Why SHADOW OF MORDOR Might Be 2014's Best Game
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- Join Nick as he tells a true story explaining why Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor might be one of 2014's best games, before diving into why the game's "Batman" problem may not be a problem at all.
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I'd might have to agree. I've played almost 18-20 hours in a week and I've mostly just been doing side missions and activities or just killing urak-hai for fun. And I've only played three main story missions so far. It's tremendously fun.
keep doing story missions until you unlock the brand ability then it gets even better
SahijApple93 It's unreal how fun it stays - I spent at least 3 hours before ever deliberately progressing the story. Also: I was actually just talking to Anthony Carboni about this earlier today, but it's crazy how great all the sidequests are! They're all the funnest parts of the game and none of the fluff. Monolith kinda hit it out of the park.
Rev3Games Seriously! It's crazy how much I agree with you guys. Actually its pretty funny what happened, but I unlocked all of the available Ranger and Wraith abilities even before I went to Nurnen haha. I just got caught up in doing power struggles, and outcast missions. And for some reason destroying hordes and hordes of Uruks through stealth and open combat never got boring. Its weird how I'm not really a completionist, but I even finished all of the weapon legends and completed the Ithildin mural. Definitely best game of the year in my humble opinion.
Ronk325 Haha I know right? I branded so many orcs that any high density orc area I would go I would have 10 or 12 orcs lol. And sometime whole three man patrols would be branded orcs, so I would never have to worry about stealth a lot of the times.
I posted something about this on /r/games just today, "Shadow of Mordor - Difficulty." The conclusion from that community is that while the game is fun and addicting, it's too easy. The novelty of the nemesis system relies on you dying, hunting down your target for revenge, and creating your own little organic narrative. When dying is as rare as it is for a lot of people, even self proclaimed low skill gamers, it is very frustrating. It's frustrating because you know how cool it could be, but the game just isn't making it happen!
The problem is, the difficulty can't be fixed with something easy like a difficulty slider or a 'hard mode' dlc, which would raise health for enemies and lower your own. The combat is fundamentally flawed. You can run into a stronghold (the most dangerous areas in the game, the literal sanctuary of the enemy), turn off your monitor, and start jamming the dodge button with your chin and be invincible. All of the enemies aside from the odd captain can be defeated with a "vault, hit hit hit, execution, repeat" combo. Even the captains with lots of combat immunity's can be, for all intents and purposes, one hit killed with "fears."
There aren't many games that need to be challenging to work, Assassin's Creed and Arkham for example, but Shadow of Mordor IS one of them. I'm excited for the sequel regardless and hope it will improve on the issues. If you have the time I'd be interested in watching a second opinion video once you better learn the in's and out's of the system, and finish the game... even play the beginning again.
Personally i like the difficulty
but at the same time if you died to often it would be frustating and then nemisis system would be way to present not be as special - so they need to find a good balance. I haven't played it yet I don't have the means too, so i have to get the 360 version which disapoints me because its just not there and thats seems weird to me.
Absolutely, this game deserves far more recognition than it's currently getting.
And the personal stories thing is so true, I had 'killed' this one Orc captain but failed to behead him so he came back and this kept repeating till I had killed him about 5 times and he was so disfigured he now wore a bag over his head. He disappeared for a while so I believed him to be finally dead then later in the game when I needed to control a warchief it turned out he was still alive and was a bodyguard for the warchief I was going after, so I accepted that he wouldn't die no matter how many times I killed him so I branded him, killed the warchief to elevate him and he turned out to be my highest level warchief throughout the rest of the game. Turning a long term rival into my greatest tool.
No other game has ever done anything close to this, this nemesis system is completely revolutionary as far as I'm concerned and without a doubt it will shape the future of some games to come.
The only problem that I found this to have is that while the replayability is good due to the randomization of the nemesis system, during a second play-through you're just too good. You'll rarely ever die which makes personal stories much harder to come by.
Some Guy Online Unquestionably. I've already logged 60 hours and I'm still having tons of fun fucking with the Uruk hierarchy.
I had almost the same experience! I don't know about your's but the orc that kept coming back had almost no weaknesses and was incredibly difficult to defeat him enough to brand him. But I got that bastard! I used him to help me take down another warchief who had been giving me trouble for a long time, he had a metal jaw and a giant flaming sword, so I use Ol' Bag Head as a distraction while I took control of a Graug and ambushed the can't and let the graug eat his head! Definitely worth my $60.
Yea i agree on my secound play-through i plan to not upgrade anything really, especially not health and that stun jump move. I will ony pick ones not key to combat. It hopefully will make it harder.
As much as this 'borrowed' mechanics from other games, I hope other games take and expand the nemesis system. I can't be the only person who let their favourite Uruk captain rise in ranks and feel invested with some Uruks who I manipulated to gain power, only to slaughter them when they're at their strongest.
