Support NeoGAF

[Crazy_maniac]

I thought I was going to be done with this game after the main story. Nope, still collecting shit and slaying captains.

 

[Hypemaster]

Just avenged a bro by killing the captain that murdered him.

Feels good man.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

People keep comparing it to assassin's creed and batman, but I'll also add in it is like Sleeping Dogs as well. You can grapple, throw guys, slow motion aiming, "vault" after vaulting to pick up extra speed...

And way more enemies at once than all three, at least of the ones I have played.

I personally like the combat more than all three though. There are small improvements that I prefer.

 

[-Deimos]

I would like a spoiler free response to this if possible, since I notice abilities unlock based on story missions.

Does the ability to 'terrorize' or 'assassinate' dominated captains ever come into play in the final game like it did in the initial gameplay trailer? I noticed there was also the ability to 'brand' orcs that I haven't seen in the game yet.

So far the dominating minds thing has really let me down.

I have the same question. At first I thought to get to the more powerful leaders, we had to use branding, politics and planning to get close enough to make a move, but so far I can just go straight after any captain or war chief if I want.

 

[ironcreed]

Okay, not so bad. He was weak against stealth, so I managed to get away from the horde and track him from up high, from where I killed him with a stealth drop.

 

[Phreakuency]

There's so much wrong with this game that really makes those perfect scores seem bought for sure.

- Forced stealth missions are just terrible design choices. Seriously, I can kill 50 orcs at once in what should be a 'play as you like' open world game yet you want me to sneak around and poison 4 barrels of grog? Laughable. And to make it worse, the whole 'be seen and mission fails' thing doesn't even allow you to kill an enemy who sees you, before he alerts anyone else.

- As ugly as Mordor should be, the game feels like an empty, lifeless shoebox with perfectly placed ledges, crouch height walls, ladders etc. No thought, just throw some of that in a world and call it Mordor.

- The animations really are ripped from Assassin's Creed. No doubt about it. And even though they are silky smooth and look good, it just feels like I'm playing the same series. To make the ripped off argument seem even more plausible, the non character animations (of the trolls and animal things) are really, really bad. (even worse when riding them)

- Terrible collision detection, invisible boxes around small objects. You get stuck on edges of rocks, walls, tents etc.

- The respawning enemies and camps obviously has to happen in a game designed like this (otherwise it would be empty within an hour or two) but it isn't done right. I cleared a stronghold, only to reach a story mission literally 30 seconds later that sends me into the same place and suddenly it's full again.

- On the other hand, strongholds that are filled with up to 100 enemies, suddenly become empty when a 'follow this guy' story mission pops up.

- Weird proportions on the character models. Your guy has no neck and his head is too small for his body. Even the orcs look out of whack. I'm not sure how playtesters didn't pick up on this and force the devs to adjust it.

- The enemy vision for stealth elements is MGS1 bad. You can see them 100 metres away, yet they can't see you within 10m. Likewise when you backstab an enemy, his friend right beside him doesn't hear the knife ripping his guts apart or the groans from his suffering buddy.

- While there are some handy options, important one's are missing. You can't turn off the map, you can't turn off the 'A' prompts whenever you land, even turning off the combat and fx prompts still doesn't get rid of the stars above stunned enemies, way too narrow FOV, you can't disable the combo numbers.

There is still a lot of fun to be had (and for $37 on Steam I'm not too unhappy) but with all the flaws, it questions those perfect review scores for sure.

 

[Conkerkid11]

Forming my band of captains to earn the "Stinking Rebels" achievement.

I'm really happy, because of this guy in particular who I hope ends up as the Warchief.

I've been sending him out to murder other captains, and I would show up and watch until he got them weak enough to grab and brand. He's level 20.

 

[NearRivers]

I did the wall, and after I did that I essentially wanted to punch whoever was in charge of that part of the game. Why make me collect 32 things and not giving me a proper reward of any kind. Fuck you random game designer person.

I complained about this a few times already in this thread, but it's such a bone-headed design choice that I'll mention it again:

There is no real incentive or reward for completing Weapon Challenges or finding all collectibles outside of lore or trophies/achievements. It's disappointing. I was hoping for a cool gameplay buff or alternate character skins.

 

[sangreal]

There's so much wrong with this game that really makes those perfect scores seem bought for sure.

- Forced stealth missions are just terrible design choices. Seriously, I can kill 50 orcs at once in what should be a 'play as you like' open world game yet you want me to sneak around and poison 4 barrels of grog? Laughable. And to make it worse, the whole 'be seen and mission fails' thing doesn't even allow you to kill an enemy who sees you, before he alerts anyone else.

