LOTR Shadow Of Mordor OT - Thoughts, Impressions?

Yeah, that is what the game needs. More breathing room. Time for the player to both rest and reflect on what they just did. I think this game needs it more than others since it can get very chaotic at times.

The game itself seems of very high quality. Not really a fan of the look of Mordor though, the vision portrait in Peter Jacksons movie was much better imo.

The story-telling at the start if a bit all over the player. Yes, I know the player is suppose to learn what is happening... but it's just a bit annoying watching all this shit not knowing who any of the characters are or what the **** is going on.

I'm still on my first playthrough, so I can't give a firm answer but I think it is both Yes and no.

So if you decide to power through this game's story and do very little side quest or Nemesis quest, you won't have enough skill points to unlock everything (I also advise not to take this road as you will be dominated by the bosses)

But if you take your time, attempt to do everything you possibly can, you should be able to get all the skill points. And there is always something to do. One could make the argument that there might be too much to do! Also, since killing is easy and frequent, scavenging for XP should no problem at all.

The game is not like other RPGs where you level one particular skill and use it throughout the game. In this game, you have to use everything. It's simply impossible to stick to one weapon/style of play for the entire game. So the skill tree and the abilities are all balanced out because of that.

Hope this is helpfully. :D

I'm not too in the main story at this point as I'm just going around completing side and Nemesis quests which almost have the same 5-9 mission structures (as far as I can tell). Though it may be the same type of missions, the experience always seems to be different because of the diverse area, the constant change of the Nemesis order, and the combat is satisfying enough to where it's fun to killing the urnks (orcs)

@Behardy24

Yes... Thank You very much :)

I was hoping for some unique builds since that is literally the only qualifying factor to Role Playing (for me atleast)..... Looks like SoM is the newest entry in my Shortlist (Along with Dishonoured and The Witcher).

Hopefully they'l do better than Dragon's Dogma, lol, they have an Assassin Class but the only thing that comes even close to being stealth is turning invisible, which is useless when you're being followed by three Morons (pawns) who seem intent on Yelling "GOBLIN ! ! !" every 5 minutes.

Arrrggghhh MM, had to jump on this one, cash be damned.

Yea the combat's not quite as polished or flowing as Arkham's, but it's a sincere flattery nonetheless. This game's pretty intimidating right off the bat. The whole hierarchy aspect is quite in-depth with each orc having their own peculiarities. Cool stuff. I can definitely see the AC influence with the towers and "hold x+push forward" climbing mechanic, plus Batman's combat. So far it seems to all come together well. It's just a lot to take in all at the beginning, and I think this will be one of those games that I enjoy more on my second playthrough because I'm so clueless as to what I'm doing now.

Overall though, this seems to be a good buy so far. I have to say I'm a bit impressed with the acting/voices. Better than average.

@Behardy24

I'd also really really appreciate it if you could test drive Lord of The Fallen for me...... Looks like Dark Souls, but with Good balanced Gameplay.... However the enemy's are not as Cool Looking.

Really liking the game so far, it's very absorbing. Hoping the tone gets a bit lighter though, more LotR

Wow, after having put some more time into this, this is a pretty damn good game. Damn good. Definitely a sleeper hit if I've ever seen one. The Nemesis system injects the game with a hell of a lot of replayability. I love the combat.....brutal, well animated, flows well. Not quite up to Arkham in polish, but close. My only criticisms so far are that it has no reservations about throwing you in the deep end right off the bat, and the environment all looks the same.

I seem to be the only person who didn't really like this game very much... It seemed like they just copied everything good from Assassin's Creed and Batman, except they didn't do the things they copied just as good as they do themselves. The Nemesis system is great but in my opinion (I think some people think it does), it doesn't make the game. I also don't like how short it is. I put 15 hours into the game and I just finished the story, as well as having control of all Warchiefs of the grassy land and 3 of the original land. And it's not like I was racing through anything. I think I'm just going to trade it in for Forza. I'm really surprised about how much this game had such a lack of really any... meat to the game. After the short story and getting control of Warchiefs (which did not actually take very long for me), there isn't anything to do. The side challenges are fun but get repetitive.

What I liked: The story, the Nemesis system, and the detail given to all of the uruks (they all looked completely different, sounded different, seemed to have different personalities, etc.).

What I didn't like: Runes (could have been a really great part of the game, but almost all of them are useless except a few good ones you find and use forever), length of story, lack of "meat".

IMO it's a fairly fun game, but it's length and abundance of rehashed mechanics just does not make it worth anywhere near $60. Definitely not worth the 9+/10 reviews it got (imo).

