Scratch one game off of this list of games I want to play. I picked up my copy of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor yesterday for my Xbox One, and after spending about six and a half hours on it last night, I have a first impression for you!
Also, I've included a segment that details the death of Muzglob the Painted as a way of demonstrating how the lauded Nemesis system works with the rest of the game.
The First Few Minutes
I won't spoil the story of the beginning too much here in my blog, but I did enjoy how they worked the movement and combat tutorials into that story. By the time the cut scenes finished rolling and the music reached a crescendo I felt confident I would be able to handle the controls well enough. Though, to be honest, that confidence likely came from my extensive experience with the Arkham and Assassin's Creed games, respectively. If you have played both of these titles before then the controls will feel right at home.
The open-world portion of the game begins on a giant tower that isn't actually there (you'll see). You have a mission to assassinate someone as well as about a dozen or so icons scattered throughout the map around you. I got the sense from these first moments that there was a LOT to do here. Some open-world titles don't necessarily give you a lot to do between one point and another but that is definitely not the case here. I found myself distracted by a number of things as I made my way through the layered and texture rich environment.
One of those things was the beauty of the game. It is every bit as gorgeous as a new-gen title should be, particularly at night in the rain. I finally feel like a game of mine is getting the most out my new console visually.
Anyway, as I was saying, before reaching that first assassination target, I found myself distracted by opportunities to free slaves, a few collectibles, and of course the chance to fight dozens of enemies clad in various types of armor and wielding a variety of weapons. My skill with rhythm-based combat is such that I was able to survive these initial encounters, especially since I'd stealth kill a few before the real fighting began.
The Combat & Movement
The fast-paced rhythm based combat is similar to what was done in the Arkham games but has notable differences thanks to the swordplay, wraith abilities, and ranged combat effectiveness of Talion, the protagonist of Shadow of Morder. Experienced players will enjoy being able to set how helpful the combat prompts are if wanting more of a challenge. I can say though, do not let the ease of the early fights dissuade you. As you fight your way up the Orc and Uruk ranks, you'll find yourself dying more than you might have thought based on this early encounters.
The movement is close to Assassin's Creed but the world itself is very different from anything seen in those varied titles. You might be pushing similar buttons as you would for AC: III or IV, but the logic is a bit different. Especially after a couple of hours when you begin to receive movement bonuses thanks to new abilities you've unlocked for your wraith.
If you haven't played either of those games, then note that the combat in this one will transition seamlessly from stealth to combat based on how you choose to engage your targets. Taking the time to meticulously sneak your way through a stronghold assassinating the Uruks one at a time until they are gone is a good way to build up XP for upgrades but takes a while. Charging in sword drawn is possible if you have nimble fingers but can be ridiculously difficult if enough shielded and berserker enemies join the fray.
Killing Muzglob the Painted
Some hours into the game, I decided it was time to kill this Warchief by the name of Muzglob the Painted. After interrogating a lowly Captain of the first tier, I learned that he had a couple of weaknesses and who his bodyguard was. This was, to my dismay, Tumug the Bloody. You see, Tumug and I have a history going back about four hours (and several deaths) ago.
Tumug Must Die
I had been chasing after some minor captain by the name of Skurg or something like that early in the game when Tumug (just a random, nameless enemy at first) shows up with a shield and spear. The captain I was attempting to interrogate for information on his Warchief was an archer and was pelting me with arrows as I tried to kill the shielded uruk. Eventually, the pair got the best of me and Tumug finished me with a vicious spear thrust. He insulted me as any good Uruk might and I respawned.
Almost immediately after jumping down from one of the towers Talion re-spawns at, Tumug was there with a posse and was eager to do me in again. He succeeded much faster than I would like to admit and I could do nothing but watch as he gained power and dueled another Uruk in the Sauron's Army 'mini-game' or whatever it is. He beat that Uruk and climbed the ranks.