Great animation and voicecast help really bring out this game too.
For sure. Hopefully this is one of those games that other developers look at and go "oh shit, THAT game took emergent narrative and enemy personality seriously and was rewarded for it - what would happen if we tried something similar?" I genuinely hope this game does well for Monolith, if only as a role model to award more creative, outside-the-box design in future AAA games. -Nick
Id love if they made a series out of this. Maybe not all set in mordor or following talion. They could have a game series called middle earth and have the same type of systems and mechanics but different stories to be told. I think that'd be awesome!
Hayden Jurko
I'm right with you. They would have to tame the power of the player character if they made more games though, which I'm all for. Dying more with the Nemesis System would only make it better. My only real problem with SoM is that I only died four times in 25+ hours. There are loads of possibilities for this franchise; a dwarf with Balin in Moria, a Dunedain in the Misty Mountains or further north. Maybe even an elf in Mirkwood.
Drake Jensen "Dying more with the Nemesis System would only make it better." Um, no thanks-- i'm dying quite enough as it is. Some of us don't have your (supposed) mad video game skills ha ha.
I really have to disagree with you here. The thing that makes the Batman games great is that the enemies in the game are not generic villains with no back story. The nemesis system is necessary in this game because it's non-canonical, there is no basis in any actual Tolkien lore in this game; every one of those named orcs has no real story behind it. In fact, the game itself lacks anything in the way of an interesting story. The only redeeming quality is the nemesis system, but for me things got real stale after 10 hours. It's alright if you're looking for a generic beat-em-up, but honestly, I'd rather play 10 hours of Streets of Rage.
Since I don't die unless I want to I make the types of orcs I want to see. The nameless nobodies quickly turn into very interesting people if I die to the right person. Every orc is very unique and the huge variety of orcs makes sure you never run into the same again.
Just an example to explain how diverse these orcs can be...I meet an orc notorious for being drunk by his name and reflected Talon skills of being a "gravewalker." After death he continued to come back to attack me during fights and if you look at his motives it say he want to keep seeing Talon again.
I branded him...made him a warcheif also he is now my pet.
JRsoFLY123 that's really cool
Awww he has a crush on Talion. :P
Hey Nick, you're one of my favorite people to listen to talking about games
Shadow of Mordor is an amazing game. I've got 100% completion and all achievements unlocked and I still want to keep playing it. It's just so good.
Yeah, it's a rather polarizing experience. Either you get addicted to what it has to offer, or you dismiss it for what it lacks.
While I can say that the game at first really did draw me in, as I have gotten further into it I noticed 3 things beginning to shed light.
1. While the promotion system and all of the stuff with all of these captains is cool and all, once you have unlocked all the tiers of progression. . . killing them becomes pointless. I suppose you could make it a goal to brand every single captain & warchief (which I plan to do), but that just seems very repetitive to me. Which leads to
2. The game gets kind of repetitive. I'm starting to care more about the story than going from area to area doing the same set of missions and grabbing collectibles. Granted, I love the detail and little tidbits of lore with some of the artifacts, they still pale in comparison to the lore the main story has to offer. The cut scene when you get a specific mithral item used for hammering nails for example ( no spoilers ) gave me goosebumps.
3. Finally, the game gets really. really. really easy. Maybe it's because before I got to the second area I ended up just killing a bunch of captains to unlock all the tiers and I collect every single item/do everything. . even all the bonus objectives. Still, with some of the runes I have on my bow for example, a battle against 50 uruks turns into none because I headshot one now the other 49 run off so I win the battle. Not to mention when you get the 2500Mirian cost specials it's ridiculously simple. I've fought captains over 20 power too and they're still pretty easy (Since I've never encountered a single one who is immune to being grabbed and shanked). Maybe I've just been playing too much of the souls series, but the game isn't that hard after a few hours of getting your hands covered in uruk blood imho.
Still. I think the reason the game is amazing for me now is that the cutscenes, dialogue, and the story are absolutely amazing. Rather strange that. At first the thing that I was in love with *was* the nemesis system, but now it's shifted to the story since killing captains & warchiefs are a bit too easy.
I agree 100% its a great game, and very impressive, but as you get to the second half, you kinda realize its just more of the first half. Kill minions, kill body guards, kill warchiefs. Suddenly killing uruks seem like a chore, and the story is the reward.
TheBadguy008 yes, but in the second part you can brand them. And you do need strong branded warchiefs.
Your last paragraph sums up my opinion.
I received an epic rune pretty early in the game that would make all Uruk flee in terror after a brutalise kill which, granted, did result in some very funny moments but also took away the challenge from many encounters.
