Caio Previews: Middle-Earth - Shadow of Mordor

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Dragonborn_CT

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Edited By Dragonborn_CT
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I gotta tell you, game announcement these days were so routine that you are more likely to watch some visually-impressive and well done cinematic trailer meant to generate enough hype before proper gameplay demo that showcases core mechanics and a glimpse how to play when released. I am glad Shadow of Mordor qualifies in the latter category, because I wouldn't be writing this blog otherwise. True, there were some developer vids and written information before it, but I would sooner be excited seeing how the game works rather than some epic cinematic like Dead Island or Witcher 3, because you are less likely of getting disappointed when you are not taken in by the hype.Okay sorry for the mini-rant there. Today I want to do something different than a review or a rant, I want to share my thoughts on one a game that I am highly anticipating that is set in the world of Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor.

I am night, I am vengeance... You shall not pass and requiescant in pace!!!
I am night, I am vengeance... You shall not pass and requiescant in pace!!!

The reason why is that this game combines things I really love like Lord of the Rings, open-world games, Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham Asylum, in addition to original some original and unique mechanics. The story is set between the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and you are Talion, a Ranger from Gordon stationed in the Black Gate who was murdered along with his family by the forces of Sauron, who returned to claim Mordor back for their master. However, he is possessed by a wraith spirit (as in, like the Ringwraiths) that grants him supernatural powers and thrusts him into his quest of revenge. Along the way, he meets with some characters from the original story like Gollum (who supposedly shares a lot in common with him) and he will be involved with the Rings of Power too. While it has being assured by developers that the story of the game will stand on its own right while aligning with Lord of the Rings' canon at the same time, its sorta difficult since A. we see Sauron in physical form and B. he will still be alive by the events of Fellowship of the Ring takes place - so its unlikely that Talion will have his revenge at the end. Then again, its too early to tell, so lets dig into the make or break factor.

Is this how big our world map will be like?
Is this how big our world map will be like?

As already mentioned, the game is an open-world set in the land of Mordor, a charred, volcanic plain where one does not simply walk into, and plays the same way as AC/Batman Arkham. Though many others (including myself) were quick to call this game a Assassin's Creed meets Lord of the Rings, as one of the developers of AC II claimed the game took codes, it would be more accurate to call it Arkham Asylum meets Lord of the Rings. Though both those games are very similar, their stealth aspects are entirely different. In Assassin's Creed, there is a strong focus on blending among the crowd and enemies will ignore the player so long as they don't do nothing that turns them hostile, while Batman will always be attacked by enemies if sighted, which is more likely to be the case here. Even the combat is more similar with Arkham Asylum, having the attack and counter routine that Assassin's Creed only adopted from the third game forward.The combat has a leveling tree split between ranger and wraith abilities, Talion is able to use swords and daggers as well magical abilities like teleportation and binding enemies to his will. They can perform actions like gathering intel, assassinating their own leaders or spread rumors about Talion's deeds, making him legendary among Sauron's forces.

He is the hero Middle-Earth deserves, but not the one it needs right now.
He is the hero Middle-Earth deserves, but not the one it needs right now.
You better finish your enemies while you can, because they won't forget neither forgive next time you see them.
You better finish your enemies while you can, because they won't forget neither forgive next time you see them.

I would be sold on the words "open-world" and "Lord of the Rings" alone, but that is not even all. The big selling of game is the Nemesis System - a mechanic it that grants personality to each and single one of the enemies, and player's action will reflect on them. If Talion' doesnt kill them in their first encounter, they will adapt and become more challenging and stronger when you fight them again. As shown in the demo, both Ratbag and Orthag were faced previously by Talion, and in the last encounter with the latter, Talion burned his face and now he hates you even more and is more dangerous than last time. If you perish in battle, the Wraith will return you back to life, but the enemy that killed you will climb up the social ladder and become its own named entity. Oh, and this also include boss enemies getting more and more challenging if you fail repeatedly.

If Sauron himself in physical form is the final boss, that would have being da sh*t...
If Sauron himself in physical form is the final boss, that would have being da sh*t...

