Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

[Gormongous]

Yeah I wondered about that too.  I'm no expert either but from what I can gather from Google, caragors and graugs don't exist in Tolkien's works and were invented for the game.  I have no problem with that but it is a bit odd that they wouldn't use things the original author created and are functionally identical.

I wonder if it was a weird licensing thing, I heard that stuff, especially with Tolkien can get complicated.

 

Yeah, I wonder, too. I think both Trolls and Wargs are "native" to the regions east of the Misty Mountains, so maybe they wouldn't be found just wandering around Nurn and Gorgoroth, but they should still be there. That they're not suggests a licensing issue, yeah. I wonder if it's because those creatures are associated more with The Hobbit than with The Lord of the Rings, so the Peter Jackson film project has sole claim to them somehow while the films are ongoing...

[SecretAsianMan]

Yeah, I wonder, too. I think both Trolls and Wargs are "native" to the regions east of the Misty Mountains, so maybe they wouldn't be found just wandering around Nurn and Gorgoroth, but they should still be there. That they're not suggests a licensing issue, yeah. I wonder if it's because those creatures are associated more with The Hobbit than with The Lord of the Rings, so the Peter Jackson film project has sole claim to them somehow while the films are ongoing...

 

I definitely remember there being trolls and wargs in The Lord of the Rings films (warg riders even).  It would be really bizarre if they had the rights to those creatures but they could let Gollum in the game.

[Gormongous]

I definitely remember there being trolls and wargs in The Lord of the Rings films (warg riders even).  It would be really bizarre if they had the rights to those creatures but they could let Gollum in the game.

 

Oh, they're in there, but they're much more densely presented in The Hobbit, with major scenes devoted to each. I was just spitballing anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they have different tiers of licenses instead that give you rights to major characters only, or certain parts of the world, or if you have to buy what you want from the legendarium à la carte.

[Murdoc]

Oh, they're in there, but they're much more densely presented in The Hobbit, with major scenes devoted to each. I was just spitballing anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they have different tiers of licenses instead that give you rights to major characters only, or certain parts of the world, or if you have to buy what you want from the legendarium à la carte.

 

I really hope that's true and could become the standard for every licensed IP because it could create some hilariously rag tag kind of entertainment.

 

Also, if it is, they really wasted their budget on the Gollum Tier membership, because that shit was pointless.

[Gormongous]

I really hope that's true and could become the standard for every licensed IP because it could create some hilariously rag tag kind of entertainment.

 

I actually like the idea of being forced to pay for different characters and settings in a license individually, insofar as I actually like the idea of licensing games at all, because it would keep licensed games from having the "Hey, look everybody, it's Saruman! Say hi to Saruman, everybody! Okay, bye Saruman!" syndrome from which every other licensed game suffers.

[Architecture]

I think it's a blanket license for Tolkein's work and the films, as it depicts the Jackson version of both Sauron and Gollum.

 

Either way, I'm still loving this game. It's just so much fun to play, and I really enjoy all the side bits of lore you get from the artifacts. I know people have complained about the story's rote nature, but I would take Mordor's narrative over the incomprehensible structure of something like Destiny any day.

[Dewar]

Last night I streamed a couple hours (my first time) of post storyline play in Mordor. I went back to the starter area and then advanced time repeatedly until all the holes in the Nemesis screen were full. This gave me a variety of Uruks from level 5 to level 20. Then I just ran around grabbing collectibles and getting into fights when they came to me. I had a lot of fun, even died a few times and made a few rivals. I ended up with about half the Uruks dead again, so tonight I might sit down and do the same thing again.

[Yalk]

 

(I would have photoshopped some orcs in if I had any talent for that)

 

Here ya go! @ work, so a 5 min paint.net job will have to suffice

[Griddlelol]

Picked this up today, and I've got to say the "nemesis system" is super cool. It's turned something that I'd probably not enjoy into something new and wonderful.

I've ran away from one captain multiple times because he always manages to catch me with my pants down. He's not ashamed to tell me how much of a coward I am either. Really can't wait to kill him!

I've also been on a rampage on a caragor, taking out tons of orcs and a couple of captains, until one captain slaughtered my mount while it was eating him.

The combat is pretty fun. I've never played a batman game, but it feels more involved than the awful assassins creed type where you wait, wait....wait, counter, kill. Then go back to waiting... The multi button moves are a bit hit and miss, sometimes I find it just doesn't work. Plus the auto target can be frustrating at times, but overall it's an enjoyable way to experience the new enemy system.

I'd really love to see the nemesis system worked into something like alpha protocol. I feel like that's where it'd be at home. And if it is this generations cover mechanic, I'm happy with that!

[Architecture]

Steam tells me I've played 30 hours, and I'm still not finished. I think I have 3 story missions left to complete? This is the most involved I've been with a single-player game in quite some time. Honestly, it's hard to imagine liking something more than this in 2014 for me, personally.

[Erkki]

I finished 100% and got all achievements. Steam tells me I played for 46 hours, but I think it was more like 38 as I left it in sleep mode one night and steam seemed to think I was playing all this time. Really awesome game, although the story is dumb and the portrayal of women is... not the best.

[shammack]

I'm not going to play this, but every time I hear about it I've been wondering, is there any attempt in the fiction to explain why guys that you've killed keep coming back from the dead?

[SecretAsianMan]

There's nothing like dark magic resurrecting them if that's what you mean.  Usually they show up and say things like "Oh, you thought that fall would kill me did you?" or "It'll take more than your blade to kill me".  They'll reference the way you killed them but the explaination is basically you thought they were dead but they really weren't.  Early on there seemed to be a theory that if you decapitate them then they permanently die but I guess that's not true either?  Honestly they don't return very often for me.

