Talkin' About Games Reviews: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor is a third person action title developed by Monolith. It takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Some people have been put off by the game considering it uses a character and explores some concepts that weren't included by Tolkien and his son. But regardless of your personal feelings on whether or not Shadow of Mordor has a place in Tolkien lore what's presented to the player is a solid action title that can definitely stand on its own.

Review Criteria

I completed the main story of the game within 20 hours while taking plenty of detours for side missions. Discovered every collectible, elevated all of Talion's weapons to Legendary and dominated every warchief in both regions of the game. The game was played on PC with an Xbox 360 controller on Ultra graphics settings.

Story: 7/10

Shadow of Mordor's story won't be winning any awards. It is a tried and true tale of revenge and is pretty unapologetic about that fact. Talion's family gets murdered, as does he. Due to some dark ritual that took place during his death he has found himself bonded to the soul of an elf-wraith which, in addition to preventing him from dying, is giving him some pretty cool powers. Now he and the elf are moving around Mordor, murdering orcs and trying to get revenge on The Black Hand of Sauron who murdered Talion's family. There are some neat sequences within the story such as the tutorial giving players a glimpse of Talion's life before all of these terrible things happened to him. But other than that the story, while decent enough, is pretty predictable. The ending of the game did make me very excited for the potential sequel though, which works heavily in the title's favor.

Gameplay: 9/10

Shadow of Mordor has been criticized for essentially being a clone of Arkham Asylum mixed with Assassin's Creed. This is not a bad thing. The gameplay is all stuff some gamers may have seen before but it's solid and fun. The game does suffer from some issues of abilities that are completely useless (Brace of Daggers) and some that effectively turn you into a god (Shadow Strike Combos) but even with these few issues combat is still incredibly fun and polished and that is what counts. Jumping into the middle of a huge group of orcs and executing every single one of them is fun. Wandering around a stronghold, turning a large number of orcs to your side and turning them all on the Warchief making camp there is fun. Riding a caragor through the plains of Mordor while firing your bow and leaping from it to tackle an orc is fun. Everything about the game's combat and movement is just a treat. On top of that battles require the player's full attention in order for them to succeed. The player will often find themselves outnumbered and Talion can't take many hits before he goes down. This helps make every large-scale encounter really feel like life or death and helps add to the tension, especially when a Captain or Warchief enters the fray. The Nemesis System is incredibly interesting as well. As you kill important orcs others will rise and fill the power vacuum you have left, even ones that have killed you. Some orcs might cheat death and return to seek revenge on you. You will even have your own hand-picked pet orcs climb the ranks to become Warchiefs themselves. The system adds an interesting twist to what would otherwise be a mundane task of hunting orcs, really making the player feel invested in this weird power struggle within Mordor.

Graphics: 8/10

Shadow of Mordor is an absolutely beautiful looking game marred by some minor technical issues. I did encounter some issues of corpses sinking into the ground. Talion's face can look kind of odd at times and some of the textures on the orcs can be questionable. But these are all pretty minor concerns. Mordor manages to look lush and rich in some areas, which is a welcome change from the stark brown that we only saw in the films. The world feels alive with flocks of birds moving through the sky, caragors roaming the wastes, well made foliage and bats flying out of caves as you leave them. Minor touches the team has added ranging from Talion occasionally wiping his sword on his cloak and the expressions on the faces of Orcs as they are defeated and beheaded add a bit of charm to the world as well. What I feel deserves special recognition is the elf-wraith. His model in particular looks amazing and seeing him in the wraith world is just as beautiful as it is spooky.

Sound: 7/10

The game has a pretty decent soundtrack, though it won't be winning any awards. The music is fitting with the areas you are in and the score during combat does feel exciting but I couldn't for the life of me remember the tunes that played. There are some satisfying sound effects like Talion's sword whirling through the air. The voice acting is great as well with Talion's voice actor giving a believable performance but the elf-wraith's performance ultimately outshines every other. The biggest issue players will probably notice is that a lot of the orc dialogue will start to repeat itself when they've gotten well into the game. This can be annoying to some and there were quite a few times where I wanted a Captain to get over his spiel so I could fight him. But it's just an issue that pops up after killing tons of orcs I guess.

The Bottom Line: 8/10

Shadow of Mordor, while short, is an incredibly fun and well-made game. Combat is entertaining throughout the entire game and while the story isn't very impressive the gameplay alone is more than enough to keep players coming back for more. Definitely at least worth a rental if you're strapped for cash and can't commit to purchasing it. But if you have the cash it's definitely a title worth owning and replaying.