I hope they can find ways to make the Nemesis system play a bigger part if they decide to make a sequel.
i'm sure it feels repetitive but i don't think it's too easy. if the rune is making it too easy, sell it. that's like saying a game is too easy because you can lower the difficulty in the options.
Leo Vader i always had problems with comments and situations like that. It is like having a competition to see who is stronger in weight lifting. However, you are trying up your hands and can only lift with your non dominate side's finger.
To self handicap yourself because you think it is too easy means it is too easy and I think the game does need a difficulty slider. Some people think the game is too hard as well... how do we fix that? Of course a difficulty setting or slider would be outside of our control.
I used to watch this channel because Adam Sessler was on it. But now, Nick Robinson is why I keep up with the channel! Love how fast he talks and packs in as many opinions as possible in a short amount of time. Thanks for keeping me interested in Rev3 games Nick!
To be honest, that whole "Sequence of events" argument is applicable to any sandbox game. It's just a bit more personal in this game. And I do agree with critics of this battle system. I dont really think that Batman battle system is very good. In general, though, the game was lots of fun. Nemesis system will become a milestone of sorts, that other companies will definitely try to emulate. It makes repetitive gameplay a lot more personal and memorable. The whole revenge notion becomes pretty real too. Even if you are killed by a peasant, you can actually find him later on, stronger, more powerful and challenge him to a fight. That is extremely satisfying. I had the same guy kill me 3 times. When I finally took him down, I bragged about it to my loved ones. They shrugged :)
Perfectly summed up what makes this game so amazing, which is really kind of hard to do in such a short amount of time. It makes it even better knowing that all of it can and will happen to just about every player, yet each of these experiences will be completely unique. Good job, Nick.
Agreed on every sentiment. This game caught my eye at E3 and I watched coverage since then, but it has overshot my expectations. The depth and diversity of combat combined with the nemesis system and all that there is to do in the game (collectibles, challenges, side missions) have given me one of my favorite games in a very long time!
Innovation, as seen in SoM, is exactly what is needed to keep pushing the game industry, I think. While "artistic" games with noticeably unique gameplay and mechanic systems are interesting and a joy to play, they don't hold the mainstream appeal to make enough money, and impact the industry as a whole in a meaningful way (usually). However, when a AAA game comes out that largely follows successful design choices from past games, it can be easy to tire of it because of its familiarity. This game does that, as seen in its combat and open world formula (mission structure, collectibles, ect.), but it does something different. It makes good on the catch phrase of so many games with the nemesis system. "The choices you make matter" is so common in games, and usually means plot. This game so brilliantly realizes that plot change is not necessary for proper interaction between game and player. By focusing on one specific major point of the game (the enemy), this game nails that claim to meaningful choice, the goal of most video games. This innovation may go unnoticed by most players, but its importance cannot be understated, and is undoubtedly benefited from the more common, familiar mechanics of SoM that I referred to earlier. The lesson this game teaches is one I hope every designer can learn from, and I wish every AAA game aspired to do just one thing new, so successfully as SoM has. Slow progress is inevitable, due to the risks, but if done right the AAA market can speed it along by riding that line between innovation and safe, profitable design, that this game so perfectly sets.
Everything you state in this video is the reason I preordered it. I feel like this is the game that actually defines next gen unlike Watch Dogs or Destiny, because of a mechanic that not only innovates via new hardware, but makes sense in a game design perspective. This is a game that makes death meaningful and almost as fun as surviving. It's a game that puts as much care into your enemies as the main character, and it's a game that does assassinations better than Asssassin's Creed. Not only that, I'm sure you'll find the Nemesis system in future games.
Nick this may be one of your best videos to date. You are spot on with your description of Shadow of Mordor. I think you should do these videos more often even if it's why a game doesn't work for whatever reason. One of my favorite things about this channel for years was how it challenged how I think about games and this video is a perfect example.
This game was the biggest surprise of the year for me. I bought it because I enjoy LOTR and there's not much else to play on the PS4 at the moment. I thought I would play it for a few hours and get bored but so far I've put 50 hrs in it. Possibly my favorite game this year.
Good, goooood stuff, Nick! You're starting to remind me of Adam Sessler, with the specific topics on gameplay. Keep it up, sir! Also, about SoM, it's utterly revolutionary. It already has me thinking of ways to use a system like this in other games. For instance, what would the Nemesis system look like in something like Watch Dogs? Hmmmm....
Shadows of Mordor is the first time I've dropped $50+ on a videogame since Deus Ex: HR. If I had one gripe, it's that I listened to the people talking about how short the game/small the world is and milked ~20 hours of gaming bliss out of the first area before finishing that piece of the story. Surprise! A whole new environment, new characters, more collectibles and Ithilidin, and I felt a sincere sense of relief that the ride wasn't over yet.
