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

I want to emphasize that the open-ended sandbox scenario I outlined above doesn't happen until late in the game. Maybe (probably?) too late. Prior to that awesome twist, it's "merely" a very fun and polished third-person action/adventure with scripted campaign missions.

It's not that the game all feels like a tutorial leading up to the ability to Brand orcs. It's more like the game just keeps throwing surprises at you from beginning to end. "Wanna teleport into an enemy's face from anywhere? BAM now you can! Bet that'll change how you play." *5 hours later* "Wanna mount and ride those beasts instead of fighting them? You can do that now, too."

The open-ended, sandboxy orc takeovers are just the final and greatest example of this.

What about post-ending? What happens to the Nemesis system and Orc branding then? Can you effectively reset everything by fast forwarding time over and over, or is there some kind of NG+?
 

VanWinkle

Member
I want to emphasize that the open-ended sandbox scenario I outlined above doesn't happen until late in the game. Maybe (probably?) too late. Prior to that awesome twist, it's "merely" a very fun and polished third-person action/adventure with scripted campaign missions.

It's not that the game all feels like a tutorial leading up to the ability to Brand orcs. It's more like the game just keeps throwing surprises at you from beginning to end. "Wanna teleport into an enemy's face from anywhere? BAM now you can! Bet that'll change how you play." *5 hours later* "Wanna mount and ride those beasts instead of fighting them? You can do that now, too."

The open-ended, sandboxy orc takeovers are just the final and greatest example of this.

Did you play the PS4 version? Did it seem to be 60fps?
 

Soule

Member
$30 on Nuuvem...

Was too cheap to pass up, bought off nuuvem but it doesn't even give me a key until it's actually released. I get a "Presale , release on 30/09/2014" (translated) message where the key should be, grrr I just want it in my Steam collection nowwwwww /veruca
 

Jira

Member
What about post-ending? What happens to the Memesis system and Orc branding then? Can you effectively reset everything by fast forwarding time over and over, or is there some kind of NG+?

From what I've read you can just keep playing without restarting, there's just no story to continue.
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
What about post-ending? What happens to the Nemesis system and Orc branding then? Can you effectively reset everything by fast forwarding time over and over, or is there some kind of NG+?

I am not through the final mission. The luxury of not being the reviewer. :)

Did you play the PS4 version? Did it seem to be 60fps?

I played on PS4. I'm not sensitive to framerates and can't comment on locked 60 or anything like that. Game is super pretty though - absolutely ridiculous how detailed the orcs are.

I would never ever believe their looks are all procedurally generated - the scars, names, armor, etc. all look hand-crafted. And yet... procedurally generated they are.
 

KePoW

Banned
Does anyone know if this is the same exact Monolith team that did NOLF 2?

That was one of my favorite FPS of all time
 

ironcreed

Banned
I played on PS4. I'm not sensitive to framerates and can't comment on locked 60 or anything like that. Game is super pretty though - absolutely ridiculous how detailed the orcs are.

I would never ever believe their looks are all procedurally generated - the scars, names, armor, etc. all look hand-crafted. And yet... procedurally generated they are.

Just as I suspected. Forged in the fires of Mount Doom itself.

But seriously, the incredible detail and sheer variety of orcs is something that has really popped out at me in all of the footage. Can't wait to finally experience it.
 

Jira

Member
Hey GDJustin, any word on how the Vendetta system works? Is there any word on how the game shows you at a glance if an orc has been put into your game because they killed a friend?

Yeah but what happens to the Nemesis system in that case? Is it forever generating new soldiers, chiefs, and rivalries?

From what I've read that is correct.
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Hey GDJustin, any word on how the Vendetta system works? Is there any word on how the game shows you at a glance if an orc has been put into your game because they killed a friend?



From what I've read that is correct.

Optional "procedural" missions pop up on the map. If two orcs are vying for power/a promotion, you can choose to intervene and potentially determine the outcome, for example. I didn't understand the usefulness of stepping in and getting involved until I started branding orcs to be my followers. These side-missions are how you get them promoted through the ranks.