So now I get to be Lulu_Lulu's video game advisor? I like this job, how much does it pay? :P

But sure, if Lord of The Fallen comes out on retail disc I'll sure give it a wirl. I have no other plans for October anyway. But, just so you know upfront, I have 0% experience or knowledge in the Souls series as the only exposure I've had with it is a couple videos here and there. Also no guarantees.

The game is both pretty good and is top notch quality. I hope it does well sales wise for Monolith, they really deserve all the cash on this one.

Anyone else fall into the pit of herb/refil/tower/side mission pit yet? I am 3 hours in and have done 2 story missions. Damn good game, and I am thankful there is so much to do. Just every time I am on my way to continue the story I run into either a captain or a slave with a side mission, etc etc.

About 6 hours in, and really enjoying it. It seems like I am spending a good bit of my time trying to get revenge on those jerk uruks that killed me when I first started playing. I've had to raid the same strong hold numerous times to get the last one. You really have to sort of plan out your attacks and take your time.

It is currently the best game this generation.

@Behardy24

How about internship ? :p

Actually that will no longer be necessary.... After taking a look at the Demo I've spotted some stats.... Infact it seemed like they were spending more time trying to figured where to go and what stats to put where than in the sweet embrace of Combat.... Which is a shame because they really really worked hard on that part..... Controls are sweet and Enemies are capable and aggressive. What a shame :( atleast I didn't spot any cheap deaths..... However thats suppose to be standard, so no cookie for them there.

So far SoM is easily my fav game of 2014, once you get Brand it's just so awesome.

Also fyi this takes place around the Black Gate, so basically we're in a little portion of Mordor.

I'm definitely in that trap right now and I've played a collective 13 hours of the game (estimating) and I only completed the 3rd story mission (The one where you meet Golloum)

But I'm having fun at doing that. I'm leveling up my character nicely and I'm burning through all my backlog gaming podcasts because of it.

I haven't played that many games of this year, so I don't know how much weight this will have, but this is easily my game of the year so far.

I've just now realized that the or nemesis count is infinite :S
Must've killed like 50 of them...

Yeah. It is a bit saddening that it is infinite because it makes me feel like I'm making little progress since I'm not doing any of the story. But that is okay because it is super fun taking out these captains guys out.

even though its assassin's creed with orcs, i'm most definitely getting it.

I like the planning and strategy of it. It is made in a way where you have to think on your feet and use the environment and tools your given to kill the enemies and captains of the game. But it isn't X-com style where you have to think a lot on the moves you'll do which is a good thing and makes the game exciting.

Also, killing 15 urnks by blowing up a fire barrel is the most enjoyable thing ever.

@Garfield360UK

Some impressions I have to share and yes, I did pick up my copy on release day.

-The controls are a bit slippery. They don't respond to you accordingly.

-The fights are fun and a bit gruesome, which is a good thing. Loving the slick animations every time you kill an orc. Some fights can be downright nasty, especially early in the game. So it's really best to focus on getting Power Points so that you can unlock skills faster. The more you do, the more badass you'll be.

-The game feels and plays like Assassin's Creed IMO. You run around in an open field, climb up structures, find places to "sync" (or reforge in this case) and it shows new things to do in the game. Stealth isn't much of a problem either. It's fun to stalk a group of clueless orcs and kill them without them noticing what happened to their fallen comrade.

-Caragors are a lot of fun to ride on, but sometimes hard to get. You have to be above them, like a cliff, before you can jump on them and take control. You need to unlock the skill to get this, but once you do, it's fun to bite orcs and gain some health back. I also find it funny to watch these stupid orcs have clashes with caragors. I've seen two caragors take out a dozen orcs at once. It was funny as hell.

This is true. How I beat the guy I kept losing to was to hit him from afar with Elf Shots and then run away until I had enough distance from him to drain a random orc more Elf Shots and finish him off.

Now, what I don't like is how the orcs you "kill" come back. They're surprised to see you come back, but come back without a second thought after I kill them. It dissuades me from trying to kill them all if all they're going to do is respawn.

So i played around 2 hours, mostly played sidequests. Man that game is fun as hell

I would get this for PS3 when it releases next month, but Dragon Age Inquisition is coming out a week before so this will have to wait for a price drop. Looks pretty good though, despite the flaws I've seen and read about.