I'm not a completionist, nor am I big into the Middle Earth universe, but the polish that went into the game -- even the mini-objectives like relic hunting -- had me keeping a deliberate eye out for every morsel I could get my hands on.
So you have a fun game with great combat, fantastic voice acting, slick animations, high-quality visuals, responsive controls, and an engaging narrative. Then you add the Nemesis system (whose like I can't recall ever seeing before) and a good game worth every penny turns into a rare "Must Buy."
*TL;DR:* Shadows of Mordor is fucking fantastic. If *any* part of it -- the combat, stealth, Middle Earth, the Nemesis system -- appeals to or intrigues you I highly recommend you pick it up.
Shadow of Mordor's combat might not be as tight as Batman's but it's much deeper and the sword makes it more satisfying.
Nick, I really like the style of video you set out to make here-I mean before it turned into a review. I know that review videos take a huge amount of time to produce; maybe this kind of thing where you tell a story that you experienced (or created) through playing a game could fill the gap for less investment.
I missed this kind of videos :P I love listening to your opinions, guys, keep the semi-reviews coming! :P
For the last year, I've been writing gaming articles for the clan that I am a part of and for the last 2-3 years, I've been making UA-cam videos almost daily. It would definitely be awesome to work with you guys at Rev3. I'm looking forward to the content you guys are going to be putting out over the next few months. I'm not sure what it's like for you guys making this sort of content for a group like Rev3, but I'm sure it isn't as easy as it is for me. It's gotta be a lot of work and not easy to mix business and pleasure, but thank you for doing it.
Have to agree, this is a great game. Hope they make more in the series. I'd like to see the game be larger. Perhaps have the ability to siege the strongholds. It feels like if you did just the story missions it'd be over fast.One thing I really like is the ability to dominate random uruks. Then when a new captain gets promoted seeing someone you already control get beefed up.
Great game, and visually beautiful. Biggest knock is the camera can get stuck in a funky spot sometimes.
The only thing that I was disappointed with was the lack of "Lord Of The Rings" style giant battles. There was at least 2 points in the story where this being added would of made this game a 9.5 for me. Right now it's about a 7.5 or 8.
if you have a branded warchief start a riot against a non-branded warchief, you get a pretty giant battle. 20 orcs on each side plus a few captains and the chief. definitely not as big as the movies but i still thought it was pretty exciting.
Yeah I was thinking more in the hundreds/ thousands
AzikuraProductions Yeah, the consoles and most pc's can't handle that many NPC's at once.
manlysponge AC: UNITY can on xbone/ps4
AzikuraProductions But they're not fighting and killing each other, so theres not all these particle effects going around. And besides, this is Ubisoft, so i'll believe they can have a few hundred npc's on screen at once when i see it.
I'm with you 100%. Can't wait to see if they decide to continue the franchise because I'll play as many of these games as they can put out. If they can continue to expand the depth of the Nemesis system, while continuing a strong narrative and expanding beyond Mordor in to more familiar territory, I think this series could become the king of action games in the next decade. Tolkien's world is a perfect playground for this, and the team at Monolith deserve all the praise in the world. Great video, Nick.
GOTY 2014 contenders so far?
I think it's tied btw these two,
either Shadow of Mordor or The Evil Within.
I know the second one isn't even out yet, but from what I have seen & read so far plus there isn't that much hype at all for this game although many ppl are looking forward to it - this game will bring the true survival horror we all know from RE1-2 and SH1 back where it's at.
In case remastered games aren't up for a choice ( TLOU remastered ) I guess it will be one of those 2 games mentioned above.
Ye, 2014 wasn't a strong year, still a few good games though.
Shadow of Mordor is pretty much the only game released this year I've enjoyed. We'll see about The Evil Within...I am pretty skeptical on that one. Really looking forward to Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age and GTA V on PC (I guess that is early 2015 now though...).
Neither of those games are Bayonetta 2.
Divinity: Original Sin gets Game of the Year in my book.
Crap, really? no nemesis system on 360?
Rob Racer Yuuup. Kind of a bummer, but I'd speculate it's because the nemesis system is so persistent that it requires "next"-gen horsepower to pull off. -Nick
Play it on PC: Cheapest and by far best Version.
Andarus yes. I was surprised at the price on launch.
well that's £40 I'm not spending :/ I might wait till next gen consoles actually get affordable to pick this one up
Seriously, first the massive delay, now the exclusion of the most unique mechanic in the game? Something smells a bit fishy about all this... every other game that came out for both past and current gen hasn't seen such downgrades (as far as I know), and this hardly seems like the most technologically advanced game to drop on both generations.
And duh, i'd get the PC version if I had a decent PC... not everyone can afford that. Tired of hearing "just get the PC version, it's the best!!" when the game would not even run on my computer. The best benefit of consoles: every game you buy for them is more or less guaranteed to run without ludicrous fps drops.
