Kicking Ass and Tolkien Names

Here I am with a little break from Orc slaying and beheading to give you my non spoiler review of Shadow of Mordor. Now many of you know that I have been excited about this game for some time now. Basically ever since I saw the first trailer for it a few months back. Now this type of game is in my wheel house so keep that in mind when you are listening to what I have to say.

One thing I believe this game will be remembered for is the Nemesis system. The system itself is dynamic. Since the main is already dead you might be thinking that there isn’t much to be lost if Tailon "dies", but although it doesn't make much difference to him it does affect the world you are playing in. Whoever defeats you will invariably get some sort of promotion, and since time passes while you’re resurrecting yourself a sequence of losses can see the hierarchy of the orcish troops change considerably. As your enemies rise in rank their abilities and number of followers increase, and your primary goal of taking out Sauron’s most important commanders becomes more and more complicated. Yes it really is that awesome.

Also orcs won’t just rise in rank depending on how they fare against you but they’ll also remember you when you come back, mocking you if you ran away or showing off battle scars if you've previously provided them with one. In a fight they’ll come right for you casting everyone aside to get to you then those same orcs chant their name as if it suddenly became part of a fight club.

You can also even prepare for a fight ahead of time by torturing those orcs of lower ranks. These snitches will spill everything what kind of weapons they use, whether they’re cowards or what they fear, or exactly what army they command. This information can turn the tide, but rather than just killing your nemesis you can choose to spare them in battle and turn them into allies. You can set their goals like assassinating other key figures or spreading dissent.

The Nemesis system ensures the game is never linear and like I said before this will be what the game is remembered before. Now as always most games aren't perfect and if I had a couple things to complain about it would be that Mordor isn't as big as you would hope and the terrain itself could have some more variability. Also the riding mechanics remind me of an early Assassin's Creed game so they aren't the most fun thing to deal with. I am sure some people will complain all the enemies are Orcs, but really in a Middle Earth game that doesn't bother me at all.

So really I am have tons of fun mindless killing Orcs and having them do my bidding. I figured I would like this game because of the setting, but I am seeing others enjoying the game regardless if they are Tolkien fans or not.33