Talion's Wraith buddy Celebrimbor has a lots to answer for. As the greatest Elven Smith of the Second Age, he's responsible for forging the Rings of Power and kickstarting this whole ring business that caused Sauron to fall from grace and become the badass black-clad Dark Lord that we all know and love. Celebrimbor paid the price for his fine craftsmanship, with Sauron's inexorable descent into evil eventing in the murder of his family and his own untimely death. Meanwhile, Middle-earth is also a bit buggered, as darkness spreads across the land and the Dark Lord's power and influence spreads.
Safe to say, Celebrimbor is a bit pissed off with Sauron, which is why he chooses to inhabit the undead body of Black Gate Ranger Talion, a man whose family and own being came to an end thanks to Sauron and his army of marauding Orcs. Talion and Celebrimbor have a common goal; seeking vengeance against Mordor's big cheese, and between them, they share a bond that grants them immense power. It makes Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor a lot of fun too.
Picking up with Talion tracking Gollum's trail, who - surprise – is obsessed with finding the one ring, we're led into a dark cavern where a fearsome Graug (a sort of spiky troll with a bad temper) has taken up residence. Celebrimbor informs us that we're currently too weak to tackle the Graug head-on, so we set about attracting scurrying Caragors from their nest to draw the angry creature out of our path.
With the Graug distracted, Talion ventures forth into its lair, where Celebrimbor is able to enter the Wraith world, which he's able to do at will, in order to see how Middle-earth appeared when he was alive. Using his Wraith vision, Talion is able to uncover valuable artefacts that unlock lost memories and secrets from Middle-earth lore. One such discovery enables us to see back to Sauron prior to his corruption, revealing how he and Celebrimbor forged the rings together with noble intentions. And we all know how that panned out.
Each piece of the story that you unearth, sees Celebrimbor growing to remember who he once was, tapping into new powers that Talion will then be able to wield freely. In this particular case, Talion receives the Shadow Strike ability, enabling him to traverse a ravine in the cave by teleporting a short distance. He's also able to use this ability to rush enemies and swiftly take them out.
Emerging from the cave, we once again delve into Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's unique selling point; the rather intriguing Nemesis System. We're becoming increasingly convinced that this will be the ace up the game's sleeve, ensuring that each encounter with an Orc Warchief and his underlings remains fresh and interesting. As we've noted in our previous preview, the Nemesis System generates unique Orcs within a hierarchy, and injects them with their own personalities, including their strengths and weaknesses. “There's no generic cannon fodder,” Director of Design, Michael de Plater assures us.
Tasked with taking the fight to a fearsome shaman Warchief, Talion ventures deep into Orc territory where he encounters a range of ugly Uruk who immediately sniff out the Ranger and look to attack him. Talion is able to take a stealthy approach, wall-running and leaping to vantage points, or he can take the fight straight to his enemies, with a robust combat system that sees Orc heads flying off their shoulders and spinning through the air in a shower of arterial spray. 'Visceral' might sound like a shitty buzzword, but it aptly describes Shadow of Mordor's meaty swordplay.
Overrun by Orcs, Talion soon succumbs to insurmountable numbers, and is struck down in battle. Using the left analogue stick and a face button to guide a dot into a bullseye, you can attempt to defy death and return to the fight quickly, otherwise you'll face a setback that means heading back to the nearest spawn point and trying again. Your death will see your killer promoted and powered up, while any surviving Orcs involved in the skirmish will also receive boosts to their attributes and status. Coming back stronger and better organised, you can get your own back on the Orc that killed you, dominating them or creating a power struggle within the Orc ranks to turn them to your cause.
Once again, Monolith has proven that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its quest to amass an Orc army to march upon the Black Gate is an enticing prospect. Beyond all of the usual third-person action game fripperies that we've come to take for granted, the Nemesis System still shows masses of promise, and should ensure that your latest adventure in Tolkien's fantasy world is one that'll be well worth embarking upon.
You'll have my axe when Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor launches on September 30th in North America and on October 3rd in Europe.
This, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Far Cry 4 are the games I'm most looking forward to this fall. This will be the first non-LEGO LOTR game I pick up, and this looks to combine the best parts of Assassin's Creed with The Witcher 2, which is everything I could ask for in a game.