This looks like a brilliant game and you showcase it well thanks Nick for your time and efforts here :) really entertaining segment. Nick you have come a LONG way from when you first started on this channel with Adam Sessler mentoring you. You have become a full blown professional and have set this channel up as a solid gaming channel looking forward to more of your work.
BTW the story style of showcasing this game was a brilliant way to do it.
Bought the game yesterday and I can't wait to dig into it this weekend. Looks like such a great combination of genres and new ideas.
I played this game for nearly 10 hours straight 2 days ina row and have yet to get tired of any of it yet. The nemisis system is incredible and i flipping love this game. Only release this year that has lived up to its hype in my opinion.
I totally agree with you, this game is something special. The nemesis system is super addictive. I've been playing for 25+ hours and still only 35% through the story because I keep getting distracted by all the fun things to do.
The systems they've used just scream potential. I don't care that they took from other games; so does every game. I can't wait to see how they expand things in a sequel (which they'd be crazy not to make).
the nemesis system is something i've always wanted to see in a game. the ability to deviously unravel the systems of power people put in place is something i love to do in games :)
This was... Good. The commentary and research put into this "review" was highly entertaining. Loved the personal story of the game put into the mix.
Damn nick ur living up to sessler it's pretty impressive
Wow, this was a great review Nick! Just the detailed description of a sequence of events at the start perfectly outlined why the game is specially. Getting it this week.
Honestly, I don't think there even needs to be a story behind why the developers used a combat system so similar to the Batman games. Games are iterative, and there's nothing wrong with building on what works well. Especially if they are able to execute it this well.
I wasn't going to pick the game up, but the reviews were so strong that I did. Like you, I absolutely love it. Great game play. It's just really entertaining.
A nice Sessler-esk analysis... Well done Nick (Rev3Games )
Love that nod to the Sess at the end, done in good taste! I am so happy you did your homework brother and gave a competent analysis of the game without merely resting on "I LIKE IT IT SO GOOD" as is the case with so many people in your genre of entertainment. I started watching Rev3 because after G4's demise I missed Sessler, even Megan and the handful of other individuals who not only had a passion for their craft but did the leg-work behind it to give us, the consumer, the most un-biased straight look at a product that may or may not be worth our time or money. That's how I got here, I've stayed to watch you and Tara. I think the two of you specifically and individually have the ambition and spark to break out in this industry and possibly be a voice for a large group of like-minded people; me included. Not only that but I see growth in you two; for example the last Bioshock walkthrough (even though I still couldn't finish it) was so much better than the first! You took criticism, constructed yourself around it, and got a lot more tolerable and that's fucking awesome! So many people want to fight, argue, and fuck accountability; You taking the higher ground and practicing what your audience is preaching shows talent bro.
Here's one of my stories from the game. I'm heading to this Orc stronghold where a mission takes place to get a war chief out in the open but when I got there I ran into two captains. I kill one when another shows up. I kill the second when another two show up. While I'm fighting these three, two more captains show up. I take one out but another two show up. I took out another captain before having a spear skewer me and I died. There were a fuck load of promotions for them orcs that day.
I've watched at least a dozen walkthroughs and they're all vastly different based on the players' play style and the emergent stories that come from them. Pretty spectacular. So much better than being forced to "play against the developer" meaning, figure out which switch the developer hid and the proper order of events the developer wanted you to go through. It no longer becomes about free will, if becomes running a pre-designed maze. The sheer programming, character designs and voice acting to cover such an expansive experience must be mind boggling. That in itself will make it a hard platform to mimic, because of the sheer time it would take. That would mean, a similar games would be years down the road
That reward wasn't from the body guard. You killed him with an arrow to the head which will give you a bow rune. (You can see he drops a bow tune when you killed him). That dagger rune must've been there from an earlier kill or just one on the map. They're scattered across the lands like that sometimes.
Yeah I'm not entirely sure this sequence of events happened exactly as the video claimed. I've definitely had similar gameplay experiences to this one though so it's not farfetched or anything, the game is very good at making random series of events in the world seem significant and well-crafted enough to feel like true missions even though you're just free-roaming.
Yea. I'm just saying though that that rune didn't come from the body guard. Which ever weapon you kill them with, is the type of rune they will drop. (That's all I've seen in my experience)
I've killed a few orcs where they would drop a rune for the weapon I didn't kill them with. Don't know if that's a bug.
But you can clearly see the Orc he shot drop the bow rune.
I'm not denying that. Just saying you don't need to kill a captain with a bow for a bow rune.
Awesome job, Nick. You guys are dope. Always loved this channel and still do. Nice, straightforward, yet with personality. Keep working hard, and keep up the good work. Thanks guys for awesome UA-cam content. As long as you guys are offering it, you can bet I will be watching it.
