Review - Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor

Do you love J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Ring” series? Do you wish to kill orcs? Do you like a Adventure-fantasy game? Then for all the above mentioned questions, Middle earth: Shadows of Mordor is the answer. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (SoM) is an action role-playing video game set in The Lord of the Rings universe, developed by Monolith Productions and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. SoM is an incredible game which fuses the elements of stealth and melee combat that series like Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham.

Synopsis:

The story of the game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In the game, you play as a ranger, Talion, stationed in Gondor. You are dead before the game even starts, forced to watch his wife and son get their throats slit before getting the same treatment. But fate gives Talion a chance for revenge when an ancient Wraith binds himself to the Ranger's corpse, giving him the gift of immortality and super awesome ghost-powers complete with glowing blue eyes. The blue glowing eyes adds a sense of vengeance and rage among Talion. The player will encounter Gollum, the greatest Elven smith master of the Second Ageand the maker of the Rings of Power, who also seeks revenge against Sauron.

Gameplay:

Sword combat feels pretty much just as good here as brawling does in Batman – which is to say it’s amazing. Every instance of over-the-top carnage--beheadings, chest-slicing combos, being eaten alive, or taking a blade directly through the forehead--is sold by incredibly convincing animations that feel weighty and impactful. Even the stealth kills are vicious, with the option to brutalize an enemy with multiple stabs to the head, neck, and stomach in order to scare off all his comrades. A time-slowing power makes scoring a couple of headshots with the bow easy, whether in stealth or in the heat of battle, though it’s kept in check by ammo constraints and supply of time-slowing juice. And even though stealth gameplay is pretty basic, it’s great to have the option to thin the herd a bit before they know you’re there.

The player has the option to level up the abilities of Talion both as a ranger and as a Wraith through two distinct skill trees. By upgrading Ranger abilities, Talion can move past the guards without attracting much of attention of the surrounding, while by upgrading Wraith abilities allows Talion to impose his will over enemies. The Nemesis system turns every duel to the death into so much more, giving the villains just as much personality as your hero. Warchiefs and Captains lead the forces of Sauron's army, each one randomly generated from a set of pug-ugly faces, delightfully snide voiceovers, and odd character quirks. Each captain has his own randomized strengths and vulnerabilities, so every fight is at least a little different. By turning your every death into the start of a personal vendetta, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor makes you that much more invested in its open-world.

Verdict:

Without any hesitation, I can say that Shadows of Mordor is one of the best games I’ve played this year. There was a perfect balance of stealth and combat. The story grips tightly around you and makes you play the game for over many hours. The visuals are just stunning as well as the character developement. There were moments when my jaw was dropped and among other time, I was enjoying killing the Uruks with the special combos and powers. In short, everything that you wanted to while you were watching Peter Jackon’s The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, SoM allows you to do all that. So my suggestion, Go ahead! Try this game. You will love it even if you are not a Tolkien fan.