Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

Earlier this year (and last for that matter) I remember several instances of thinking or saying aloud: 

"Damn. Are they ever going to make a Shadow of Mordor sequel? That game was incredible!" 

It's a game that has stuck with me for a while and I always look back on it with great fondness, surprised that it's not only a fantastic licensed game, but an ambitious one too. A sequel to it was overdue, but I hoped it was because they were taking their time to do it right. 

Low and behold, a sequel was announced AND it was coming rather soon after the initial announcement (a rarity in gaming, but a welcome change). From the get-go, it was clear that Shadow of War was equally as ambitious, taking the game-changing Nemesis System from the original, playing with it in more unique ways, and giving us outright...well...war. 

The outcome is an equally, if not more ambitious sequel that grows what came before it into an immensely large and full game packed with content. As is the case with most sequels, the defining characteristic (i.e. the Nemesis System -- you'll hear it mentioned a lot) has less of a ground-shattering impact, but that's been grown and traded for some cool additions that make Shadow of Mordor look like the pre-game to the full blown party. 

I added Bane/Mad Max to my army! Score!

Cool to have in the game? Sure.
Makes any sense as to why? Not really.

Not quite in following with my typical organization of these reviews I'll actually start with where the game struggles because those areas are few, but important. The first, and most glaring item is the graphics. In a world where it seems like each game is trying to out-graphix! each other, Shadow of War almost shockingly looks worse than its predecessor. It's not downright ugly or anything, but it can't hold a candle to some other games. A small complaint that obviously doesn't make much of a difference, and in fact, probably allows the game to play/load faster, just surprising because I think similarly large games have still been able to achieve higher graphical standards. 

Additionally, and unrelated, the gameplay gets stale-ish faster this time around and the increased size means that you have to do a lot of things more than once. I emphasize the "ish" of the stale because I still absolutely playing the game and it's one I plan on sinking a lot more hours into, but I do find after extended play sessions -- around 2+ hours -- that I'm ready to put the game down and do/play something else. Part of that is because of the sprawling map that creates several different branches of Nemesis hierarchies, requiring you infiltrate and impact each hierarchy separately through different, yet similar methodologies. As the game progresses, you'll get more and more tired with navigating these hierarchies and I almost wonder if the game would have been better served with one HUGE hierarchy (all displayed in one screen) for similar effect. It's a bit disheartening to clear and liberate one region only to enter a new one with absolutely no Nemesis characters revealed.

Visual Aid #1: [Insert "Don't LOSE your head joke" here]

Visual Aid #2

Lastly, the story ranges from highly interesting lore to an utterly forgettable dismantling of the Lord of the Rings mythology and story. The wide brush strokes make sense and aren't anything special while a lot of the more specific storylines are mostly useless. Shelob and a Balrog are thrown in for cash-grab cameo purposes (or so it would seem) while the Nazgul storylines and a mid-game betrayal are highly intriguing. If "sticking to canon" is something that you obsess over then this game will infuriate you -- but I appreciate their confidence in reaching out to try and do something new. It doesn't exactly soar as much as I think they hoped and at times the "Lord of the Rings" aspect seems linked by orcs and names only, but they still get credit for trying and having a few bits of worthwhile plot that thinks outside of the box set by the books. 

Shadow of War, much like its predecessor, has an ace up its sleeve though: gameplay. While there were times I felt far more overpowered this time around (leading to some of the boredom), there were also insane difficulty spikes that served me up gruesome deaths on a consistent basis. Death in games frustrates me when it feels cheap and I rarely felt that when I played Shadow of War. Instead, death excites as it shifts the Nemesis system and makes whatever orc who killed you that much more powerful. The game throws a lot more at you this time around with certain scenarios having 20+ orcs, 2 or more captains, archers, spear throwers, trolls, and more creatures trying to kill you. All at once. I definitely...ahem...perspired on more than one occasion here. Even at Talion's most powerful, with many useful powers unlocked, the game's challenging moments are just that and your agenda will quickly change from "kill everything" to "holy s**t I misjudged this -- I need to survive". The combat remains mostly the same but feels a little tighter this time around and I felt the overall flow, between stealth, platforming, and swordplay was smoother. 