Gameplay Takes a Backseat. Also Known as "How I Uninstalled Transistor"

I wanted to love you. I really did.

Since the game was released I have been struggling to play Transistor. I even got a controller all set up on my computer (finally) just for the occasion after realizing that this was not a game designed to be played with a keyboard, just like Supergiant's previous game the wonderful Bastion. As I played through Transistor there were quite a few things I loved about the game. The story, while initially pretty confusing, seemed like it was set up to take some truly interesting twists and turns. The soundtrack was absolutely incredible. I found myself constantly listening to Ashley Barret and Darren Korb's haunting song "In Circles."

Despite all of this I ultimately couldn't finish and uninstalled Transistor. I wasn't having any sort of fun. But why? The story was great, the music was fantastic, and the visuals were gorgeous. The reason is simple. It was the one element that fundamentally makes the game a game. The gameplay was incredibly bland.

In Transistor combat  plays out between an action phase and a planning phase. You can pause combat to issue whatever combat commands you have set in your slots to the main character, Red. Red will execute these moves in the order that you issue them. if you move Red during the planning phase it also uses up some of your meter at the top. When the meter is exhausted you can't perform anymore actions. Your meter will take time to recharge during which you are stuck in action phase and at the complete mercy of your enemies and you must avoid them by hiding behind the walls placed throughout the battlefield.

It seemed like an interesting concept when I first started the game but one of the biggest issues is the combo imbalance. Once the player finds a strong combo that works for them (say Help with Void and Spark slotted to it to get two incredibly strong allied dogs) there is little reason to really do anything else. The only real reward for using abilities differently is to unlock biographies about some characters, the majority of which you never actually meet through the course of the entire game. Enemies don't necessitate a different strategy, even on the hardest difficulty and there are very few encounters that you can't just mow through with Red's sheer brute force. Overall the game ends up devolving into some mildly interesting story followed by a few minutes of hectic running around and the same combo over and over again until you defeat the enemies and press forward to do the exact same thing all over again. This leads to the problem of New Game Plus being you running through the game again, using the same combo to do the same things.

There are other games out there that will receive criticism for bland gameplay such as Telltale adventure games and any given hack n' slash game. But these games have anything ranging from flashy visuals, to senses of urgency in events to even the simple fact that the gameplay actually fits the story that they are trying to tell. Transistor had none of this. The combat seemed tacked on because it necessitated gameplay due to being a video game. I feel a graphic novel, point and click adventure game or even a short film would've suited Transistor far better than the format it was presented in. Instead of being engaged the gameplay left me bored and a game should never leave their player bored.

Did you guys like Transistor or did you feel that its gameplay was lacking like I was. Would you have liked to see them do something different with it? I know that other than the battles I would've loved for there to be more characters to interact with rather than just my sword. Let me know in the comments and I'll see you all next week.

An E3 of Surprises! The Good and the Bad

Well guys E3 was this week and what an event it was. I'm sure a lot of you out there sat glued to either your monitors or your television screens just waiting to see all of the great stuff that's coming our way. I'm here this week to talk about what my highlights for E3 were this year. I'll simply divide this list into two sections: the good and the bad.

The Good!

Nintendo's Conference!

Nintendo absolutely stole the show for me this year. Where I once thought the Wii U was simply going to be the mistake of the Wii repeated I now see a console definitely worth purchasing with just the library shown at E3. An open world Zelda? That's a definite buy. Xenoblade Chronicles? Perfect. This'll give me an excuse to pick up the first game and finally give it a go as well as give me annother awesome title to play. Mario Party 8 stealth reveal? Awesome. Bayonetta 2 with the first game included? Yes. Splatoon? Looks like not only a ton of fun but an interesting twist on a genre we see entirely too often! Project Guard? I really hope that hits the eShop. And of course we can't forget Smash Bros. with the new character reveals easily being not only some of the best ones mechanically but some of the most surprising ones as well. Nintendo's not letting their system go down without a fight and if this E3 is any indication it's clear that old Ninty is gonna definitely be going places.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Edition

This game came out only in Japan to rave reviews. Japanese gamers and importers alike were heralding it as the best Final Fantasy title since FF7. So it's understandable that when Square Enix announced that there were no plans to bring it over to America on the then dying PSP system fans were obviously a little disappointed. But this year Square surprised everyone by announcing that the game would not only be coming to America but that it would be on the PS4 and Xbox One in full HD. Square Enix has really started listening to its fans in the past few years and that's amazing compared to their past attitude. Now the West gets another great RPG to play.

