Spotlight #15- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

I promise you guys, I will get around to reviewing the last "Hobbit" movie sometime soon. Until then, I have the next best thing. It is a game intended for mature audiences, but since the ESRB only rated it that because it has what "the Hobbit" was rated PG-13 for, I figured that it was worth a look. As it turns out, it was worth the $60 I paid for it and much more. While it may just seem like an average license tie-in game, "Shadow of Mordor" quickly sets itself as an essential Middle-Earth experience.
The story starts off almost immediately after the events of "the Hobbit", when Sauron and his army are finally strong enough to start a full-on siege of Mordor, now under the control of Gondor. In the chaos, the captain of the guard Talion and his family are captured by the Uruks and sacrificed in a brutal-yet-admittedly-well-done cutscene. (One of many in the game, might I add?) You are saved at the last minute by a mysterious figure- an elf who has long since died and was lost in time- who tells you that the ritual has also cursed you from dying. As Talion, you must travel Mordor and liberate your fellow soldiers from the Uruks, taking out the orc captains one by one until you reach your killer- none other than the Black Hand of Sauron himself.
As you may have guessed from the Gameplay demos, it runs very much like "Assassin's Creed' in Middle Earth. You spend much of your time stealthily sneaking around enemy territory and finding Forging Towers that your elvish friend can use as save points and beacons for new quests and areas of the map. Frequently, though, you'll find yourself in frantic combat situations while going on various quests or to liberate slaves. Here, the game changes to a rhythmic system of attacking, dodging, blocking, and- more often than not- using your elvish guides powers to interrogate enemies and drain them of their souls. If you down an Uruk Captain in the mix, then you get ability points and runes that you can use to use your weapons more efficiently. (e.g. Using arrows to pin enemies in place, stealth drains, and so on.) It may not sound unique, but it's all incredibly responsive and just feels right. If anything happened to me in my gameplay, I found myself blaming my own zealousness than anything in the programming.
Speaking of which, the biggest draw to the game (and also the most unique) is the nemesis system. Every enemy is randomly generated and has their own memory of you depending on how they last saw you. Most don't live long enough to become a problem, but on the rare occassion that they do kill you or if you retreat before they are killed, they will grow stronger and even ascend the ranks to be able to command more uruks and strengthen around their weaknesses. Even more incredible is the fact that they taunt you differently each time you meet them. In all of the hours I spent playing 'Shadow of Mordor', I didn't hear the same line of dialogue twice. No arrows to the knee here- everything feels unique and much more alive.
With all of this focus on the mechanics and background, it's amazing how much of the story I ended up caring about. There are plenty of plot points and references that true Tolkien fans can latch on to and ride all the way to the end. Fresh from the misty mountains, for instance, Gollum is a central character and is predictably a delight to see on screen again, almost more-so to interact with. He's mostly there to shed some exposition on your ghostly companion, although those in the know may figure out who he is earlier on. One of my favorite additions, though, is an Uruk named 'Ratbag the Coward', whom you must help if you want to take on the Uruk Warchiefs. Not only is he written with some rather genuine humor, but he also really is interesting since you don't know what he'll do or what mess you'll have to get him out of next. Even though a fair portion of these are expressed through some very well-done cutscenes, they still feel vibrant and memorable, even compared to such a memorable experience as this.
That being said, this is a next-gen game for sure. Having played this on the XBox 360, the sheer size of the game made the journey a little rough. Loading times often lasted 30 seconds or so, and there were even some blurry textures after that. Also, the lip-syncing for the Uruk Captains ended up looking a little wacky (some didn't even move at all) and really detracted from the otherwise gorgeous graphics. However, besides those and a few frame-rate drops, they didn't detract from the experience to much. I imagine, though, that those could easily be fixed on the XBox One or the PlayStation 4, if you're willing to put the money into either of those.
"Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor" is the Lord of the Rings video game I've always wanted. There may not be much else to do besides killing Uruks, but the well-implemented nemesis system makes sure that it never happens the same way twice. Smooth and responsive mechanics help back up a story showing a side of Mordor that other installments never have really shown you before. If you are put off by the gruesomeness of Peter Jackson's movies, then nobody will judge if you don't buy it. However, if you want a massive and almost endless gaming experience that satisfies at every turn, ask your local gamer if "Shadow of Mordor" is right for you.

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