Certain moments can be pretty

Mordor-Mart:
Where orcs are always HALF off!

The evolution of the Nemesis system is also a huge win. Aside from the "Hey, let's give them 4-5 more hierarchies this time around!", the decisions were smart and a logical evolution. Building your own army can be tons of fun as you dominate captain after captain and send them on their own missions, including potentially infiltrating a war chief as their bodyguard. There are a lot more variables this time around and eventually it all culminates into the "war" aspect of attacking a stronghold. These attacks are samey throughout, but I had a blast with each one. If you try to infiltrate with too weak of a grip on the region you'll get straight up f**ked. Trust me. But capturing points during the battle and then confronting the final baddie is exciting and there's a rating system that indicates how powerful you are vs. how powerful your opponent is. Smartly, online play incorporates this as you can attack other player strongholds for some additional challenges or rewards. You can even avenge other players' deaths in some truly challenging captain missions. 

I'd be ignoring a huge aspect of the game (and one of my favorite parts) if I didn't mention the sound design, specifically on the PS4. Despite some of the exclusive nifty features you get with the controller's speaker, the overall sound design is fantastic with monsters, swords, and arrows all sounding great, not to mention the Lord of the Rings-inspired sounds (i.e. voices of the Nazgul). But with the PS4 controller, the game filters certain sounds into it to great effect. Certain sword clangs will ricochet out of the plastic in your hands and even the loading screen's voice will slowly (and seriously eerily) transfer from the TV speakers to your controller speaker. It's a treasure to see a multiplatform game utilize the awesomeness that is the PS4 Dualshock 4 to higher potential and it's something that I wish more games took the time to do, small as it may be. 

The above represents an accurate portrayal of my work week...

Shadow of War is such an intriguing case study particularly for me because it wasn't disappointing in the slightest; in fact, it gave me a lot of added elements that I didn't even know I wanted such as the fortress sieges. But the formula grows stale during long play sessions and it's clear that something else needed to be added. I'm not 100% sure what that thing is, but I do think it's related to the sheer size of the game being too cumbersome for its own good, and affecting more than just the graphics in the process. Even with all that in mind though I can't deny that I still love playing it and I'll be back again on Day 1 for whatever sequel is made. 

CONS

• Mostly barren, empty worlds that aren't all that visually appealing
• Graphics are sacrificed for size of scale that may not have been totally needed
• A story that only features moments of greatness and a handful of cool, but unnecessary cameos 
• Multiple Nemesis Systems to take over = painfully completing a lot of similar tasks in each new area. I think the game would have been better served, even if it was just visually, by having one LARGE Nemesis System to tackle
• During times with low enemy counts you almost feel too powerful. Like a game with all the cheat codes turned on
• Odd abilities system that is a little too restricted. By the end of the game I had chosen all the best abilities (IMO) and had 14+ unlock points left because you can only use one at a time in certain branches. Something wasn't well thought out here...

PROS

• The gameplay is still highly addictive and rewarding. Moments with lots of enemies, captains, and creatures on screen are some of my favorite gameplay moments of the year
• Fair difficulty spikes that never feel drastically unfair
• Death still "rewards" you
• Consistently runs smooth
• Useful unlockable powers and appreciated gem/weapon/armor upgrade system
• The increased scale of the game provides some crazy additions. Forming your own army and laying siege to a fortress in attempt to capture it feels like total LotR war
• Parts of the story shine and the LotR license adds an extra excitement element to this game
• The Nemesis System still remains the best "next gen" innovation since the PS4/XBone began
• Well integrated and unobtrusive online play
• Amazing sound design, especially on the PS4 by extra utilization of the DualShock 4's speakers
• Consistently fun, crazy, bloody, gory, and intense -- it's still a dream of a LotR game

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10