Don't get it for PS3! The old gen versions (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) DON'T come with the Nemesis system. It is one of the best features of the game and I would go as far as saying that it makes the game. I would highly recommend that you get it for next-gen systems or PC. And if you can't, I would say hold on buying the game until you get next-gen system or PC. The Nemesis System really does put a whole new layer on the game (and makes it way more fun.)

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/one-of-shadow-of-mordor-s-most-ambitious-features-scaled-back-for-xbox-360-ps3/1100-6417861/

I don't mind the concept of the urnks (the ocrs) coming back from the dead as seeing how f-up they look with the makeshift badges and metal eye patches. But one thing I don't like about it is the stitation that is happening in my game, where one particular captain just keeps coming back from the dead constantly. Example: I was fighting off a Captain and his guards when this other captain called Mindless came and attack me. He was my biggest nemesis before as he killed me multiply times but eventually I killed him. But now is back from the dead and I finish him off quickly. About 10 minutes later, in the same area, Mindless comes right back. i was shocked that happen so soon, but I took him out anyway. Since that point, Mindless came back 3 times over within an hour and half. It was ridiculous. And Mindless was so easy to kill, that seeing him again and killing him became comedic. He become my own version of Jar Jar Binks (I've grown a connection with Mindless, kinda). I really hope this doesn't become a trend in this game because that will be super annoying and the Nemesis system purpose is to stop trends (like this).

Have you dealt with similar issues?

......

What??

Cutting the Nemesis system out of this game is gutting a core mechanic. That'd be like putting out a Batman game without his gadgets. Man that's bad, I'm astonished they'd do such a thing.

I agree...you really can't just mindlessly strike. I had about half of the captains dead at one point last night. I turned off the game and did some other stuff. A couple of hours later, I figured I would play a little before I went to bed. Apparently I was tired, because I had my ass handed to me by numerous uruks. I would die, swear revenge on the newly promoted jerk off, and seek out that jerk off and attack...I would die again....over and over. Just not having the counter attack timing down, and not planning properly did me time and time again. Well today is another day, and those bastards will die. Yeah the game is addicting.

I am loving the game. A lot of fun and different than the destiny I have been playing a lot lately.

**** that! It will definitely be a long while before I play this game! Thanks for the link. In the meantime, to youtube it is! Guess I'll wait and see if Dragon Age Inquisition will be scaled back for PS3 as well.

I'm glad they're doing things like this because last gen needs to go away so devs can totally focus on current gen. Things like this give people incentive to jump in to the new generation as opposed to being able to buy the same games that's on newer systems and keep it alive for far too long.

Awesome! I figured you would enjoy it a lot! This game is now considered to be my vote for "sleeper hit of the year". It's just so much fun! They give you so many ways to infiltrate a camp and using PLENTY of distractions to get you inside the camp and escaping before anyone notices. I am also loving the moves that Talion earns with the Power Points and Ability Points too. I can't wait to unlock them all...so badass!

@Pffrbt:

You are correct, you can comment about anything. I was just pointing out the lack of info, and how your comment means nothing still.

So today I discovered a new kind of mission called Vendetta.

Vendetta missions are simple. You have to find the captain that killed another player and avenge his or her death by killing that captain. Seems like there's a time limit on these - you have to tag the captain, then find the captain and kill them before the time expires. I'm loving this game more and more!

The lack of info except for clearly seeing how it plays, looks, controls, and sounds. My comment means that I think the game is shit.

Still lacking of info, Have you played? You never answered that question. From your responses you have not played, and are just ranting to rant. I personally played this game, and the topic of this forum is called thoughts, and impressions. Now you would have to play the game to give a review. So again, your comments mean shit, with no evidence of facts. All the comments above are all good reviews, the worst review is from you, which we clearly cannot tell if you have played it, or not.

Seeing a videogame in action and then playing it are two completely different things. Until you play it, you have no right to judge based on what you see. Simple as that. Play it first, then judge it.

I'm really loving the Nemesis system. The more I get into it, the more replayability it has to offer.

I've been struck down by a spear-wielding grunt. He got promoted to captain. I got pissed off, gained intel on him, then tracked him down and killed him. Other captains also intervened in the huge fight that followed shortly afterwards. A few of them managed to retreat, but I made sure to cut them down quickly. When I see them again, they actually remember our last encounter and I think that's really cool.

One of the best abilities I've used in the game is Wraith Flash, where you pound your fist into the ground and stuns them for a bit. It's a move that's similar to Batman's Bat Swarm in my opinion and works well if you need to gain crowd control. I use it often and all the time. One piece of advice I should give any of you - make sure to take care of any archers or spear-throwing orcs before focusing on the ones that are strictly into melee combat. They drain your energy pretty fast if you don't deal with them, especially the captain archers or spear-throwers!

