Shadow of Mordor

Grangokhan

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August 12, 2013
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Anyone else getting this? I've been tracking it ever since it was announced. At first it may look like "Assassin's Creed in Middle Earth" but it only resembles it slightly in terms of animation rather than gameplay (and well, AC didn't invent climbing tbh).

The gameplay of Shadow of Mordor looks very solid and the nemesis system is what has made me very impressed especially with how your actions can shape future quests and how orc society evolves. I can see myself purposely making orc captains stronger just for bigger challenges (something you can do by sending a death threat to them which leads to them fortifying their bodyguards in anticipation of your arrival).

The game looks like fun (even if it is a butchering of Tolkien lore but what LOTR game isn't?) so I'll be purchasing it September 30th. Could be the most enjoyable LOTR game we've had since Battle For Middle Earth 2 even if I am still disappointed that no one has yet made a single player RPG set in Middle Earth with your own custom character.
 
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LOTRO did a decent enough job to be considered respectful, and I also think War in the North respected the lore.

This looks like a cheap exploitation of it, but the game itself might be good.

I'm sort of torn about getting it. I might pirate it just because I'm such a big Tolkien fan.
 
I'll be preordering, I don't have any loyalty to lotor lore so that won't bother me but they have said multiple times that the lore would tie in with the movies between the hobbit and the lotor movies. Not sure if that will be true or not though.

I doubt many here are looking forward to it judging by the fact that I'm one of the very few people posting in the news comments on the game.

Pirate the game, come on Dart.:(
 
The fact that the Orcs look like they're modeled after the Orcs in Peter Jackson's movies is reason enough for for to dislike this game. :)
 
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What I dislike most about it, is just how transparent the game mechanics/systems are. The UI is cluttered as hell, meaning they couldn't transmit that information via ingame methods. And that makes it un-immersive as hell. It's similar to the main problems I found in the Assassin's Creed games. All their systems are too exposed, removing any possibility for me to suspend my disbelief. And it's wierd. Monolith have done some great games in the past, like No One lives forever, FEAR and Condemned. Those games, at least, had some soul. This is just soulless and doesn't seem to keep with anything LOTR. They went for flash and no substance.

I keep remembering back to Lord of the Rings : White Council. Now that was a LOTR game which seemed like it could turn out cool. Too bad they scraped it for some other LOTR cash-ins. Fuck EA.
 
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It's similar to the main problems I found in the Assassin's Creed games. All their systems are too exposed, removing any possibility for me to suspend my disbelief.

I'm guessing you haven't played the more recent AC games. You should give AC4 a try. They allow a good deal of HUD customization in that one, and you can strip it down to a bare bones UI if you want.
 
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I think he means the gameplay systems, not the UI. That's certainly my opinion as well. They have this handful of systems, like the stealth system, the tailing system, the assassination system and so on - and they're too mechanical and obvious in nature.

That makes the missions extremely repetitive and predictable after a while.

It's a shame, because the content in some of the AC games is pretty strong, I just wish they could find a way to make gameplay flow better - and allow for a much more freeform approach to any given mission.

In most AC missions, you're essentially told which system is going to be in play - and you don't have much choice but to do it that specific way. That's what it feels like, anyway.
 
Absolutely been looking forward to this. I never liked LotR but this game seems really interesting. My first thought was Assassin's Creed as well but seems to have some unique changes that I'm looking forward to trying (as the AC formula needs some fresh ideas).
 
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I definitely agree about the repetitiveness. That's been the biggest downside of the AC games since the original. It's gotten a better since AC1, but you still end up chasing the same goals too many times.

Apparently the masses don't seem to mind though. It's a shame, because I think that series had huge potential.


Damn you, greywolf, for jumping in front of me. ;)
 
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Apparently the masses don't seem to mind though. It's a shame, because I think that series had huge potential.

Yup, I agree. I'm a big fan of the way they try to add some historical flavor - and the games have the most beautiful cities and stuff like that.
 
I keep remembering back to Lord of the Rings : White Council. Now that was a LOTR game which seemed like it could turn out cool. Too bad they scraped it for some other LOTR cash-ins. Fuck EA.

You mean, E.A decided to give the license to the idiots over at Pandemic Studios so they could make Lord of the Rings Conquest, a game with terribad combat that really was a cash-in on LOTR. There was no story in that game, the graphics were god-awful, it was bugged as hell, animations were hilarious and the lore was completely butchered (warriors had flaming swords for goodness sake!).

Just look at this steaming pile of dog crap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugS8PCvIp18

What the hell is that crappy move at 1:51? The warrior slides across the floor as fire flows from his behind.

The White Council would have been great and a game like it was what I was actually expecting when leaked reports of Shadow of Mordor claim to light simply describing it as a "open world AAA LOTR RPG for current/next gen systems."
 
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I think it might be good. I'd like to know more about it. Will there be quests or missions? Will there be interaction with NPCs? Will there be loot and buying and selling? And most importantly to me personally can you customise your character, preferably play a female version?

I couldn't care less about LotR.
 
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I'll probably check it out, but I don't expect much more than a bland open world killing game. The Nemesis system sounds like a gimmick that won't change anything at the core from the nature of these AC rip-offs.
 
I'll probably check it out, but I don't expect much more than a bland open world killing game. The Nemesis system sounds like a gimmick that won't change anything at the core from the nature of these AC rip-offs.

My thought exactly.

The setting does bother me. You hear that it's a non-issue, that you just have to pretend it's a generic fantasy world with LOTR names if you scream Lore rape.

That doesn't cut it for me because setting is important and if the setting is a brutal franchise lore rape then it's a terrible start already.
 
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