The ultimate Lord of the Rings experience.
Shadow of Mordor provides an unrivaled immersive experience into the world of Middle Earth. Players take on the role of Talion, a former Ranger of Gondor. The open sequences are visually shocking, brutal, and filled with violence. The player watches as Talion’s world is ripped apart. His family is murdered before his very eyes, and then he’s killed as well.
The beginning scenes set the tone for the whole game. Talion is on a mission to avenge his fallen family by killing the Orc’s responsible. Shadow of Mordor gives players a clear reason to kill Orc’s. It immediately makes you angry and disgusted with them, which makes it all the easier to slaughter them by the hundreds. The story writers and animators did a great job giving players an investment in Talion’s quest for vengeance.
But wait, didn’t you say Talion died?
Yes, Talion dies a lot in Shadow of Mordor. One of the cool twists to this game is that you are “undead”. Upon being murdered by Orc’s your spirit was bound with another undead Elven archer. Players can switch freely between both the archer and Talion. As you play you gain experience, level up, and choose new skills. You become increasingly powerful and find yourself able to take on dozens of Orc minions simultaneously.
Shadow of Mordor does a fantastic job of making players feel super powered, while still providing fear of death. Whenever you die, the Orcs responsible for killing you get promoted and level up. They become harder to kill every time you die. So even though you have infinite lives, there are an infinite amount of enemies.
Gotham City is not beyond saving.
The player controls and combat systems are almost identical to the Batman: Arkham games. Combat feels artistic and looks extremely polished. Combination moves and longer animations can be instantly cancelled by using the parry key. This makes combat very forgiving and keeps it feeling responsive.
Shadow of Mordor may take you much longer to beat than you expect. It’s easy to get lost for hours just killing Orcs and wreaking havoc on their campsites. Each time I found a new stronghold I would spend a good half an hour just exploring it.
An open world filled with story.
The game is filled with dozens of memorable characters. Gollum makes a few appearances which were very well done in my opinion. The world is huge and it feels like it’s alive. You can ride around on animals, climb buildings, and explore caves.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is well worth the buy. It’s a timeless classic which will be forever remembered by Lord of the Rings fans.
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Rated: M
Price: $7.99-$14.99 (Steam or Gamestop)
HFR Rating:
