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Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor |OT| One Title to rule them all

cripterion

Member
The combat feels good but I dunno, story isn't grabbing me so far, the intro to the dual characters was so badly done imo.
Looks like there are quite a few things to collect and all but so far it's pretty much a dull affair.
 

Fee

Member
Is there a point of no return from the first to second map?

You can go between all the maps at will once unlocked, and for all the people who are complaining about the bland color scheme of the first area, you will enjoy the second a lot more.
 

pixlexic

Banned
So I beat my first war chief. Before that I had a fight where 3 captains showed up along with their gangs.

If you Remer to hit y and use the b button starter (that wraith punch thing) to start combo moves the fighting is pretty easy.
 

IMACOMPUTA

Member
You can easily use finishers (uninterrupted) against guys in huge groups. You just have to do the y+b (triangle+circle) one.
 
i died once last night to the hand of a low ranked guy. but after dying he power lvled up and ranked up by defeating someone above him. of course i can't get to him right now. also. i'm not much of a stealth guy so lol. it's all hack and slash for me.
 
I only got to play this for about an hour or two last night, but alI gotta I say is I am just itching to get home and play it today!! And that says a lot for me because unless it's something like Skyrim I am not a big fan of open world games that are primarily action based. For anyone worrying about it being too much like Assassins Creed, well I absolutely couldn't stand that game and tried hard to like it, but Shadows of Mordor shits all over it. The combat is extremely gratifying and I can't wait till the Nemesis system opens up more. I think my only complaint is the FOV....would be nice if there was options for that as the camera just feels to close at times.
 

KorrZ

Member
I love how this game makes dying feel interesting instead of just a nuisance (loading screen -> try again). It really encourages me to just try and pull off stupid fights, I don't run away when things get heated to try and stay alive I just see it as a challenge. I don't purposely die but I never fully just flee from a fight, if I win it's all the more satisfying and if I lose it just let's the Nemesis system shine.

You're sure about that?

There are definitely multiple captains all within the same area usually - the areas are very densely populated. There are instances where Captains will hunt you down on purpose but I was able to run into the same group of 3-4 captains multiple times because I kept rushing back in to the same area to kill them before they had a chance to move.
 

ironcreed

Banned
Yeah, yesterday was the longest I sat down and played on my PS4 for a single session since I got it. It's nice to get away from inFAMOUS: Second Son for awhile and play something that does not feel boring after an hour.
 
Yeah, yesterday was the longest I sat down and played on my PS4 for a single session since I got it. It's nice to get away from inFAMOUS: Second Son for awhile and play something that does not feel boring after an hour.
I know what you mean, I couldn't pull myself away from it yesterday. I'm just hunting captains like it's my life's purpose, lol.
 

SDCowboy

Member
This game went from too easy to too hard very quickly. Is there any reason for 5 other captains showing up in the middle of a fight randomly?

This is my biggest issue with the game. I keep getting swarmed by a sea of orcs and there's usually 2-3 captains in there too. Even if I wait for a time that looks safe, I still get swarmed. It's ridiculous.
 

Aces&Eights

Member
You're sure about that?

I had the same issues last night going into a fortress and getting mobbed. I found another fortress and this time stealthed in and took a few low level grunts to get intel from and open up shaded guys on nemesis tree. Sure as shit, there were three captains all in the fortress. If you don't unlock them then you have no idea when running around and looking at grunts. Once unlocked, though, you will see "R3" above their heads as you are in free roam and it will then put the icon over their heads so you can monitor them as you fight.
 

SDCowboy

Member
Where I think the combat is flawed is, we're supposed to be some undead badass but we go down in like 3 hits. Meanwhile, trash mobs can take a flurry of slashes and still get back up. And when you're getting swarmed by mobs, you often don't have time to complete the execution without it getting interrupted of getting hit while doing it. IMO, the combat varies from extremely satisfying to equally cheap.
 
How many of you are playing with the combat prompt off? I've been playing that way for the last few hours and have been loving it. It ups your focus a ton. You feel like you're in the zone. So fun. The combat is so compelling that I just love tearing through the orcs. It is my Game of the Year so far. We'll see if the next few months will have any more surprises.
 

Ricker

Member
Guess I will start over and see how it goes...I rarely do this for a game but I like this one enough to start over now that I understand how things work a little better...but I still hate the hitting 2 buttons at the same time and that last stand QTE and feel of combat is confusing to me...also why can't I throw daggers,it says to tap L2 or L1but nothing happens...some Nemesis Orcs coming back even after you kill them is also annoying...I just plunge my sword through his Skull after an interrogation and he comes back later...? gimme a break.
 
Played the game for about 7 hours last night and only did like 3 of the story missions...

I don't hate the game but I can see faults people have with this SoM. I especially got annoyed when one Captain kept getting more powerful cause he happened to be in the area when I died. He got up to level 20 and had like NO vulnerabilities. Such a disappointment when he didn't drop an epic. Feels a bit too hard to increase your power unless Story Missions help out.
I think you only get guaranteed Epics by killing a Warchief with an attack that they are vulnerable to.