I never heard of this game before this video. Thanks for the coverage I probably wouldn't have considered getting it.
I haven't watched a game review in a while. I actually was interested in all that you spoke of. Nice job bro.
I love this game. Just last night I stood up until five in the morning just to beat the games main missions. And have begun my quest to finish all survival and hunting challenges, collect all collectible a, and finish the legends quests. Then "Brand" all of Saurons captains. This is an incredible game and I may end up buying the season pass.
Probably my favorite rev3 games video since Adam Sessler left. Keep it up Nick, you're awesome.
I totally agree with you. This game is awesome and hopefully this video will help sway the friends of mine that are still on the fence.
There are countless tales one could share from their experiences in this game. The nemesis system proves to be the biggest innovation I've seen this new generation. I've put in 28 hours my first playthrough and plan to put in more during the end game hunting down the rest of the Uruks and bending them to my will.
Thank you for the constant quality videos. I have been watching you guys for a long time and I never miss a video. I always appreciate your thoughts and how you are not afraid to try new things. I also love how you guys don't hesitate to show what kind of games you truly love and have a passion for. Thanks for keepin it real. You have my support.
Yes, this game does almost nothing wrong. The best thing they accomplished is making death important. They also make sure little by little you get more powerful and get interesting new ways to interact with the Nemesis system. Other than a camera that can be a little odd at times this game is a must buy.
Love how deep and complex the Nemesis system of SoM is.
Never quite seen anything like it.
You have just got me intrested in this game now.... gonna go pick it up tomorrow!
masterofthemetal I always seeing comments like this - turning people on to new games they might love is my favorite thing about this job.
Rev3Games
Yes, yes, keep it up, sir! Also Nick, on a side, what do you think about a show on gameplay design? Nothing huge or anything, just a show that looks at what makes games fun, what type of gameplay systems are good or overused, and some finer points like Emergent Gameplay, Rouge-like design, Melee Combat, Locomotion, and so forth.
Just tossing that out there. Love ya, man.
Nick, you turned into a star!! You know i think that nemesis system could probably be used in some way shape or for in a lot of open world games to liven up the world and make it feel more dynamic.
A thing that made the game next level for me is I was fighting a captain, shot him in the eye with an arrow, then he fled. Afterward he sought out to find and kill me...which happened to be in the middle of fighting another captain. When he came back he had this Mohawk eye-patch thing on the eye I shot and taunted me with something along the lines of "you took my eye, so I'll take your life!" The fact that the game and taunts change according to what happens in your game is fantastic. It gives you a specific story to your playthrough that no one else will have.
I wonder how the ps3 and 360 versions will hold up though without the nemisis system though. Honestly that's the games biggest selling point in my opinion.
MUCH better. This is the sort of content I'm happy to stay subscribed for. Thanks Nick, I now want to know more about a game I had previously paid no attention to whatsoever.
I wanna talk about a major flaw in the game:
*SPOILERS*
*SPOILERS*
*SPOILERS*
*SPOILERS*
The boss battles are garbage and Nick, you know it. The first one is just a straight up high-power captain type fight with some orcs, not that hard. The second is the best beings stealth type battle, but the issue with that is that stealth is easy, so it loses it interesting uniqueness. The third is facing 5 warchiefs with your 5 warchiefs that you have branded and it takes, at most, 5 minutes. The last boss is LITERALLY 3 QTEs that are piss-easy. This game is still amazing though and real under-rated from what I've seen.
I didn't mind that the bosses were easy and the last one was a QTE.
I don't want to say that it works because it's "cinematic", but...I don't know what else to say.
It works, IMHO.
Would a prolonged, difficult fight have made it better?
After over 30 hours (in-game timer says it took me 34 hours to finish the game: completed all the challenges and max'd out everything, too. Missed some Steam achievements, tho'...), and some pretty difficult fights, as well as numerous deaths, and reaching a relatively ridiculous amount of power (among the Fellowship of the Ring, probably only Gandalf could be a fair bet to beat late-game Talion)...do you just cap all that off w/ a difficult fight?
For example, how do you top the previous efforts to convert those 5 warchiefs? A prolonged, difficult fight after that might be expected...but I think it's fine that they subverted such expectations by trying to evoke emotion more than trying to drag the game out w/ traditional boss fights.
(I liked the stealth boss fight, actually...as it lead nicely, IMHO, to call back to the "stealth kiss" tutorial at the start of the game)
My only "complaint" about the ending is the rather cryptic implications of the last line in the game (but since I found it interesting, I'd say it's more a minor wtf moment than an actual complaint)
I do agree that the game was amazing, tho', and I'm glad I got it. :)
I agree with the end boss' but I enjoyed the nemesis system a great deal. It puts a new spin on boss', not the straightforward fair we usually see.