- As ugly as Mordor should be, the game feels like an empty, lifeless shoebox with perfectly placed ledges, crouch height walls, ladders etc. No thought, just throw some of that in a world and call it Mordor.

- The animations really are ripped from Assassin's Creed. No doubt about it. And even though they are silky smooth and look good, it just feels like I'm playing the same series. To make the ripped off argument seem even more plausible, the non character animations (of the trolls and animal things) are really, really bad. (even worse when riding them)

- Terrible collision detection, invisible boxes around small objects. You get stuck on edges of rocks, walls, tents etc.

- The respawning enemies and camps obviously has to happen in a game designed like this (otherwise it would be empty within an hour or two) but it isn't done right. I cleared a stronghold, only to reach a story mission literally 30 seconds later that sends me into the same place and suddenly it's full again.

- On the other hand, strongholds that are filled with up to 100 enemies, suddenly become empty when a 'follow this guy' story mission pops up.

- Weird proportions on the character models. Your guy has no neck and his head is too small for his body. Even the orcs look out of whack. I'm not sure how playtesters didn't pick up on this and force the devs to adjust it.

- The enemy vision for stealth elements is MGS1 bad. You can see them 100 metres away, yet they can't see you within 10m. Likewise when you backstab an enemy, his friend right beside him doesn't hear the knife ripping his guts apart or the groans from his suffering buddy.

- While there are some handy options, important one's are missing. You can't turn off the map, you can't turn off the 'A' prompts whenever you land, even turning off the combat and fx prompts still doesn't get rid of the stars above stunned enemies, way too narrow FOV, you can't disable the combo numbers.

There is still a lot of fun to be had (and for $37 on Steam I'm not too unhappy) but with all the flaws, it questions those perfect review scores for sure.

I agree with all of this

 

[Char Aznable]

Somehow the Urk from a vendetta mision i did is now the bodyguard of a warchief.....Got tired of his constants ganks so i decapitated him.

Suddenly out of fucking nowhere he spawns as a bodyguard ... wich fucked up my strategy Cause i thought i could handle the warchief and his bodyguard...but now there are 2 bodyguards, 2 captains and the warchief kicking my ass.

Botton line i died ...fuck u lugnak!

 

[Apathy]

There's so much wrong with this game that really makes those perfect scores seem bought for sure.

- Forced stealth missions are just terrible design choices. Seriously, I can kill 50 orcs at once in what should be a 'play as you like' open world game yet you want me to sneak around and poison 4 barrels of grog? Laughable. And to make it worse, the whole 'be seen and mission fails' thing doesn't even allow you to kill an enemy who sees you, before he alerts anyone else.

- As ugly as Mordor should be, the game feels like an empty, lifeless shoebox with perfectly placed ledges, crouch height walls, ladders etc. No thought, just throw some of that in a world and call it Mordor.

- The animations really are ripped from Assassin's Creed. No doubt about it. And even though they are silky smooth and look good, it just feels like I'm playing the same series. To make the ripped off argument seem even more plausible, the non character animations (of the trolls and animal things) are really, really bad. (even worse when riding them)

- Terrible collision detection, invisible boxes around small objects. You get stuck on edges of rocks, walls, tents etc.

- The respawning enemies and camps obviously has to happen in a game designed like this (otherwise it would be empty within an hour or two) but it isn't done right. I cleared a stronghold, only to reach a story mission literally 30 seconds later that sends me into the same place and suddenly it's full again.

- On the other hand, strongholds that are filled with up to 100 enemies, suddenly become empty when a 'follow this guy' story mission pops up.

- Weird proportions on the character models. Your guy has no neck and his head is too small for his body. Even the orcs look out of whack. I'm not sure how playtesters didn't pick up on this and force the devs to adjust it.

- The enemy vision for stealth elements is MGS1 bad. You can see them 100 metres away, yet they can't see you within 10m. Likewise when you backstab an enemy, his friend right beside him doesn't hear the knife ripping his guts apart or the groans from his suffering buddy.

- While there are some handy options, important one's are missing. You can't turn off the map, you can't turn off the 'A' prompts whenever you land, even turning off the combat and fx prompts still doesn't get rid of the stars above stunned enemies, way too narrow FOV, you can't disable the combo numbers.

There is still a lot of fun to be had (and for $37 on Steam I'm not too unhappy) but with all the flaws, it questions those perfect review scores for sure.