Okay I am both intrigued and confused by this system, on paper it sounds really cool, because it encourages the player to take more careful and varied approaches to facing certain enemies, and since they have their own unique patterns, that make the player deploy what is the best strategy to defeat them. Its much better than games where you have realize a flaw in the AI and exploit it like Dark Souls other games I could mention. However, on the other hand, I have no clue how well this will work in the actual game, let's say for the sake of argument that an inexperienced player fail repeatedly against same enemy, and he will become more dangerous with each encounter to the point, it can probably turn the game unplayable. This could become a problem, specially for bosses. I don't know if they will learn to block your moves, gain special abilities, or just become invincible to anything you throw at them but I am pretty sure this could happen. Not to mention some bugs or glitches that usually come with open-world games like these, as well as this advanced system it will cause some heavy demands to the AI too.

Even if Tolkien's son has a tight leash on the license, don't be afraid to be creative here
Even if Tolkien's son has a tight leash on the license, don't be afraid to be creative here

I hope that the developers can make use of the very rich and expanded lore in the Lord of the Rings universe. I mean, I hope we have a greater variety of enemies to fight than just orcs and trolls, but also barrow-wights, Easterlings, Black Numenoreans and many other creatures that served Sauron. I am pretty sure that the Ringwraiths will be in it, specially the Witch-King of Angmar since he is Sauron's right hand man and Talion's wraith is also like the Nazgul too. Even if the previous game War in the North fell short sometimes, I did like the expansion in some ways than others. And with from the looks of it, I am looking forward to some wicked looking bosses in the game too.

So those were my thoughts in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor... I want to know what do you personally think of the game, do you find it legit that it copied from Assassin's Creed or if, it had is that a good or a bad thing? Meanwhile I will keep an eye in this game and if anyone points out that many info bits are incorrect and outdated, please note it was made a little while after its announcement.

Thank you guys for reading it, see you next time =)

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Samimista

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@dragonborn_ct - That was quick! xD Didn't know you had it all prepared already lol.

Isn't it just amazing how everything's mixed together? Looks amazing with the open world. 0.0

Gotta say that the graphics are very beautiful. 0.0 Will this be released on both gens?

As for 'copying' Assassin's Creed, I say it's merely used as inspiration. Like how Thief was an inspiration for both Assassin's Creed and Dishonored.

Great blog like always, Caio! ^__^ Am looking forward to hearing more about this.

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mrdecepticonleader

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Game sounds and it does look very intriguing. I am not a big gamer or fantasy fan. But if this game turns out to be good and it is for the 360 I might be tempted to buy it.

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Dragonborn_CT

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#3  Edited By Dragonborn_CT

@samimista: Hehe it wasn't that hard to write and it was very quick to post xD

Yep, it will be released on Xbox One/PS4 as well Xbox 360 and PS3. I hope to get it still this year

Exactly, I am not even troubled in the slightest by this. No one was complaining when FF XV was taking combat inspired by Kingdom Hearts which is a great game on itself.

Thank you my friend. I will post related news on the gaming thread as always :)

Game sounds and it does look very intriguing. I am not a big gamer or fantasy fan. But if this game turns out to be good and it is for the 360 I might be tempted to buy it.

I am looking forward to it too, man. If I can review it, I will let you know :)

I can't remember if I asked but have you seen the Lord of the Rings movies?

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@mrdecepticonleader said:

Game sounds and it does look very intriguing. I am not a big gamer or fantasy fan. But if this game turns out to be good and it is for the 360 I might be tempted to buy it.

I am looking forward to it too, man. If I can review it, I will let you know :)

I can't remember if I asked but have you seen the Lord of the Rings movies?

Cool :)

I have seen them. Not really watched them with my full attention.

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Experio

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Good judgment.

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Dragonborn_CT

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@experio said:

Good judgment.

Thanks, mate :)

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PotatoOfDoom

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(I know I'm 20 hours late >_<)

Please don't suck, Shadow Of Mordor.

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The_Deathstroker

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No. Way.

Did I die and go to heaven?

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The_Deathstroker

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I know someone that's going to like this more than me, @deathstroke19: your wish finally came true.

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Ostyo

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@dragonborn_ct: Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me get this straight...Caio has thoughts? Who knew!

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Eisenfauste

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I'm totally pumped for this game, I watched a basic gameplay and walkthrough and you can do some pretty sick stuff, literally and figuratively. You also get some very intriguing options regarding enemies. Its going to be very sick.