[Griddlelol]

I've had a few guys come back with metal plates covering one half of their head. Was pretty cool to see that!

[Yalk]

I've only had one dude come back after I offed him....hilariously, it was right after I killed him...

 

 

Literally happened upon this captain, he does his dialogue, I beat the ever living shit out of him, moved off maybe 20 meters to finish up something (get a rune I think) started back to the trail (basically where we fought) and a lone U'ruk was walking back toward me, turns out if was that same captain I had killed maybe 20 seconds earlier with a metal plate on his face....super killed him this time, haven't seen him since....

 

 

Does anyone know what (or if) the significance of when a captain disappears from the power pyramid and when his body is laying there? is it just time dependent? I'm pretty sure I've killed some that vanished immediately and some have continued to lay there for ages....I had thought maybe it had something to do with whether they were really dead or not, but now I'm wondering if its a glitch of some sort with my game....

[JonCole]

So, I rented this game, I've had it for a week and I haven't put in more than 2 hours into it. Can someone tell me something compelling that will make me want to play this game? I have voraciously played AC games and had fun with the short time I've spent on Batman games, so I don't know what's holding me back from liking this. Does the story get at all interesting? Thus far, the best thing I've done is run straight into an Uruk stronghold, get a ~100x combo and kill two captains. Fun, but not something I want to be doing all the time.

[SecretAsianMan]

Personally, I think the story is pretty weak throughout.  Branding, the best ability in the game, is unlocked later via a story mission so if you're trying to maximize the fun with limited time I'd suggest sticking to those and not doing too many side quests until later.  The side quests are mostly just for experience anyway and the ones involving captains are randomly generated and will cycle between several scenarios.  The collectables add some extra lore if you care about that at all but they're entirely skippable.  There's some fun emergent stuff that can happen as a result of the nemesis system, but if you're not into the combat/stealth parts I don't know that you'll enjoy the rest of the game.  I'd suggest going at least until you get branding.  If you're not into it at that point, you probably won't be.

[Griddlelol]

Can someone tell me something compelling that will make me want to play this game?

 

Emergent narrative and NPC personality. Pretty much the only things that makes me enjoy this game. I loathe AC games, never played Batman, but those Orcs, holy shit they're good. Their faces and emotions, their personality are just great. 

 

The game itself is super bland, but that nemesis system makes it. 

[osmosisch]

I think this game might be more fun if you're bad at this kind of game. I've never had my combo higher than 30ish and the various ensuing mishaps and escapades are endlessly entertaining to me. The plot is just...there.

[Griddlelol]

I think this game might be more fun if you're bad at this kind of game. I've never had my combo higher than 30ish and the various ensuing mishaps and escapades are endlessly entertaining to me. The plot is just...there.

 

I kinda agree. I'm pretty shitty, so I've died a ton of times, Seeing the Orcs move through the ranks is pretty cool. The idea of 100+ combo is ridiculous to me. I think I managed 50...once?

[SecretAsianMan]

I'd probably have to agree as well, except I'm coming from the opposite side.  Without trying to brag too much, I think I might be too good at the game.  Or maybe its just too easy.  I've played through the game twice and only died 3 times, all in the first playthrough.  One of those times was on purpose just to get an achievement (the one where a random guy becomes captain after killing you, then you help him become a warchief, then kill him).  I can imagine the encounters being more fun if you're not totally confident in your ability to handle 3 captains and 30 guys at once.

[JonCole]

That's really weird and funny. I suspect I might be on the "too good" side of the equation, but I'll hang in nonetheless as it's still mildly entertaining when I do engage 3 captains and 30 guys and somehow manage to kill them all. Maybe I'll just deliberately die more often just to mix it up.

[Dewar]

So, I rented this game, I've had it for a week and I haven't put in more than 2 hours into it. Can someone tell me something compelling that will make me want to play this game? I have voraciously played AC games and had fun with the short time I've spent on Batman games, so I don't know what's holding me back from liking this. Does the story get at all interesting? Thus far, the best thing I've done is run straight into an Uruk stronghold, get a ~100x combo and kill two captains. Fun, but not something I want to be doing all the time.

 

Mash pass time on the tower a bunch and send a lot of death threats to make it harder. I've been having a ball since I did this.

[Griddlelol]

If there are 2 captains in the mix, I'm in trouble, 3, and I'm running. When you get to a certain point there are multiple enemy types which makes it more difficult. 

You probably made the right choice renting it, you get to experience the whole system without the investment. I'm finding the combat challenging enough that it forces me to play stealthily as much as possible to clean out areas. Way more interesting when you're stealthy in my opinion.

[SecretAsianMan]

I think the stealth is a bit too easy as well.  There is a surprisingly large margin in which you can pull off a stealth kill.  They can be fully turned around and facing you and you can still silently kill them without anyone noticing.  I'm not suggesting the stealth should be hard because franky I'd hate that, but I think I liked the way Batman did it more.  Taking guys with guns head on will almost certainly get you killed but they're not impossible to deal with in a stealthy way.  Plus they actually change up their tactics based on what you do, like shooting down the gargoyles so you can't escape onto them or checking floor grates if they find a body nearby.  In Mordor, getting noticed changes nothing except the number of enemies.  If you climb up some of them will throw projectiles at you but escape is laughably easy.  I would have prefered it if the nemesis system included some things that would react to your actions in the same way as Batman.  Like if you got spotted in a stronghold with a captain inside, he would gain invulnerability to stealth finishers for the duration of the alarm.