Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor Masterfully Mixes the Old and the New (Review)

While the main storyline is nothing special, the game truly shines in its potential for emergent storytelling. Shadows of Mordor achieves this through its innovative nemesis system. The Uruk armies follow a loose, continuously shifting hierarchy. Warchiefs stand at the top, served by their elite captains, captains and regular old grunts at the bottom.  Eventually you gain the ability to “brand” the Uruk, allowing Talion to control individual Orcs and swing the politics of Orc “society” in your favor. Each of these Orcs are procedurally generated – assigned a random set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as personality traits (mean, meaner or meanest) and physical attributes.

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As you fight your way around Mordor, you’ll start to see the same faces popping up time and again. The neat part is they’ll remember you, too. Intimidate a captain in battle and they’ll flee, promising they’ll have your head next time. Indeed, the same Orc might appear days later, ready to try again.

A particularly stubborn Uruk captain kept following me around – he seemingly couldn’t get enough of me stabbing him to death. Appearing at the worst moments, usually when there were at least two other elite Uruk in the vicinity, he would taunt me, bearing battle scars of every increasing severity. He now walks around with a spiked metal plate covering one side of his head because I hacked it with my sword one too many times.

The nemesis system at work.
Studying your enemies will greatly increase your odds of success in battle.

Of course, Talion also faces his fair share of defeats, and the orcs will remember that too. Past opponents will mock you with a “Hey, didn’t I already kill you?” before engaging in a duel. Your pride won’t be the only thing taking a beating, however. Death can come with hefty consequences, even if you are essentially undead. Dying allows your killer to move up in rank, and also causes a shift in the positions of any other Orcs on your radar. Duels and executions all happen in the time it takes for Talion to resurrect. As a result, every time you die, your opponents become stronger while new, unfamiliar orcs also enter the playing field.

Giving the Orcs names, memories and personalities really makes Mordor feel like a real, breathing place. You’re not simply fighting the nameless masses this time. Struggling to beat a particularly slippery enemy time and again, you’ll feel as though you’re on your very own revenge quest separate from the main plot. The nemesis comes as an exciting new surprise, changing the way we view enemies in games.

Talion and Ratbag

When Shadow of Mordor isn’t breaking new ground, it’s improving on systems we’re already familiar with.  While the game never strays from the borders of Mordor, it’s still a fairly expansive sandbox. Players are free to travel from point to point at their own leisure, pursuing a plethora of side quests and collectibles in between the main story missions.

Side quests can range from weapon specific challenges, to tasks that influence the Orcish power struggle. Players can interrupt feasts (Orcs like to party) by poisoning grog barrels, or crash recruitment sessions. If two captains are butting heads, you can drop by and ensure that one of them triumphs over the other. Alternatively, take out both of them if you’re feeling brave. Upon completing a quest, new ones will fill its place, meaning there is always something for you to do.

Sneaking up on orcs

Shadows of Mordor also borrows familiar gameplay elements from other popular open world games. Rather than feeling like a cheap knock-off, though, Shadows mixes these mechanics to create a product that’s even more fun than the originals. Talion possesses the free running and stealth capabilities of the Assassin’s Creed series. Free running is fluid and easy, making quick escapes from orc strongholds a piece of cake.  Further ability upgrades offer a speed boost after mounting obstacles with a well-timed button press.


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Author
Chris Jecks
Chris Jecks has been covering the games industry for over eight years. He typically covers new releases, FIFA, Fortnite, any good shooters, and loves nothing more than a good Pro Clubs session with the lads. Chris has a History degree from the University of Central Lancashire. He spends his days eagerly awaiting the release of BioShock 4.