Again, for the hundredth time, perfect scores do not mean perfect game. It means that in the confinement of similar games it is better than those. Could it have problems, yes, and I agree with the rock thing, and as far as combat is concerned when a game like this comes out that an enemies friend can't hear his buddy be killed or that enemies wait in combat for you rather than just swarm you like they would in real life, it's a game, if they actually did swarm you all at the same time and not give you breathing room, people would be in here complaining it's too hard to do anything. Enemies have to be a little dumb in games or else players would be upset.

And the character has a neck but hes wearing a giant cloak that covers the top half of his chest and shoulders for the whole game.

 

[PepperedHam]

I wish 8 was a perfect score, my GPA would have been higher.

 

[baxter2231]

Havent looked to much into this but is this anything like the return of the king on ps2? Gameplay wise i mean.

 

[LurkerPrime]

There is still a lot of fun to be had (and for $37 on Steam I'm not too unhappy) but with all the flaws, it questions those perfect review scores for sure.

Alright. Here's the thing: "perfect" review scores aren't for perfect games, because those don't exist. They are for games of the highest quality, with the greatest amounts of fun or enjoyment to be had - and in this respect, Shadow of Mordor qualifies.

There's no need for such ridiculous bullet-point lists, especially when they are as baseless as yours are. I mean, for starters, the animations are not from Assassin's Creed. There's only so many ways you can mo-cap a person climbing ledges, or animate a human model quickly traversing cliffs and such in a speedy manner. Looking similar is not the same as being ripped from AC. Name real criticism - don't waste everyone's time with lies.

Havent looked to much onto this but is anything like the return of the king on ps2? Gameplay wise i mean.

Aside from the setting, not really.

RotK was an action-y, RPG-y third-person brawler with linear set missions featuring different characters. SoM is a third-person action RPG/Arkham brawler set in an open world with both a linear set of missions and a dynamic set of objectives featuring the same character.

 

[JumpJeff84]

There's so much wrong with this game that really makes those perfect scores seem bought for sure.

.

You're free to have criticisms of the game, and I'm not saying your criticisms aren't valid.

But to say 'those perfect scores seem bought for sure' is frankly ignorant.

Many people in this very thread are saying things like 'GOTY for me!' and 'I love this game!'. Did those people get bought off as well? Seriously, games are more than the sum of their parts. Ninja Gaiden on Xbox is probably my favorite game ever. If I reviewed it I'd give it 10/10 because to me it's that good. At the same time, it has faults. The story is shit, the camera is shit, etc.

Drop the money hat conspiracy theory and accept the infinitely more likely explanation that people have, you know, different opinions than you do.

 

[leng jai]

I think this game is the Neogaf's new Wolfenstein. Most of it's rating comes from one hook and if you don't find find it particularly interesting you'll probably end up a bit disappointed.

 

[ironcreed]

 

[Trace]

Some of the design in this game is glorious. The hungry guys making references to eating you, "hot-head" with a random flaming helmet. Makes them feel more unique than just random orc dude #2.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Yeesh at the reviews being bought claim. Yuck.

Only a few hours till I get my copy!

 

[Conkerkid11]

There's so much wrong with this game that really makes those perfect scores seem bought for sure.

Because only your opinion matters. A vast number of people within this thread alone who aren't critics, and who were not bought, are enjoying the hell out of this game. The game has an 85 on Metacritic, and is generally not thought of as a perfect game. It has an even higher user score, which says something, considering the user score is usually lower. Look at the 6.4 on Destiny's user score for example.

- Forced stealth missions are just terrible design choices. Seriously, I can kill 50 orcs at once in what should be a 'play as you like' open world game yet you want me to sneak around and poison 4 barrels of grog? Laughable. And to make it worse, the whole 'be seen and mission fails' thing doesn't even allow you to kill an enemy who sees you, before he alerts anyone else.

You cannot kill 50 orcs at once. And there doesn't have to be a rhyme and a reason for everything you do in the story missions. They're trying to teach you about a new mechanic that you can use from then on in the game, and that's it. And the idea behind not being seen by an enemy is the challenge element to stealth. Next you'll be complaining about the difficulty being too easy, yet negating from the game's score for difficult objectives.

- As ugly as Mordor should be, the game feels like an empty, lifeless shoebox with perfectly placed ledges, crouch height walls, ladders etc. No thought, just throw some of that in a world and call it Mordor.

It sounds like you're complaining about Mordor being Mordor?

- The animations really are ripped from Assassin's Creed. No doubt about it. And even though they are silky smooth and look good, it just feels like I'm playing the same series. To make the ripped off argument seem even more plausible, the non character animations (of the trolls and animal things) are really, really bad. (even worse when riding them)

Who would have thought that two human beings would run similarly.