I am a little confused by the Warchiefs. It says as a hint to kill his body guards before facing him but his body guards only appear when they do...so am I just supposed to focus on them first?
The bodyguards will go out on missions from time to time. They show up as red missions. Wait until you see one pop up then intercept him in the field.

Combat is cool but feels like you can't kill anyone unless you do a finishing move which is quite annoying especially in big groups. It does look cool when you are in a big group though but then you can't really do moves since while in the middle of a combo/fury attack, enemies will attack you and you have to interrupt it.
It took me a while to get use to Batman style combat. I think it is just starting to click now. Space is key. You don't want to get surrounded. I use the normal attack to try to push the enemies apart. If I see one of the enemies get a bit isolated I'll use the stun attack on him which let's you attack real quick to build up my combo. Then I can use the execution to finish him off. Rinse. Repeat.

My controller lag just feels generally sluggish. Like panning the camera or turning. like if I turn left there is a rather uncomfortable lag with Talion turning left.

I was looking forward to this but don't know why it feels so sluggish.

I've turned off my controller and even reset it.
Yea not sure what's up with that. It feel like it has a lot of inertia. That and the camera being too close are my two pet peeves with the game.

So is there a point to keep going if you die a lot at the beginning and all the Orcs keep getting stronger over and over...I just feel like I am wasting my time and will never amount to anything in this game the way its going now...

Almost cleared a camp earlier,it was going well but those Caragors appeared and even though I can ride them I couldnt get to mount one so I ran out of there and decided to unlock one of the fast travel towers near the next story mission,I see a captain or whatever(the ones you make the skull appear over their heads with R3)...at one point he is alone under a bridge so I decide to go at him but after a few seconds about 10 other orcs join the fight...they werent even on the radar or anything...so I die again and resurrect way over at the other tower,a bunch of Orcs get stronger and I feel like shit...no game before this one makes you feel like complete shit when you die...

So at this point should I start over or am I just making the game harder and harder by keeping going after each deaths...?
I don't know if there is a point where you have to start over. I know I felt like it doing it a few times a few times before I got to the point I was able to kill most of the board. However I can see how it would get frustrating having these over leveled enemies constantly jumping you at exactly the wrong moment. I guess it come down to this. Do you feel you are getting better or have you hit a brick wall? If you don't think you can make any progress then yea start over?

Btw, wouldn't a cool feature of the game be if you could put out a contract on a particularly nasty Orc in your game to anyone on you r friends list. If a friend accepts and can beat him, the orc is removed from your game. Or maybe the friend could send an orc they had under their control into your game to attack your nemesis. A mission would show up in your game showing the showdown and you could of course show up to tip the tide of battle. I like the trend we are seeing where single player games are being linked in a larger meta game.
 
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Wish I had that ability

He should go down quickly via headshots, shouldn't he?

Nah, its gonna take a lot more arrows to bring him down. Which I have yet to do
 

Aces&Eights

Member
.some Nemesis Orcs coming back even after you kill them is also annoying...I just plunge my sword though is Skull after an interrogation and he comes back later...? gimme a break.

Once you kill an orc the others take his body back to the forge and reanimate him with parts of other dead orcs. If you read the card on the black hand guards it mentions this. In their case, though, if they are unable to carry the body back then the remaining 4 guards are killed and used to make a new guard out of the original deceased. That's fucked up.
 

ironcreed

Banned
I know what you mean, I couldn't pull myself away from it yesterday. I'm just hunting captains like it's my life's purpose, lol.

Exactly, that is the hook. It's hard as hell to put down because it is so fresh and immersive. With that, I truly hope to see games like even the next Elder Scrolls implement something akin to this Nemesis system. It's a game changer for open world games.
 

fcobento

Neo Member
I'm still on the fence about this game.

It looks good, the reviews were amazing... but I get the feeling it is just going after the orc captains and taking them down with a twist (the nemesis system).
Everyone is bashing about the game's story and that's what I am really into. If I dont feel motivated to do the missions then I start to feel bored.

I guess october will be all about Evil Within for me.
 

antitrop

Member
I'm still on the fence about this game.

It looks good, the reviews were amazing... but I get the feeling it is just going after the orc captains and taking them down with a twist (the nemesis system).
Everyone is bashing about the game's story and that's what I am really into. If I dont feel motivated to do the missions then I start to feel bored.

I guess october will be all about Evil Within for me.

The motivation is the Nemesis system. At this point, I'm almost ready to just start skipping the boring cutscenes so I can get back to the amazing gameplay.
 

Kinthalis

Banned
How is this on PC with M+KB?

Very good. Like Batman with mouse and keyboar,d which pretty much makes combat superfluid and much more fun, IMHO.

The issue with Batman and m&k was that you needed to glide a lot and the analgue stick is better for that, similarly, there were a few segments (scare crow, killer croc) where they took camera control away form you and you NEED camera control with m&k in third person. the digital wasd keys aren't enough.