Over the next couple of hours, Tumug dueled, recruited, and challenged his way up the ranks until he was a high level captain of about 13 or 14. I would kill a captain or stop a duel only to see Tumug gaining power and respect amongst his peers. I definitely wanted to kill this ugly, spear-wielding jerk but was also mildly concerned that at this point, he was beyond my capabilities.
However, I did discover before doing in that lowly first tier captain (as I stated in the first paragraph) that Tumug was Muzglob's bodyguard. Getting rid of him would make my life easier during my assassination attempt of Muzglob so I made the call and selected Tumug as my target. He was holed up in a crumbling stone structure with a group of about twelve shielded uruks and several more warriors and archers. I did the archers on the raised platforms in with stealth kills and my bow (which is fired much like the bow in the Tomb Raider remake) before doing my best to polish off as many of the shielded guys as possible before the real fighting began.
When it finally did, it was not simple. In order to get past an uruk defender's shield, you have to "vault" over him as part of your continuing "streak" and slash or pound at his back. This can take several tries per Uruk and when there is a pack of them things can get pretty desperate. I knew that Tumug had a weakness to monsters however so I started looking for a caged carragor (think Warg). I found one on my mini-map and bolted from the battle. I found a nice perch on a stone wall that gave me a good vantage point to fire at the lock from and released the beast.
He tore through the ranks pretty effectively and it ended up being just Tumug and a couple of his guys trying to stay alive against the creature. I hopped down and brutally finished off one of Tumug's buddies. I actually helped Tumug dispatch the carragor before turning my attention on the now weakened and army-less captain. I managed to stun him with my wraith fist ability and managed to kill him after a series of flurry strikes. Or so I thought.
You Again!?
I went after the supposed bodyguard-less Muzglob at that point in his stone stronghold. Again, I used stealth to climb and infiltrate the compound, killing everything I could find as I went. My information told me that ol' Muzglob only had two weaknesses and one of those was ranged attacks. So I settled in by a nice little stash of Elven arrows and proceeded to attack him once he made it out onto this stone span between two of the structures.
Lo and behold, Tumug pops out of hiding and gets between me and his master, blathering on about the scar I left him with. What worse, he's invulnerable to ranged so now my plan is ineffective. Still, I am hoping that I can use a stealth finisher on Muzglob (his other weakness) if I can cause some distractions and move around behind him. I end up failing to accomplish this task and get overwhelmed trying to escape the structure. The lucky Uruk who got this kill is called Kaka and he now becomes a Captain.
To keep a long story from getting any longer, it would be several more tries before I could even get Tumug killed off again (he ends up being level 19...and another one Korosh who I thought was dead is now level 20 and nigh invincible) let alone make another attempt at killing Muzglob.
NEMESIS
Because of this system, I found myself relishing in the death of Tumug, even though it wasn't technically as important as Muzglob's demise. Tumug had insulted me, killed me, and escaped death too many times for me to let him live. It was a genuinely rewarding experience to do him in. I just hope he stays dead this time.
The other factor in all of this are the runes that you get from killing off captains. The one I received from offing Tumug this last time was quite good thanks to his now super-high power level. I got a level 21 Sword Rune that grants me 21% defense versus ranged attacks. Not too shabby. And every time I look at the rune I'm treated to the image of Tumug's ugly face contorted in pain as he leis dead on the ground.
Now, I have seen other gamers and reviewers commenting on how this system has no context. That killing someone as Tumug doesn't really change anything physical in the game. From where I am sitting, I don't know what they are talking about. Mordor is a sea of orcs and uruks so the death of one or a handful shouldn't upset the balance of Sauron's plans. Not in the slightest. The context for these deaths came solely from my own mind as I desired to end the lives of these villains. Not because the game told me to or the story dictated it, but because he was a bastard and I wanted him dead.
That is the first time I've ever had that particular type of motivation in a game. This story of Tumug is MINE and belongs to no one else. Go out and find your own stories in this game, that is the point!
~Penfighter