- Terrible collision detection, invisible boxes around small objects. You get stuck on edges of rocks, walls, tents etc.

It's their first entry into an open world game. These types of things occur more often in Assassin's Creed Blackflag, and that's the 6th entry into that series.

- The respawning enemies and camps obviously has to happen in a game designed like this (otherwise it would be empty within an hour or two) but it isn't done right. I cleared a stronghold, only to reach a story mission literally 30 seconds later that sends me into the same place and suddenly it's full again.

You're in Mordor, and not only that, but time is passing as you progress through the game as it turns out.

- On the other hand, strongholds that are filled with up to 100 enemies, suddenly become empty when a 'follow this guy' story mission pops up.

Time is passing. You really are nitpicking.

- Weird proportions on the character models. Your guy has no neck and his head is too small for his body. Even the orcs look out of whack. I'm not sure how playtesters didn't pick up on this and force the devs to adjust it.

lol

- The enemy vision for stealth elements is MGS1 bad. You can see them 100 metres away, yet they can't see you within 10m. Likewise when you backstab an enemy, his friend right beside him doesn't hear the knife ripping his guts apart or the groans from his suffering buddy.

That's pretty standard for modern stealth games, otherwise it would be too difficult. This isn't something that only happens in Shadow of Mordor.

- While there are some handy options, important one's are missing. You can't turn off the map, you can't turn off the 'A' prompts whenever you land, even turning off the combat and fx prompts still doesn't get rid of the stars above stunned enemies, way too narrow FOV, you can't disable the combo numbers.

There is still a lot of fun to be had (and for $37 on Steam I'm not too unhappy) but with all the flaws, it questions those perfect review scores for sure.

Because you nitpicked elements that hardly damage the gameplay. As it turns out, a lot of people don't dislike the things you dislike.

:/

 

[DukeBobby]

Yeesh at the reviews being bought claim. Yuck.

Only a few hours till I get my copy!

Not to mention that only two sites on Metacritic gave it a perfect score, which were Giant Bomb and Joystiq.

Bought my ass.

 

[Stoze]

"Those perfect scores seem bought for sure"

Huh I didn't know this game had such crazy reviews. Let's look it up on metacritc...43 reviews, only 2 of them actual perfect scores...from Giant Bomb and Joystiq. (edit: beat)

Yeah....no. Unless you were referring to 9s and 8.5s as perfect.

I wish this game is on Redbox, looks like something I'd really have a fun weekend with.

 

[Loakum]

Those orcs all have great abs.

 

[Conkerkid11]

So technically, I could brand every single captain, and have them all betray a single Warchief, right?

 

[User 479360]

People need to understand that a perfect score doesn't mean a perfect game. There's no such thing as someone else said.

It means it's nearly flawless, and is a fantastically made and entertaining experience. Something that really stands out and is a potential classic.

 

[JumpJeff84]

People need to understand that a perfect score doesn't mean a perfect game. There's no such thing as someone else said.

It means it's nearly flawless, and is a fantastically made and entertaining experience. Something that really stands out and is a potential classic.

Pssssh! How much did Warner Bros pay you to make that post?!?

 

[Chairhome]

So, remote play sucks for this. Can't remap buttons, can you?

 

[LurkerPrime]

I thought I was going to be done with this game after the main story. Nope, still collecting shit and slaying captains.

Seeing this image every time I opened the thread has made me realise how much I'm missing out by not having bloody kills. If only my GPU could handle it...

I suppose it's time to start saving up so I can truly experience Shadow of Mordor.

Edit: Nevermind the blood is in my game. I'm just blind.

 

[Trace]

Pssssh! How much did Warner Bros pay you to make that post?!?

12 dollars and 34 cents. And a free copy of Arkham Asylum for PS3.

 

[Unai]

My God, this was awsome.

 

[JumpJeff84]

12 dollars and 34 cents. And a free copy of Arkham Asylum for PS3.

Well I guess everyone has a price.

Pretty sure that AA's available for free on PS+ this month though. Shoulda held out for Arkham Origins.

 

[Gaz_RB]

Sequel needs to be set in Moria where you play as a dwarf.

That is an amazing idea. Middle Earth: Depths of Moria

 

[Dead]

Anyone know when the playstation exclusive missions unlock in game?

 

[Gvaz]

- The enemy vision for stealth elements is MGS1 bad. You can see them 100 metres away, yet they can't see you within 10m. Likewise when you backstab an enemy, his friend right beside him doesn't hear the knife ripping his guts apart or the groans from his suffering buddy.