Venedetta missions fall into this category. The revenge missions are certainly neat, but a little superfluous. I don't think I've actually done one, in fact.
 

AJ_Wings

Member
Good job Monolith. Still waiting to get my code from Get Games.

Also, been playing FEAR 2 lately and you know what... it's actually pretty good. Not as good as FEAR and its expansions but better than a lot of folks made it out to be. Just be prepared to trudge through one of the most boring first levels ever made in a shooter.
 
From what I've read that is correct.

Optional "procedural" missions pop up on the map. If two orcs are vying for power/a promotion, you can choose to intervene and potentially determine the outcome, for example. I didn't understand the usefulness of stepping in and getting involved until I started branding orcs to be my followers. These side-missions are how you get them promoted through the ranks.

Nice.
 

Wallach

Member
Blood, Shogo, AvP2, NOLF1/2, Fear, Condemned

Great company, one of my favorites. I'm glad for them that this has done well critically, and hopefully it will also sell.

Yo, that's right these are the dudes that made Shogo. That game left a big bootprint on my mind when I was younger. It's still one of the first games that comes to mind when I think about 90's PC gaming even though it really doesn't stack up to most of the 90's classics.
 

Karak

Member
Yo, that's right these are the dudes that made Shogo. That game left a big bootprint on my mind when I was younger. It's still one of the first games that comes to mind when I think about 90's PC gaming even though it really doesn't stack up to most of the 90's classics.

My brotha!
 

Wallach

Member
I pre-ordered this on PSN digital and it says it unlocks in 2 days, Sept. 28th.

Edit - Oh whoops that's just the pre-load date.
 

Sesuadra

Unconfirmed Member
no way to get the archer and flame of anor rune with a psn pre-order?

makes me sad..

but still psn gives the best pre-order bonus for germans? damn, that whole pre-order thing confuses me today..
 

Ark

Member
Honestly I don't even know if anyone got an XB1 copy to even review so it might be a while.

Damn :( I guess waiting a while to pick this up is actually a good idea, I've still got a few games to finish before I jump on the Winter game train.

One of the reviews said this was a challenge. I thought the combat looked really easy though.

In the Twitch stream last night the dude kept getting his ass kicked by like 30 Orcs at once.
 
The reviews seem to have gotten a lot of people's attention. Not just here, but on other sites. I hope this sells really well for Monolith.

One of the reviews said this was a challenge. I thought the combat looked really easy though.

Same here, I'm glad that it's not too easy though. I did hear the controls would take some time to master. Bring it on!
 
because a Dev played the game. last night the streamer got his ass kicked.

you have to learn in this game.. well it seems like that

If it's anything like Batman: Arkham (and it clearly is), combat will look effortless when pulled off correctly, and absolutely savage in all other cases.
 

Jb

Member
NA release on 30th of September, and EU on 3rd of October, WTF?! What's the reason for the delay between the regions?

It gives them a 3 day head start before Christopher Tolkien can get his hands on the game and rant about it in the papers.
 

kyser73

Member
Does anyone know when/if Digital Foundry are doing a performance review on this?

I'm especially eager to see a stable 60fps on the PS4 :)
 
Same

*puts on hipster glasses*

image.php


I'm sure that was intentional but I couldn't pass it up lol.
 

Melchiah

Member
Digital oceans, perhaps?

well, psn now says 2.10. for germany. maybe they are changing something?

The delay of several days rubs me the wrong way, especially as we're paying the equivalent of 76.50$ for the game, as usual. This time we're just getting the game days later than usual. I've been looking forward to play the game, but these kind of things make me want to vote with my wallet, and wait for price reduction on pure principle. EDIT: The lure of a new game is probably too strong though.

On a side note, I keep reading the game is challenging, and I wonder to what extent? I'm not really fond of the idea of being frustrated instead of entertained.
 
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