I can't wait for this game! Still cheesed about the season pass situation with games these days but they not going to stop that, so no point in complaint:) roll on October!
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Talion's Wraith buddy Celebrimbor has a lots to answer for. As the greatest Elven Smith of the Second Age, he's responsible for forging the Rings of Power and kickstarting this whole ring business that caused Sauron to fall from grace and become the badass black-clad Dark Lord that we all know and love. Celebrimbor paid the price for his fine craftsmanship, with Sauron's inexorable descent into evil eventing in the murder of his family and his own untimely death. Meanwhile, Middle-earth is also a bit buggered, as darkness spreads across the land and the Dark Lord's power and influence spreads.
Safe to say, Celebrimbor is a bit pissed off with Sauron, which is why he chooses to inhabit the undead body of Black Gate Ranger Talion, a man whose family and own being came to an end thanks to Sauron and his army of marauding Orcs. Talion and Celebrimbor have a common goal; seeking vengeance against Mordor's big cheese, and between them, they share a bond that grants them immense power. It makes Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor a lot of fun too.
Picking up with Talion tracking Gollum's trail, who - surprise – is obsessed with finding the one ring, we're led into a dark cavern where a fearsome Graug (a sort of spiky troll with a bad temper) has taken up residence. Celebrimbor informs us that we're currently too weak to tackle the Graug head-on, so we set about attracting scurrying Caragors from their nest to draw the angry creature out of our path.
With the Graug distracted, Talion ventures forth into its lair, where Celebrimbor is able to enter the Wraith world, which he's able to do at will, in order to see how Middle-earth appeared when he was alive. Using his Wraith vision, Talion is able to uncover valuable artefacts that unlock lost memories and secrets from Middle-earth lore. One such discovery enables us to see back to Sauron prior to his corruption, revealing how he and Celebrimbor forged the rings together with noble intentions. And we all know how that panned out.
Each piece of the story that you unearth, sees Celebrimbor growing to remember who he once was, tapping into new powers that Talion will then be able to wield freely. In this particular case, Talion receives the Shadow Strike ability, enabling him to traverse a ravine in the cave by teleporting a short distance. He's also able to use this ability to rush enemies and swiftly take them out.
Emerging from the cave, we once again delve into Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's unique selling point; the rather intriguing Nemesis System. We're becoming increasingly convinced that this will be the ace up the game's sleeve, ensuring that each encounter with an Orc Warchief and his underlings remains fresh and interesting. As we've noted in our previous preview, the Nemesis System generates unique Orcs within a hierarchy, and injects them with their own personalities, including their strengths and weaknesses. “There's no generic cannon fodder,” Director of Design, Michael de Plater assures us.
Tasked with taking the fight to a fearsome shaman Warchief, Talion ventures deep into Orc territory where he encounters a range of ugly Uruk who immediately sniff out the Ranger and look to attack him. Talion is able to take a stealthy approach, wall-running and leaping to vantage points, or he can take the fight straight to his enemies, with a robust combat system that sees Orc heads flying off their shoulders and spinning through the air in a shower of arterial spray. 'Visceral' might sound like a shitty buzzword, but it aptly describes Shadow of Mordor's meaty swordplay.
Overrun by Orcs, Talion soon succumbs to insurmountable numbers, and is struck down in battle. Using the left analogue stick and a face button to guide a dot into a bullseye, you can attempt to defy death and return to the fight quickly, otherwise you'll face a setback that means heading back to the nearest spawn point and trying again. Your death will see your killer promoted and powered up, while any surviving Orcs involved in the skirmish will also receive boosts to their attributes and status. Coming back stronger and better organised, you can get your own back on the Orc that killed you, dominating them or creating a power struggle within the Orc ranks to turn them to your cause.
Once again, Monolith has proven that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its quest to amass an Orc army to march upon the Black Gate is an enticing prospect. Beyond all of the usual third-person action game fripperies that we've come to take for granted, the Nemesis System still shows masses of promise, and should ensure that your latest adventure in Tolkien's fantasy world is one that'll be well worth embarking upon.
You'll have my axe when Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor launches on September 30th in North America and on October 3rd in Europe.