This is less immersive, but I like it because it's fun.

 

[Figboy79]

I'm starting my broadcast now for those interested!

http://www.twitch.tv/figboy

As I mentioned before, I plan on doing a bit of running around, killing orcs, and maybe a story mission or two. I'm still very early game (about 4 missions in).

 

[Aske]

I'm so impressed by both the uniquness and personality each orc has. I feel like I know so many of them personally. Some of them are real dicks, and I can't abide their continued existence.

But the opposite is also super fun. I assume I killed some lame uruk who got promoted to captain. Idiot wandered in to the fight when I was taking out a captain who mattered, and didn't last a second.

At least, this is my supposition, because a little while later, some weird uruk rushes up to me with a plate in his head, and yells, "REMEMBER ME, TARK? YOU THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, BUT NOW I'M HERE TO CUT YOUR EYES OUT AND FEED THEM TO THE CARAGORS!" or something.

I'm like, "For you, the day Talion of Gondor graced your stronghold was the most important moment of your life. For me, it was Tuesday."

Then I killed him again.

If he keeps coming back, I'll genuinely feel super-villain levels of mild annoyance! "I don't know why or how you keep clinging to your life, but you are becoming rather tiresome."

 

[Skyzard]

Shall I still get Arkham Knight?

GMG's 25% off finishes today I think.

OCTOBE-R25OFF-GMGXXX

Makes it like £26 ish

--nvm turns it's super delayed.

 

[leng jai]

Yeah, shitty unrealistic stealth is pretty much present in all games otherwise it would be too hard.

I'm impressed by how solid the voice acting is. Even all the orcs sound good, almost too good.

 

[3DShovel]

This asshole killed me multiple times tonight. I will get my revenge tomorrow. Rest assured.

 

[Skyzard]

Yeah, shitty unrealistic stealth is pretty much present in all games otherwise it would be too hard.

I'm impressed by how solid the voice acting is. Even all the orcs sound good, almost too good.

How's it unrealistic?

It's well known Orcs have poor eyesight.

 

[shinobi602]

This went from a certainty of returning 2 days ago to my GOTY so far (that'll change with DAI of course). Well done Monolith, well done.

 

[antitrop]

I've made a good deal of progress today. Liking it more and more as I play. I feel like I've gotten pretty competent at the combat and it becomes even more enjoyable as you continue to unlock abilities.

I went on a Captain massacre streak for a while, but then my head got too big and I decided to take on 3 of them at once inside of a Stronghold. Killed 1, but I never stood a chance.

 

[3DShovel]

This went from a certainty of returning 2 days ago to my GOTY so far (that'll change with DAI of course). Well done Monolith, well done.

Yeah, this is a strong contender for my GOTY. Though I never had any doubts about it being amazing.

Will it live to beat out Dark Souls II and Smash Bros? We'll see!

 

[Gleethor]

That is an amazing idea. Middle Earth: Depths of Moria

Yep, then maybe a third game set in Mirkwood where you play as an elf to round out the trilogy?

 

[Gaz_RB]

I've got this one Orc that keeps bringin me down to my knees, but then he just insults me and walks away. He never kills me. He's downed me tons of times and I've killed him tons of times but he just comes back uglier and uglier haha. He's got a bag over his head now. I'm gonna brand him once I get that power and make him my bro.

<3 you Zogdush!

Yep, then maybe a third game set in Mirkwood where you play as an elf to round out the trilogy?

Oh man that could be so good too. Great ideas! I really hope there is a sequel and that it doesn't stick with Talion and Mordor.

 

[Apathy]

That is an amazing idea. Middle Earth: Depths of Moria

Thing is they cant have Celebrimbor be in every game possessing every main character, and in turn being able to control and influence the orc hierarchy (well they could I guess but seems so odd) so I wonder how they can get around it.

 

[Chairhome]

???

 

[Gleethor]

This went from a certainty of returning 2 days ago to my GOTY so far (that'll change with DAI of course). Well done Monolith, well done.

Its pretty crazy that the game has such a mediocre first impression, and then you play a few hours and suddenly it clicks and you're having an amazing time.

 

[Gleethor]

Thing is they cant have Celebrimbor be in every game possessing every main character, and in turn being able to control and influence the orc hierarchy (well they could I guess but seems so odd) so I wonder how they can get around it.

Have the main character find one of the dwarf rings?

 

[Levyne]

2 of the first set of warchiefs down. I'm liking this a lot.