I love you Nick! This story was amazing. Please keep doing these videos of your thoughts. They feel really personal, and are my favourite videos on this channel. Keep up the good work Rev3Games!
this video got me so pumped as soon as it was over i played shadow of mordor for 2 hours. i know that isn't very long but for me, it's longer than usual when i'm by myself. thanks nick! great writing.
That little story sums up very well what makes this game so fun to play. Just running around trying to figure out and take down the hierarchy is a complete time-sink. Nice "mini-review".
This is the first time I've heard that the nemesis system isn't on last-gen consoles! I almost preordered it!
The thing I think about Shadow of Mordor is, the "main story" isn't THE main story. The thing with Golem and your family dieing is a big whatever, been done countless time (well except Golem).
The story of this game are these stories, like nick just shared. I can safely bet that every person who has played this game for any length of time has at least one of these stories! I had one guy go from power level 4 to 14 just from killing me and just 5 mins ago I killed him. (shut up, the guy could 2 hit me with his poison weapon and I have nearly all the health upgrades)
I do find the combat a little boring, mash square till triangle shows up then hit that like it's DDR! But the RPG skills help with that. (I picked up dust: an elysian tale and that game was just mash square! I got to the first boss with very little more than just hammering square!)
yeah the poisoned weapons make for the most terrifying enemies for me! but a couple days ago while doing the trials of war I got an epic rune that makes me COMPLETELY immune to poison. it blew my mind.
Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend on how I wouldn't be bothering with Shadow of Mordor because I dislike games where enemies level with you. After watching this video, the game has jumped to the top of my wish list. There are so many games I want this fall, I've been trying to push games back (Hyrule Warriors, for example) so I have time to get through them all. Nick is making this very difficult.
Wow, you really nails this video man. Good pace and good edit, that's what I've been waiting for since Adam went away!
And btw, nice t-shirt, where can I get one like that?
I beginning to trust Nick more than other big names in the industry. As long as Nick, Tara and Max are at Rev3 ill be subbed to it.
You guys are my favorite gaming channel. I like you guys because you feel like real people I would talk to about games. Not just some scripted dialog. Keep it up!
i haven't played the game yet will be soon but the way you talk about the nemesis system sounds like it would be really good for games like dragon age and skyrim
Nick, you just sold me this game. I hated the combat in Sleeping Dogs due to how lacking it was in comparison to the Arkham games, however, since Shadow of Mordor's combat is just as good, I'll buy the game for that reason alone, the nemesis system is a bonus!
The Arkham games possibly have the best combat system of all time for these sorts of games, so if your going to take inspiration from something, let it be something good, right?
i LOVED the hell out of sleeping dogs but this game is definitely far better. hope you enjoy it my friend.
Leo Vader Me too, I really did love Sleeping Dogs, but the hand to hand combat was extremely lacklustre when compared to the Arkham games.
YES!!! Reviews are back!! This is just 1 of 2 sites that I really trust the reviews on and that almost all the time I agree with. I wasn't going to get Shadow Of Mordor despite being a Lord Of The Rings fan but after hearing you speak of the game soo highly I'll definitely be picking it up, but probably around December after a ton of other games come out. Soo many games, soo little time haha, can't wait for the reviews! Thanks Nick!
My tip for anyone just starting out is to go through the main story until you get the brand ability. This has made my time with the game so much more fun.
Thanks bud for some great content. I truly miss content like this and it's good to see thoughts on games again. Keep it up.
The nemesis system is missing from the PS3 and Xbox versions of the game? Wow, that's a huge part of the game cut out.
If ever there be another great action RPG, I think it would build upon Monolith's Nemesis system and combat, but bring in a branching narrative, character building, and maybe even consequential conversational systems (a la Bioware)
I just see a Shadow of Mordor-meets-Skyrim type concept working out beautifully. Obviously not soon. That's a massive undertaking.
OR MAYBE DISNEY INTERACTIVE CAN (finally) MAKE A STRONG STAR WARS TITLE USING SIMILAR IDEAS
This is easily one of my favorite games this year as well. I sank about 30 hours into the game before I even finished the main campaign, and that was still only about 50% completion of the content. The nemesis system and flawless combat have managed to distract me (in the best way possible) from properly completing the game because I just keep hunting Uruk and captains. And the new photo mode that just got updated into the game seriously needs to become a standard feature in ALL games.
NICK YOU ARE AWESOME! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE REV3GAMES!
Very happy to hear your good experiences with the game, I really like to duals that the captains have. The last one i went to the weak guy got scared and ran before he could get finished off so i ran after him and killed him, then i sneaked back into the stronghold and killed the other guy!
After watching some gameplay from ThRadBrad, I have been extremely impressed by the Shadow of Middle. I can't wait till I get it.
Sorry, I meant Shadow of Mordor
I joined for Sessler but I stayed because of you! Keep keeping the channel alive!