However, in this game, none of that is true, and man, I started playing with an Xbone gamepa don my PC, and shooting witht he bow is FRUSTRATING. YMMV. Much better with m&k.

That being said, the game (with the exception of usin the bow) felt ok with a gamepad too. My Xbone gamepad worked flawlessly on my PC. I'd still give m&k the edge here, since combt is so centralto the experience.
 

Ooccoo

Member
I dunno, everything I've seen so far point to a good game but perfect? The environments, the story, the constant prompts all turn me away from the game. The combat seems good but almost copy and pasted from the Arkham series. Exploration seems to rip off Assassin's Creed, but with less interesting zones. I'll probably end up buying it, but the inflated scores are a bit annoying to be honest. Reminds me of Bioshock Infinite.
 
Exactly, that is the hook. It's hard as hell to put down because it is so fresh and immersive. With that, I truly hope to see games like even the next Elder Scrolls implement something akin to this Nemesis system. It's a game changer for open world games.

The Nemesis system will be the Horde mode of the new generation.

I'm still on the fence about this game.

It looks good, the reviews were amazing... but I get the feeling it is just going after the orc captains and taking them down with a twist (the nemesis system).
Everyone is bashing about the game's story and that's what I am really into. If I dont feel motivated to do the missions then I start to feel bored.

I guess october will be all about Evil Within for me.
Oh, if you've been jump by the same orc repeatedly who goes on to taunt you, you'll have more than enough motivation. If you think too hard about it, you'll realize that it is just an illusion that the orc is out to get you, but it's a pretty good illusion.
 
Minor thing from the quick look, the slow-motion view of the Uruk's when you analyse them in battle looks fucking awesome.

Can they get hit in that state, or does the background become window-dressing?
 

jblank83

Member
PSA for anyone still on the fence: GreenManGaming is still selling the PC version for 25% off AND it's still the 'Preorder' version according to Steam (it's downloading for me right now).

Use the code: SEPTEM-BEROFF-ER25XX

Heads up: This is still working as of 10am PST October 1st.
 

GravyButt

Member
Just got taken out by a lowest level archer I didnt know was there. Now hes a captain and mocks me. Bout to go slit his throat, fn trash talker!
 
And, for me, the benchmark was overly optimistic. Got 75 average but in game hovers closer to the 50 mark.

I got the opposite results, my 7870 is hitting 45 in the bench and hitting just under 60 most of the time. The video I posted has it dropping a few below 40, but that's because of the capture software (never usually drops below 40 and averaging 50 is quite nice to me).

How is this on PC with M+KB?


A little awkward at first honestly. Shift and L. Ctrl are very important buttons and have to be comboed with other buttons, and mixing up the two will give you very different results that can end up boning you. You get used to it though, I'm playing full KB+M and enjoying the hell out of it.
 

Catdaddy

Member
Running away is an option. Got surrounded a couple of times, wasn’t really paying attention but seemed like at least 15 orcs; so I decided to run away, and right into one of the large orc camps. Thought I was screwed, but it appears that they lose interest pretty quickly and don’t always look in the bushes, stupid orcs….
 

Sendou

Member
Game got harder really quick. Good stuff! Loving the nemesis system. I ran away from a horde of orcs for my life and just when I thought I found a good hiding spot a lonely orc came and killed me. Turns out he was only level 1 and somehow I found all this very amusing.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Running away is an option. Got surrounded a couple of times, wasn’t really paying attention but seemed like at least 15 orcs; so I decided to run away, and right into one of the large orc camps. Thought I was screwed, but it appears that they lose interest pretty quickly and don’t always look in the bushes, stupid orcs….

Some of these larger strongholds require you to run away and wreak havoc in guerrilla warfare.
 
Never seen a thread go from "this game is too easy, a baby can play it with one thumb" do "this game is so %(*#ing hard!" so quickly.

Awesome stuff. Can't wait to dig in.
 
So in order to progress in the story now I have to kill the three remaining warchiefs.

But that's bascially grinding out the nemesis system, finding out who and where is the warchief through the other captains, right? But it seems like that'll take a very long time. That's a strange change of pace.
 

MattyG

Banned
So in order to progress in the story now I have to kill the three remaining warchiefs.

But that's bascially grinding out the nemesis system, finding out who and where is the warchief through the other captains, right? But it seems like that'll take a very long time. That's a strange change of pace.
I didn't find their identities through captains, I just used the normal intel guys.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Never seen a thread go from "this game is too easy, a baby can play it with one thumb" do "this game is so %(*#ing hard!" so quickly.

Awesome stuff. Can't wait to dig in.

The Nemesis system renders difficulty arguments irrelevant. The emergent gameplay that comes out of the system will leave players in completely different situations.

We've seen GAFers describe fighting a warchief with a few bodyguards when all of their nemesis show up at once. Hard to nail down difficulty when the largest selling point of the game is unscripted.
 
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