(Most of) Sony's Press Conference

Some solid stuff came out of Sony's press conference. There were quite a few multiplats shown but the exclusives came out in force. The Order is looking phenomenal. It really seems like lighting is going to play a huge role in the game. That'll set up for not only some good ambient scares but some interesting encounters. And the shooting looks solid as well. Some neat DLC for inFamous got teased. We got LittleBigPlanet 3 which cannot come soon enough. Abzu looked really cool and we got the predictable announcement from Uncharted. There were hiccups (which I'll get to in The Bad) but overall Sony had a really solid showing. What looks especially good is a certain other PS4 exclusive......

Bloodborne

The new game from Dark Souls mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki looks mighty fine. We only got a CGI trailer at the Sony press conference but there's been tons of hubbub about the playable demo on the show floor. What we know so far is that the solid mechanics of Dark Souls are indeed returning. It's unknown as to how "hardcore" Bloodborne will be but what we've seen of the gameplay is pretty polished. The world seems dark and eerie with most of the unease coming from the way the world is designed itself rather than silly things like jump scares. We've also been told that lightning plays a very important role. The undead infested streets are very dimply lit but it's also been revealed that most explorable houses in the game are entirely devoid of light. Players will have to light their own path which not only helps them but also makes them a target for the mindless undead. It seems like players will have to be prepared for any sort of encounter. As for the rumors that this might actually be a Solomon Kane video game....well we'll just have to wait and see.

Sunset Overdrive

The show stealer at Microsoft's press conference was obvious. Sunset overdrive looks quirky, fun and like a truly unique take on the third person shooter. The punk rock influences in the game are obvious and everything from the rockin' soundtrack to the unique art style to the gameplay that has players wall running, grinding on rails and bouncing off trampolines to destroy monsters created by an infected energy drink it's clear that Sunset Overdrive is gonna be a wild ride.

Assassin's Creed Unity Really Looks Good.....and Really Looks Next-Gen

Black Flag was an awesome game and a great way to kick off the next-gen of Assassin's Creed but it was still held back by the fact that it was also on last-gen consoles. Unity doesn't have that constraint and man does it show. Large crowds, fully rendered indoor environments, tight animations for the wall running.... This title looks absolutely visually stunning.  The four player gameplay and the fact that it's set in the time period I've wanted AC to be in since the beginning helps but I'll definitely be picking up Unity after Ubisoft's reveal.

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Microsoft's demo of this game was absolutely awesome. Not only did it reaffirm fans that this is the Witcher that they know and love but they also showed newcomers to the series that the title has been streamlined and is all around more user friendly. Geralt's chase of the gryphon really showed the vast world that CD Projekt Red has intended rather well not only mechanically but visually as well. It's clear that fans will not be disappointed when it finally drops next year.

The Bad

EA Sure Showed A Lot of Sports

There are many EA games that people are excited about. They got some screen time early in the show but a huge chunk of it was a bore. Why was that? Sports. Now I understand that sports games have a market but it's always been the weakest part of the EA conference and in past years they have kept it there rather well. But this segment was noticeably longer than any other year. I wondered why that could be and a cursory TV Guide search revealed it: EA's presentation was aired on Spike TV (Television for Manly Men.) Now I get what you're trying to do here EA but I can guarantee that the audience of Spike TV is probably going to think that things like Mass Effect and Dragon Age are at least a little cool. You could've shown us more than you did. Which brings me to another thing.

We Saw Dragon Age Inquisition.....But Only Sort Of

DA: I did have presence at the EA conference but it was nothing to call home about. It was mainly a bunch of trailers with no actual demo. Now we have seen footage of the game and it looked pretty good for an alpha. But the EA press event was very sparse for a game that should be dropping in only a few months. If you want people to be hyped for a game you not only should show them pretty cutscenes but show them gameplay as well. Here's hoping DA: I is still as good as I want it to be.

The Part of Sony's Conference That Wasn't About Games

I expected a lot of games at Sony's conference. I got quite a few I was interested in but then there was that weird part of the conference. You know, that part where they started talking about YouTube and movies and TV. Now some of the TV stuff like the announcement about Powers was cool but c'mon Sony. This is a gaming convention. You made fun of Microsoft for pulling this stunt with the Xbox One reveal a while back and yet you fell into the same trap. How silly. Quite a few people fell asleep at this point, which only hurt them in the long run.

Nothing About The Last Guardian

I'M SO MAD

So guys what did you think of E3? What were some of your favorite moments? Do those of you that have a next gen system feel confident about your purchase. And for those of you that don't have you been swayed one way or the other? Let me know in the comments and I'll see you next time.