Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor Catch-All

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Monolith is working on a new game based on Tolkien's universe entitled Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It'll be showing up on the cover of the next issue of Game Informer as well as additional details.

The platforms it will be available on are PC, the Playstations (3 & 4), and the Xboxes (360 and One). No Wii-U release mentioned.

While many previous games set in Middle-earth have revolved around the major events or characters depicted in Tolkien's books, Shadow of Mordor offers a new chapter that fits comfortably between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Players control a lone ranger by the name of Talion as he journeys deep into the heart of Mordor in the days before it transforms into a blasted hellscape. Along the way, developer Monolith is exploring a fascinating next-gen approach to enemies, encounters, and storytelling, one in which every player shapes their own story through the choices they make. The Nemesis System assures that every enemy you fight is a named foe, and if they survive their battle with you, they continue to grow, improve, and act in the world, even as you attempt to do the same with Talion. Our cover story recounts our extensive look at the game in action, from combat and leveling to story and setting.

While I typically hate deviating from the LotR books since so few have Tolkien's magic touch (see: my response to every deviation Peter Jackson makes from the books and my flip-flopping love/hate emotions whenever I see the trailer for Desolation of Smaug), the game sounds like it could be really cool if played and viewed as another fantasy RPG.

I'll be keeping my eye on it.

This doesn't make sense; Mordor had been a desolate wasteland since long before The Hobbit, IIRC.

The cover art certainly keeps it looking desolate. However, if it's also taking place between The Hobbit and LotR, then Sauron is already regenerating and his plans are underway.

I dunno. I feel like if you really want to do a Middle-Earth game that isn't Lord of the Rings, just go for The Silmarillion. It's written like the Bible so you get some degree of creative licensing, even if it is absolutely terrible creativity.

I also just got the announcement of this and will be watching. I really want to see some in-game footage!

I'm still sad that they sh*tcanned the Elder Scrolls-style LotR game that was in production several years ago. That could have been a better fit for the franchise than any other game yet, even LotRO

USGamer has a preview of the game.

Everything about the narrative sounds like they already had a plot/concept in mind and the publisher decided it would sell better as a Lord of the Rings game. At least, that's how I'm explaining it all away. If I approach it as a new IP I'll probably complain less.

The general idea is the game tries its best to be as procedural as possible, having enemies and missions respond to your actions in such a way that the experience won't always be the same. I imagine the execution will not be as great as anyone imagines it, as they rarely are when discussing video games. It also sounds like they're taking some of the most successful non-shooter AAA games and mixing them into their design here.

Which worked for me in terms of Darksiders, so I'm all for it.

Farscry wrote:

This doesn't make sense; Mordor had been a desolate wasteland since long before The Hobbit, IIRC.

Depends on how desolate a wasteland you mean. While Sauron was in Dol Guldur, Mordor was simply unoccupied. Not long after he is evicted, he returns and begins rebuilding his armies.

(The transition between Sauron getting kicked out of Dol Guldur by a comparatively small coalition of the Free Peoples and his rapid rise to power in Mordor is something glossed over in the books. It's hard not to draw similarities between that and Germany in between WW1 and WW2 in spite of how much Tolkien disliked the comparison.)

Mordor before Sauron's return has Minas Ithil and a number of stations of the rangers. I thought of it as an arid steep or highland desert. It certainly seems like a wasteland in comparison to Lorien or even Mirkwood, but eh.

It's only after Sauron's return that Mt Doom reawakens, and you get the plagues of ash and so forth.

Like others have said, not sure it is a middle earth game but it looks really slick. That said, this sort of procedural find your own path through the level stuff was done/hyped in Brink and that game seemed universally panned.

I wish they created their own world for this game instead of trying to shoehorn in Middle-earth. How they are using the licenses leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I'm less likely to buy the game now.

fangblackbone wrote:

Like others have said, not sure it is a middle earth game but it looks really slick. That said, this sort of procedural find your own path through the level stuff was done/hyped in Brink and that game seemed universally panned.

Except the only relation between the two games (one a multiplayer competitive FPS, the other an action RPG) would be the traversal system, and that was one of the bits of Brink most people liked. The level design was just awful at using it well.

Also, I loved Brink. Poured 60 hours or so into it, I was very sad to see it tank so badly and take the amazing setting with it.

A lot more of that in the video looks scripted than the preview I linked led to believe. Which isn't a surprise, truth told, but definitely serves as a warning to temper expectations.

It certainly looks interesting, though. I'll definitely keep my eye on it.

Huh. Looks interesting. I wish it weren't so graphically violent, but I suppose that's the audience they're going for.

It might be because I just finished Arkham Origins, but combat in this looks really, really similar, as does the wraith view as a sort of analog of detective mode. Not that this is a bad thing; it's a good system, so you might as well draw from it.

My immediate reaction: it looks like a very polished LOTR mod for Assassin's Creed. Sign me up.

mr_n00b wrote:

My immediate reaction: it looks like a very polished LOTR mod for Assassin's Creed. Sign me up.

