PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
Third Person, Action Role-Playing, Sandbox
Set in the Lord of the Rings universe some time between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, you play Talion, a Ranger of Gondor, who was slain along with his family by Sauron's army only to return thanks to the wraith spirit of an elf who is also seeking revenge agains Sauron.
The gameplay is a mash up of a couple of other successful games. The biggest comparison is the Assassin's Creed series. Throughout Talion's adventure he can unlock towers that allow him to fast travel to various locations on the map and shows where various collectibles and challenges are in the area, he also parkours around the various crumbling buildings and structures. Bushes also provide cover that work as long as the Uruks don't walk into them.
The other franchise it emulates is the Batman Arkham series, you slice and dice the enemies and see the parry icon above the enemies head letting you know that you need to push the button or your combo multiplier will be reset to zero. Through upgrades, your special takedown (assassination) will take less and less combos for it to be activated. I upgraded it to the point where once I had it, I was able to use it twice once it was available, which allowed me to mow down the enemies regardless of how many there were around me.
One feature that is all Shadow of Mordor is the Nemesis System, a system that affects the way you play the game. As you go against Captains and Warchiefs the game reacts to your outcomes. If you die or run away in the process of eliminating the Uruk, they advance in stature and may take over a higher position that you left open in the chain of command. The Uruk grows in power and the next time you meet they will harass you and mock you. However, if you use some of the intelligence gathered on your target, you might be able to turn the tide of battle before it even begins. Even random Uruk's that where a nameless enemy can become powerful if they kill you. In the later stages of the game you have the option to turn them to your cause and as you take out other Uruks to make space for your new troop leaders they can worm their way into even higher ranks and eventually become Warchiefs. At one point, I went back to the first map and turned every captain and Warchief to my side just because I loved the idea of having all of them under my command. When you dominate your captains you can have them send death threats to other commanders, giving you the opportunity to earn epic runes that are used to upgrade your weapons.
The collectibles are rarely something that I tend to go after in most games but the ability to earn points, which are used to upgrade your weapons made me search high and low for them. There are also weapons challenges for your bow, sword and dagger, which also give you the opportunity to earn points to upgrade weapons. The one downside to the collectibles is there is no real reward for unlocking the doorway glyphs. I felt that after scouring the countryside for them, it should have unlocked some reward beyond a trophy on PSN, achievements mean very little to me as I don't care how many trophies I have or how many points I earn on Xbox. However, for the completionist it should keep them going for quite a while.
Shadow of Mordor is a great game that keeps you playing until your controller's battery dies. There are plenty of ways to tackle the enemies and play your own play style. Regardless of your love or dislike of the classic books or movies, it should keep you entertained for hours and hours. It has quickly become one of my favorites and that was unexpected.
Verdict 9/10
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