@Metamania

Yes he does.... Hes more than welcome to make judgements about the specific game mechanics he is familar with.... Especially with Shadow of Mordor, the only thing remotely unique about it is the nemesis system.... Everybody else whos played it draw comparisons to Batman and Assassin's Creed.

just fyi, guys: DO THE STORY FIRST. It's the only way to unlock domination, which has two stages to it (meaning you have to do a couple of quests to unlock its full potential)...the first is just taking control of uruks and the second is being able to issue commands to them. This creates the possibility of not only having uruks fighting with you but also being able to send them after your enemies. So yes, you can raise your own uruk to warchief and then send him and his bodyguards after another warchief. If you find strong uruks you might want to use them as bodyguards for your chief, so unlocking these options will give you the initiation option which allows you to send that uruk to either infiltrate another warchief's group join one of the chief's you control. The cool thing about infiltrating is that when you fight that warchief, he will bring his bodyguards with him, and if those bodyguards are really your men...yeah, just stand back and enjoy the betrayal.

If you're having trouble with a nemesis returning, cut off his head. I've never seen them come back from that. Some of them also have a modifier that warns you that they will continually come back unless you finish them off, which means chopping their head off. The best way to ensure you get a decapitation execution is to use a hit streak.

After you finish the game the nemesis system will still be in play so you'll still be able to manipulate the warchief hierarchy as much as you like. Since I spent most of my time doing this, leveling up my captains and killing off the chaff, this meant that even after I finished the story, there was still plenty of fun to be had.

My point is still valid and it still stands. Everyone else has played it and drawn comparisons, but for other people, it could be a totally different game. How would they know that? By playing the game, NOT by seeing it. Everyone has different experiences with videogames, similar or different.

Sounds like you have beaten the game, Ish. Is there a New Game+ option after completing the game for the first time? Also, were you able to max out everything the game had to offer in terms of his abilities, both Ranger and Wraith abilities?

I find that the more skills I earn, the better off I am against the orcs. For example, one of my favorite moves in the game is called Vaulted, where you simply hop over an enemy and stun them to the point of where they are easily susceptible to a Flurry Attack. Works really well against normal and shielded foes. Unsure about the Berserker and if I can use that tactic on him, but still, I love that move. Shadow Strike is an AMAZING move, since it allows me to teleport to long distances. Makes it easier to take out archers from above, although it's disappointing that it doesn't count as a stealth kill.

@Metamania:

you can get all the skills, but you'll probably finish the story before you do.

Like I said, when the story ends the nemesis system continues and you can continue to raise your own orc warchiefs or kill off others, take on vendettas, finish any missions you have left. It's like any other open world game except that the nemesis system continues to generate enemies and quests for you.

@Metamania: "Seeing a videogame in action and then playing it are two completely different things."
Thing is is that no, they really aren't. You can see how it looks, plays, sounds, and to an extent how it controls just from watching it. If all of those look like unfun, uninteresting horse shit I'm 100% positive that impression isn't going to change when playing it. This has literally been the case for fucking everything.

"Until you play it, you have no right to judge based on what you see. Simple as that."
I have every right to judge a game based on what I see. Simple as that. Everyone fucking does this, otherwise people wouldn't have any interest in anything in the first place had they not fucking looked at it and judged that it looked like something they might enjoy.

"Play it first, then judge it."
Buy it for me and I will. Otherwise I see no reason to spend money on this crap.

@medafaded: "Still lacking of info, Have you played?"
No. I have however played the games this game so shamelessly cribs mechanics and gameplay off of. Assassin's Creed and Batman are both awful - specifically because of the gameplay and mechanics that this game has taken from them.

"You never answered that question."
I actually did though.

"I personally played this game, and the topic of this forum is called thoughts, and impressions."
And you can post thoughts and impressions based on gameplay videos.

"Now you would have to play the game to give a review."
Thank god I was never going to write a review in the first place.

"So again, your comments mean shit"
Except for how they mean I think the game is shit.

"with no evidence of facts"
Except for legitimate observations made of the game in question.

"All the comments above are all good reviews, the worst review is from you, which we clearly cannot tell if you have played it, or not."
No one's writing a fucking review.

wow thanks for the heads up. was going to pick this up on the 360 but will get it for pc now

That's cool, because I intend on getting all the trophies for the game and if it means getting every last thing in it, then I will! :)