Game Review: Shadow of Mordor

By Lilia Quevedo

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an action RPG video game for the PS4, Xbox One, PC PS3, and Xbox 360, set in The Lord of the Rings universe. It was released September 30th of this year and although it has its faults, it’s one of the better games made this year.

The game starts off with a long cutscene, giving the background of the game. If you’re not a big Lord of the Rings fan, then what the narrator says will not make any sense. You’re this guy named Talion, a Ranger who is guarding the Black Gate of Mordor, and you’re married with a son. You and your family want to move, but something is going on with your wife’s parents so you can’t (they don’t explain this very well). Then one day some Uruks attack the Gate and kill everyone, including your family. Then, this creepy guy called the Black Hand of Sauron casts some voodoo-like spell on you, and instead of dying when he cuts your throat, you get paired with a Wraith (a ghost elf), are resurrected, and become a badass fighter.

Up to this point, the game is great. It draws you in with an emotional cutscene and fantastic music. Then the real game begins.

If you’re like me and skip the instructions by pressing X and all the other buttons, you will have no idea what to do. Suggestion #1: read everything the game tells you to read. It will help you pick what quests to do. Right away, the game assigns you an Uruk Captain to hunt. He is way overpowered. If you attack him right away like I did, then all his reinforcements will come and it will be like 300 all over again. Oh, and other captains will come to his rescue, making it 100 times harder to beat the original captain. You can’t save the game before you fight them either. The game saves at random points and you can’t reload an earlier save. It’s like real life, no second chances.

The game was made with a Nemesis System Engine which  tracks past actions in the game and changes how the characters react to you later on. For example, if you burn an uruk and leave them disfigured, then they will come after you later on. Though Nemesis makes the game more interesting as an interactive experience, it creates difficulties that some gamers could do without. For example, if you are killed by an Uruk, they become a captain which makes them stronger. If an Uruk who is already a captain kills you, well….you do not want to mess with them later on. Also, if you don’t play all the time then the captains will be replaced by new ones. The only way to get rid of them is to do all of the main quests–and there are four of them to complete at the same time.

Overall, the game is pretty good. No game is perfect, but this one certainly comes close. It may be challenging, but what’s a game without some obstacles to climb over? Now excuse me while I go kick some Uruk butt.

Graphics: 8/10

Gameplay: 9.2/10

Music: 8.5/10

Rating:9/10