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Dragonborn_CT

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deathstroke19

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@dragonborn_ct: Great [pre game] review! Do you know the release date for this game? Oh and seeing as how your the person i look to as the assassins creed expert I was wondering if you could answer a question for me on Black Flag. Let me know if you can. @deathstrokergeist: This is too much for my heart. I cant take it. *dies*

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Ostyo

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@dragonborn_ct: Seriously enjoy trollin you. :P

Still not sure if I buy the whole smart enemies think.

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Dragonborn_CT

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#15  Edited By Dragonborn_CT

@deathstroke19: I already reviewed Black Flag with a friend... But ask away?

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deathstroke19

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@dragonborn_ct: Alright well Im at the beginning of the game and I've gotten to the part where your shooting pistols and doing training with the governor and quite frankly I'm bored to death of the game and I haven't played it in a few weeks and I was wondering if I keep getting missions like this and is it worth trying to hop back into the game.

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Dragonborn_CT

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@deathstroke19: Well you are pretty early into the game to begin with, barely 3 hours into it. You don't have to complete the pistol challenge proposed by Woodes Rodgers in this mission, you can just follow him over and do the tutorial for assassinations. I want to say the game gets better because you are too early into it... But many of the story missions are marred with tailing sequences (ones where you have to follow a moving target without being noticed by him or the guards). These missions are certainly a pain in the ass and there are plenty of them when you are on land. If you have to keep going, play for the naval battles if that is what saves the game for you.

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deathstroke19

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@dragonborn_ct: I guess Ill try it out again. Thanks for the info.

And again nice {pre game} review.

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ARMIV2

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This has me so incredibly excited and this wasn't even originally on my radar.

This and Nosgoth I want.

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Dragonborn_CT

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@deathstroke19: Well that was actually more of a preview but thanks :P

@armiv2 said:

This has me so incredibly excited and this wasn't even originally on my radar.

This and Nosgoth I want.

Awesome dude :)

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deathstroke19

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#21  Edited By deathstroke19

@dragonborn_ct: Well the video was like the trailer but you explained want you liked about it so far and why so i see that as a review :P

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Wow I never heard of this game until I read this blog of yours. I was majorly impressed by the Pre Alpha trailer. Shadow of Morder does bring together the open world accessibility of Assassin's Creed or Arkham games and combines it very nicely with the traditional RPG elements of assassinating enemy targets, building your own army of Orc Minions plus there's a goldmine of LOTR source material they can galvanise on. I'm gonna keep my eye on this. Nice write up as always Caio, you emphasise the strengths and potential pitfalls of this game really well.

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Dragonborn_CT

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@darkazrael999: I take that as a compliment bro :D

@lvenger said:

Wow I never heard of this game until I read this blog of yours. I was majorly impressed by the Pre Alpha trailer. Shadow of Morder does bring together the open world accessibility of Assassin's Creed or Arkham games and combines it very nicely with the traditional RPG elements of assassinating enemy targets, building your own army of Orc Minions plus there's a goldmine of LOTR source material they can galvanise on. I'm gonna keep my eye on this. Nice write up as always Caio, you emphasise the strengths and potential pitfalls of this game really well.

I am glad you discovered this game through my blog, man. I can't wait to put my hands on it, and I hope its that good ^_^

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WarBlade539

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#25  Edited By WarBlade539
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Jonny_Anonymous

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I wants it. I wants it NOW!

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WarBlade539

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Great blog but I would like to point out one flaw. Arkham Asylum is not an open-world game.

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Dragonborn_CT

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Great blog but I would like to point out one flaw. Arkham Asylum is not an open-world game.

Thanks, but I was comparing mostly stealth elements in the Arkham games in general, than the actual open world element ;)

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@dragonborn_ct: This game looks amazing. I totally see the combined LOTR/AC/Batman mechanics in here with hints of MK Fatalities haha that head chop and raise was cool, great voice acting, graphics and plot.

Though if this is canon they can't have him kill Sauron though, you know? Since Sauron can't die without destroying the ring. I wonder though, since this is the first time I'm checking this out can we pick different characters? Kinds I mean? Like wizards, dwarfs, men, elves etc? Or can we only use men?