This is awesome new content. I almost like this better than a formal review. I loved hearing your personal opinion and you seemed really excited to share it. I'm also enjoying Shadow of Mordor!
Great video Nick! Thank you for sharing your personal experience with this game. Shadow of Mordor certainly looks like a winner.
I remember an Urek getting a lucky kill on me, getting promoted and he ended up killing me 5 times. He just had my number. It took me forever but I finally killed him... but then I started to miss him.
one i remember best is one who's face i scared and when he found me again he swore revenge for what i did to him we went back and fort defeating each other quite a few times before i took his head at the end his face was all wraped in bandages and he was complaining about being made fun of by the other uruks for what i did to his face, kind of missed him when he was gone he was a good rival with a high power level at the end
Yay! Actual content! See you guys can make great stuff. You dont need to do lets plays! Just talk about the stuff you like and it will be way better than watching you do live com while playing a game.
Also, whats stopping you from reviewing or covering the myriad of smaller titles that were released over the summer? There was PLENTY of content that could have been made that wasnt just big releases. You did it with shovel knight, why not for other games?
I despise the ignorance of people saying it's an Assassin's Creed Clone. After getting into the Arkham series late, they are easily some of my favorite games ever due to the freeflow combat. So naturally this game feels amazing. Only problem I have is that Destiny is like a parasite and I can't stop playing. Fuck you Bungie.
Wow I expected you guys to just dismiss this game just because it has combat that is very similar to the Arkham games and it has visual similarities with Assassins. The main reasons I didn't expect this kind of preview or impressions is because most critics lower the score or their preferences for games if it has gameplay similar to another game that is more popular or is the first to have a common gameplay mechanic.
This was one of your best videos man. Loved the energy
This has been my favorite game this year. I love the combat, story, and nemesis system. I'm looking forward to more from this developer.
Almost midnight on the east coast and Nick passionate, babbling AND coherent about a game that people might actually play = a like from me. Keep it up and give us more Tara!
More Jackie too if she's not playing COD
+1 for the ladies.
I think it'd be cool to have more videos like this: thoughtful video essays/not really reviews but kinda type stuff. Good work!
I just got Shadow of Mordor. I've only played a few hours of it and found it to be quite a spectacular game. I recognize all of Nick's points and fully agree. In a year full of game mishaps, I am glad someone finally got it right.
Crazy detail, totally sold the game for me. BUT, with tons of other games coming out before the end of the year (including Smash for Wii), I wouldn't hold my breadth for this being GOTY.
Hey Nick, honestly, this game wasn't even on my radar until I saw this video. I definitely want to play it now after your great summary. I'm also a huge fan of the Batman combat systems so that's another plus for me.
Love this game. Picked it up last week and figured I'd give it a shot on Friday after work.
Sunday night, 27 hours of play-time later, and I'm finished the main quest with a ~75% completion rate. And you know what? I may actually fire this up again and finish off the rest of the skill challenges, because the game is that good.
Coming from someone who doesn't really care for Assassin's Creed, and could never really get in to the Arkham games, Shadow of Mordor has been the best of gaming surprises in a long time.
My best memory of this game was hunting down a war chief named Azdush. Its hard to take a war chief seriously when everyone is chanting "ASS-DOUCHE, ASS-DOUCHE"
so addicted to this game its fantastic. was a last minute preorder and am so happy i got it. if you dont have it go get it
I've had some pretty great moments with Shadow of Mordor. Right now I've got this sort of rivalry with a guy named Muggrish the Heartless. Got him promoted to Warchief after thinking I've killed him several times over, only for him to reappear later. One day I'll make sure he's dead for sure. >:D
That was a great video man, good work!!
That game is so cool. I find myself getting pissed and hating those Uruks that do kill me. It makes it personable. Which I have never experienced EVER in a game. I love it.
Love to see that you reply to so many comments nick!
It pretty much is biggest surprise this year and the nemesis system is really the only new innovation so far in in the Next Gen games.
Come the fuck on, that rune he stopped to pick up obviously wasn't the same rune that Ogthrak dropped. I mean, if you didn't get good footage, just put in some random shots or something, but this just made the whole thing seem to be made-up.
Yeah plus how did that random archer kill him with one shot. You have to be down like 2 times then after that you cant defend any by attacks.
Definitely fabricated, but not an unlikely series of events. I think most people who've played this game can relate to the story told here (though there are a few errors in the explanation of some of the game's mechanics here as well).
the arrow kill is clearly edited since there was no last stance but what made you think that rune wasnt from Ohthrak?
dibils89 When he died it show up as a bow-rune, but the one he was about to pick up when he died was a sword/dagger-rune. :p
This is better than an actual review actually. We need not scores and stuff. We need in depth opinions instead.