Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – Review

Firstly I’d like to thank Warner for this gem of a game! It has been out since 2014 but I’ve only got my mitts on it recently picking up the Game of the year edition for £24.99 on the Xbox Store. In my opinion what a total bargain.

So you control a ranger by the name of Talion who seeks revenge on the forces of Sauron after his wife and son are killed. He is cursed by the bank hand and is locked between this world and the afterlife, though Talion is mortally felled in the game’s introduction, the wraith of the Elven Lord Celebrimbor is able to use his power to keep Talion alive, along with gifting him wraith-like abilities to exact his revenge. You have to scale across the vast open world of Mordor using Parkour like maneuvers whilst attacking Orcs and their captains and other wild beasts that are lurking in your path. The story is truly amazing and really fits in well with the actual Lord of the rings and Hobbit stories. Gollum makes an appearance but apart from that the only other character fans will remember will be Sauron and Lord Celebrimbor. At the start, i found myself confused with the story but as you progress it unfolds.

The combat in Shadow of Mordor is mirrored from the likes of the Batman Arkham series X to attack and when triggered either A or Y to parry or dodge. With the wraith on your side, you have the ability to use the Elven Bow which slows down time, not for long mind. But it gives you enough time to pick off your shots and move on. Of course, all of Talion’s abilities can be upgraded but to unlock tier in the upgrade tree you have earn power in the middle earth. The only way to do this is to defeat captains and work your way towards their war chief. This is the where the chess board comes into place. So the orcs have five captains and above them is another seven and above them, another seven some of whom are bodyguards for the Warchief. There are only five war chiefs but if you try to take them on without taking on the bodyguards first then you will be in a tough fight. I found myself having at least five captains and one bodyguard against me in one battle that not including the mass amounts of legion soldiers rolling with them for the fun of it!

The becomes almost more fun when you die as the person that kills you if he isn’t a captain will become one if they’re already a captain they will rank up and challenge other orcs in on the board for their position. To make the battle easier to can grab certain orcs to gain intel on other captains to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are which is good. Some are scared of fire and other are scared of certain beasts and if they gaze upon them they flee. Further on in the game, you gain the ability to brand orcs to fight for you when you do this you become the master of the board and you will lose hours of your life making orc war chief stronger and giving them bodyguards I know I did. But this is a pivotal portion of the game’s story but I feel it drives you away from the story. Throughout the map you will find two types of collectibles, one being an object you have to scan to find out the story behind it and the other is a symbol which adds to a mural you collect. There is also a vast amount of vegetation you can use to heal and as part of the survival challenge, you have to find specific herbs to gain attribute points.

The graphics in Shadow of Mordor are really tidy, given that the game out in 2014…i’m going on like that was a long time ago but in games, it can be. New engines are made and graphics and sounds become far superior but this game has kept with the times and with a sequel announced for the upcoming Xbox Scorpio the visuals can only get better. There is no online element to this game but the is a small payback feature, if one of your friends dies in the game you can avenge them by killing the Captain that slew your bestie in battle. With the game of the year edition, you’re given a few extra additions with The Lord of the Hunt and the Bright Lord DLC, as well as Six different skins and Nine runes to help you on from the start.

If spending £24.99 is too much for a digital download then the disc copy is available for £19.99 in some game shops.