middle earth shadow of mordor game of the year ps4

It's a fascinating system that adds a welcome element of strategy to Mordor's action, though I also found myself conflicted. This allows you to turn various captains against each other or even set up a power structure where you control the local warchiefs. You unlock the ability to 'brand' Orcs, forcing them to fight on your side. The next time Norsko showed up, he had a metal plate over that same eye and promised revenge for the injury.Īfter spending its first half slowly revealing how Orc society works, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor allows players to jump in and affect matters more directly in its second half. At one point, I defeated a smaller Orc captain named Norsko of the Welts with a single arrow shot through his eye. I began to recognize certain foes and was amazed at how well they remembered our previous encounters. Rather than setting you up with specific, predetermined bosses to take down, the game emulates the Uruk chain of command, placing Orcs with randomly generated names, strengths, weaknesses and personality traits into various positions of power.Īs you encounter these enemies and defeat them or die to them, a relationship is formed. This sense of more well-developed enemies is aided by Shadow of Mordor's 'nemesis system,' a pre-release talking point that sounds like a gimmick but ends up essential in shaping the game's world. But rather than being unorganized beasts, the Orcs here are smart and have their own personalities. Don't get me wrong, I killed hundreds by the end of the game. In most fantasy games, these foes would be nameless enemies cut down by the dozens. Most surprising of all, Shadow of Mordor spends a lot of time and resources fleshing out the Orcs (or Uruks, if you prefer). Likewise, the ghostly companion and the handful of other characters Talion meets along the way are well-written and fun to see in action. Talion begins the game as a generic, revenge-driven video game protagonist, but he exhibits a more nuanced and interesting personality as it progresses. Some of that setup may sound like fantasy nonsense if you're not already a huge Lord of the Rings fan, but even as someone lukewarm on Tolkien's books, I found the plot engaging. Talion, too, is killed but finds himself returned to life and mysteriously tied to a powerful and ancient wraith. In the opening cutscene, his outpost is overrun by Orcs and his family slaughtered along with everyone under his command. Main character Talion is a Ranger who guards the Black Gate, the main entrance blocking the land of Mordor from the rest of Middle-earth. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Shadow of Mordor opens dramatically. Even as someone lukewarm on Tolkien's books, I found the plot engaging

Middle earth shadow of mordor game of the year ps4