This is exactly what I was thinking!
Me to please, I'll take seconds.

Wouldn't it make more sense that they'd have code/assets from the Arkham games since they're published by the same company?

"It's definitely AC2 code. I know because it looks like it visually. Also, I'm pretty sure Sonic the Hedgehog was using code from Super Mario Bros. 3. Both are totally sidescrollers that implement physics and momentum and junk."

I don't mean to be snarky, but I mean, damn. As rough as it is to believe, especially with so many cheap imitations, it certainly is possible to have someone write code that ends up performing like yours.

Granted, hey, Monolith COULD be using AC2 tech, but saying "That looks like AC" isn't proof. A dolphin looks like a fish, after all.

He later goes onto say he wasn't implying "code theft" had happened. I thought it looks more like Batman than anything else.

Yeah, I'm seeing much more Batman than AC in large part because of the counter mechanics.

Also, I can see why Tolkein fans wouldn't be thrilled by the things happening in this game.

One does not simply walk into Mordor.

Parkour is acceptable.

Can I work a Mordor's Edge joke in here somehow?

LobsterMobster wrote:

One does not simply walk into Mordor.

Parkour is acceptable.

Can I work a Mordor's Edge joke in here somehow?

I think Peter Jackson beat you to it with Surf's Up Legolas.

I don't think a combination of Assassin's Creed and Batman is a bad thing, which is the vibe I'm getting. I'm just really curious about this whole 'there's a wraith in you' stuff to explain some of the game features. I mean it looks cool enough so I'll certainly keep an eye on it. The Third Age is probably my favorite LOTR game though.

b12n11w00t wrote:

I don't think a combination of Assassin's Creed and Batman is a bad thing, which is the vibe I'm getting. I'm just really curious about this whole 'there's a wraith in you' stuff to explain some of the game features. I mean it looks cool enough so I'll certainly keep an eye on it. The Third Age is probably my favorite LOTR game though.

I like me some Assassin's Creed and I like me some Batman, but both of those things are pretty hard to do well. There's a reason we haven't seen more games that try to copy AC's style (Creed-likes?).

The rope he uses to cross between buildings looks EXACTLY like AC's rope he uses to cross between buildings. The rest of it (at least the first minute or so--it was so derivative I turned it off), if anything, was a good lesson in how similar Batman and AC are in their mechanics and animations.

b12n11w00t wrote:

I don't think a combination of Assassin's Creed and Batman is a bad thing, which is the vibe I'm getting. I'm just really curious about this whole 'there's a wraith in you' stuff to explain some of the game features. I mean it looks cool enough so I'll certainly keep an eye on it. The Third Age is probably my favorite LOTR game though.

This is the big part that gives me pause. I get that liberties must be taken to create a new IP in an existing world, but part-wraith? Really? How does that even make sense? The cynic in me imagines it was thought up by a bunch of board room execs., half of whom probably don't realize LotR was a book before it was a movie series, looking to capitalize on the resurgence in popularity of Tolkien from The Hobbit films.

Still, as I love AC and Batman, the game-play really piqued my interest.

Nicholaas wrote:
b12n11w00t wrote:

I don't think a combination of Assassin's Creed and Batman is a bad thing, which is the vibe I'm getting. I'm just really curious about this whole 'there's a wraith in you' stuff to explain some of the game features. I mean it looks cool enough so I'll certainly keep an eye on it. The Third Age is probably my favorite LOTR game though.

This is the big part that gives me pause. I get that liberties must be taken to create a new IP in an existing world, but part-wraith? Really? How does that even make sense? The cynic in me imagines it was thought up by a bunch of board room execs., half of whom probably don't realize LotR was a book before it was a movie series, looking to capitalize on the resurgence in popularity of Tolkien from The Hobbit films.

Still, as I love AC and Batman, the game-play really piqued my interest.

Could be a ring of power thing. The wraiths were men once. Calling it now: The main character ends up a nazgul.

I'm so biased to like anything LotR related that this is almost a shoe-in for me. As long as it's reasonably priced and not terrible, I'll probably get it. If it isn't, Steam sale.

Miashara wrote:

Could be a ring of power thing. The wraiths were men once. Calling it now: The main character ends up a nazgul.

I will see your bet, and raise you a, "and then turns back through force of will."

New trailer up. Pretty psyched about this, canon be damned.

Polygon Article

That is some of the stupidest, schlocky, generic crap I have ever seen. The only reason this is attached to LotR is because of the name. That's it. They had a concept they wanted, but they needed more recognition, so hey, slap it in Middle-Earth!

"Assassin's Creed II is good," I said to myself in 2009, "but it could be better. What if they added a girlfriend in a refrigerator, hackneyed enemy lines, shoehorned it into an inappropriate license, and topped it off with a three-point landing? Dream big."

I do appreciate how the so-called next-gen Nemesis system will also be on the old-gen consoles.

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