FEEL FREE TO UPVOTE and TO COMMENT