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Key · 06-03-2018, 12:03 PM

Middle Earth: Shadow of War

It probably took me longer than it should have to get into this game, but man, I'm sure happy I did. Let's talk about Lord of the Rings as a whole for a second before we get into this. The common theme with Lord of the Rings games seems to be the quality. I could probably go on record of saying that it's very minimal the amount of times I've played a Lord of the Rings game and had it disappoint me. And yeah, that's including the original Xbox games and even The Third Age. There's something about witnessing the lore of Lord of the Rings in a video game. However, if you want the quintessential Lord of the Rings game, the Middle Earth series is certainly one to behold.

Before Middle Earth: Shadow of War was even out, we were still given the blessing of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which for its time is certainly one of the best games in the series. You've got the Arkham style combat that works extraordinarily well in this game setting as well as the new-coming Nemesis system amongst you and the orc captains and such. However while I was playing through Shadow of Mordor for the first time a few years back, the game started to wear a little thin, only because there wasn't a whole lot of access to launching yourself from building to building to truly make you feel like a badass. Even with the few faults that I did find the game, I still managed to put a bit of time into it because it became a tad repetitive.

Now, we're in the age of Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and let's be honest...it improves on everything that Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor tried to do and still did well. You've got new abilities, new ways to jump from building to building, and this time, instead of being in a sort of desolate flat area for the most part, you're instead put into some enormous cities that not only allows you to jump around like a badass, but top that with the new double jump ability, you can pretty much scale and jump across any platform you find yourself on. I do have to say that even the combat and the simple running around and jumping feels much more polished than it's predecessor. Though that's not entirely surprising. I would also like to go on record as to saying that this is probably the definitive Middle Earth game as well as being personally my favorite Lord of the Rings game I've ever played.

Everything from the combat to the world building and even to the story is top quality gaming at its best. Evidently, the story is told between The Return of The King and the Hobbit trilogy. So yes, if you're expecting to see characters and plots from the movies, you'll be one happy camper. So far I've already seen multiple connections to the movies, which on its own makes the game worth playing.

Unfortunately the only thing that could potentially catch people off guard is the graphics. By no means do I think the game looks bad, hell I think the game looks amazing. Especially on a nice PC. However, I can certainly understand peoples gripes about the graphics as they do look slightly dated. However I'm not one to gripe too much at graphics, especially when everything else in the game makes up for it.

You can expect not only stealth missions as you go along, but just throwing yourself into combat with 10 or even 15 other enemies while trying to fight 2 or 3 captains at a time is the most fun I've had with a combat based system in a long time. I'd even go as far as saying that i do think it improves on what Arkham Asylum was trying to do, even though I do think Arkham Asylum adds a little more variety. But, that's basically comparing two completely different games, and I feel like both games are great on their own merits.

So yeah, Shadow of War is every bit as amazing as you've probably heard. I'd definitely recommend not even listening to the negative reviews about the game, because that's originally kept me away from it. Instead, let your own experience do the talking. I also highly recommend playing with a controller and keyboard and mouse doesn't allow for as much freedom in your combat. Plus, a controller just feels more natural for this kind of game.

With 10 hours put into this game already and being barely into the main storyline due to getting sidetracked time and time and time again, I'd say this game gets my full recommendation.

Now I totally know what you're thinking: "Ki, what if I don't really like LOTR that much". Well, honestly, I'd say still give this game a shot. If you're a fan of what Assassin's Creed did with their scale and the freedom to jump and hang from whatever you want, you'll certainly find something to love with Shadow of War. Countless times I've caught myself saying "nah there's no way I can climb that". Of course, I had to try. 9 times out of 10 i'm proven wrong.

Get it.

06-03-2018, 12:03 PM	#481 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Middle Earth: Shadow of War It probably took me longer than it should have to get into this game, but man, I'm sure happy I did. Let's talk about Lord of the Rings as a whole for a second before we get into this. The common theme with Lord of the Rings games seems to be the quality. I could probably go on record of saying that it's very minimal the amount of times I've played a Lord of the Rings game and had it disappoint me. And yeah, that's including the original Xbox games and even The Third Age. There's something about witnessing the lore of Lord of the Rings in a video game. However, if you want the quintessential Lord of the Rings game, the Middle Earth series is certainly one to behold. Before Middle Earth: Shadow of War was even out, we were still given the blessing of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which for its time is certainly one of the best games in the series. You've got the Arkham style combat that works extraordinarily well in this game setting as well as the new-coming Nemesis system amongst you and the orc captains and such. However while I was playing through Shadow of Mordor for the first time a few years back, the game started to wear a little thin, only because there wasn't a whole lot of access to launching yourself from building to building to truly make you feel like a badass. Even with the few faults that I did find the game, I still managed to put a bit of time into it because it became a tad repetitive. Now, we're in the age of Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and let's be honest...it improves on everything that Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor tried to do and still did well. You've got new abilities, new ways to jump from building to building, and this time, instead of being in a sort of desolate flat area for the most part, you're instead put into some enormous cities that not only allows you to jump around like a badass, but top that with the new double jump ability, you can pretty much scale and jump across any platform you find yourself on. I do have to say that even the combat and the simple running around and jumping feels much more polished than it's predecessor. Though that's not entirely surprising. I would also like to go on record as to saying that this is probably the definitive Middle Earth game as well as being personally my favorite Lord of the Rings game I've ever played. Everything from the combat to the world building and even to the story is top quality gaming at its best. Evidently, the story is told between The Return of The King and the Hobbit trilogy. So yes, if you're expecting to see characters and plots from the movies, you'll be one happy camper. So far I've already seen multiple connections to the movies, which on its own makes the game worth playing. Unfortunately the only thing that could potentially catch people off guard is the graphics. By no means do I think the game looks bad, hell I think the game looks amazing. Especially on a nice PC. However, I can certainly understand peoples gripes about the graphics as they do look slightly dated. However I'm not one to gripe too much at graphics, especially when everything else in the game makes up for it. You can expect not only stealth missions as you go along, but just throwing yourself into combat with 10 or even 15 other enemies while trying to fight 2 or 3 captains at a time is the most fun I've had with a combat based system in a long time. I'd even go as far as saying that i do think it improves on what Arkham Asylum was trying to do, even though I do think Arkham Asylum adds a little more variety. But, that's basically comparing two completely different games, and I feel like both games are great on their own merits. So yeah, Shadow of War is every bit as amazing as you've probably heard. I'd definitely recommend not even listening to the negative reviews about the game, because that's originally kept me away from it. Instead, let your own experience do the talking. I also highly recommend playing with a controller and keyboard and mouse doesn't allow for as much freedom in your combat. Plus, a controller just feels more natural for this kind of game. With 10 hours put into this game already and being barely into the main storyline due to getting sidetracked time and time and time again, I'd say this game gets my full recommendation. Now I totally know what you're thinking: "Ki, what if I don't really like LOTR that much". Well, honestly, I'd say still give this game a shot. If you're a fan of what Assassin's Creed did with their scale and the freedom to jump and hang from whatever you want, you'll certainly find something to love with Shadow of War. Countless times I've caught myself saying "nah there's no way I can climb that". Of course, I had to try. 9 times out of 10 i'm proven wrong. Get it.