Shadows of Mordor

[Danimal]

I didn't see a thread. I only got to play about 2 hours because of our new puppy and I'm playing on the PC. First this game reminds me of the last Tomb Raider on so many levels. From the way things are unlocked and areas are explored. Once dumped into the game you will likely go into information overload. Finding artifacts, switching to Wraith form, gathering intel etc it can all be a bit confusing.

However stick to the story missions at first and let the rest come was my strategy. You'll gather information on the Orc captains and start to hunt them down or in some cases they will hunt you down. It doesn't take long to see that the world is evolving without you. In fact I was surprised at just how much this game adapts, I came on an encounter between some orcs fighting an Ogre and just hid and watched, it was fantastic.

After killing my first captain, I drew the attention of another one who I knew nothing about. He tracked me down to send his pack after me, I dispatched them but he was gone. I'm sure to keep an eye out for him now. The combat is fluid and enjoyable and that is a good thin because there is a lot of it, I mean A LOT. I must of killed 150 orcs to get to my first captain.

Graphically I'm not overly impressed yet on the PC. I have no idea if my settings are bumped up due to time. I'm also near the black gate, not the best looking countryside around. I didn't experience any frame rate drops people mentioned in the PC version but my machine is beyond most mortal men

I contemplated taking the day off just to play this some more, but I knew I would end up dealing with the new puppy all day and not get anything done. So far I'm impressed by the living world but could of done without the Tomb Raider unlock system, I mean i need to unlock a skill to shoot barrels that explode? Really?

[TCrouch]

Yeah, but you can use that skill to explode standard campfires, too

I played it for a few hours last night and did the opposite---barely did any story missions, just randomly roamed the country side gathering intel and killing (or being killed by) captains. I died a lot more than I expected to last night.

In one sequence, a guy I 'killed' came back, all scarred to hell. I got him down again and he tried to run off. But I have the skill to pin a guy in place with a bow shot to the leg, so I locked him up and beheaded him. A fist-pumping "YEAH!!" moment, as he had killed me once already.

[Danimal]

It's definitely one of those game were you start playing and look up and 3 hours have gone by. I liked it a lot, the way the guys remember you and all that is really impressive. i thought it would be a gimmick but nope, great system to put into a more traditional rpg in the future.

[TCrouch]

Yeah--I ended up in one spot where I had 3 captains at once, and probably 25 Uruks. Throwing axes, firing bows/crossbows, swinging swords--it was hilarious.

I kept running around like a freak trying to survive, and eventually some chump grunt killed me. It took probably 30 seconds for all the promotions to stop showing up in Sauron's army. Everybody who survived seemed to get a bump of some kind.

I met one guy that seems impossible to kill, though. He's a big shielded guy with a bunch of shielded followers. Normally you use X to jump over them and then attack from the rear. Well, this guy blocks those jump-overs. He's invincible to ranged damage, and I can't get behind him to hit him. He whooped my ass up and down the hill before finishing me off.

[Sudz]

Got this one coming tomorrow.

LOVE the Tomb Raider comparison as i played through that game 2x and loved it.

[Danimal]

I met one guy that seems impossible to kill, though. He's a big shielded guy with a bunch of shielded followers. Normally you use X to jump over them and then attack from the rear. Well, this guy blocks those jump-overs. He's invincible to ranged damage, and I can't get behind him to hit him. He whooped my ass up and down the hill before finishing me off.

I think that is what is going to be so unique about this game, we will all have our own individual stories to tell. Honestly I'm regretting not taking the day off to play it. I need a work from home job

[TCrouch]

Absolutely. I read in so many previews that the gameplay was more about the personal stories created, and thought just MAYBE it was a gimmick, or an excuse to have a total lack of narrative.

But after a few hours, I was actually hunting this guy who killed me twice. I tracked him down, methodically eliminated the surrounding orcs, and found out his fear was of Caragors. So I found a Caragor, mounted it, and he went screaming and running away. One bite from the Caragor finished him, and this is after the bastard handled me with ease in our first two encounters.

Loving the game.

[greggsand]

This game is FUN. Same story: I spent an hour tracking a dude that killed me. I finally got him & it was insanely rewarding. It's like JRR Tolkien's Kill Bill!

[TCrouch]

I know I probably have to play the story a little more to get there, but I know eventually you can dominate a grunt and send a message to the captain that you're coming for him. If you kill the captain, you get an Epic Rune instead.

I am struggling enough with normal difficulty. Don't think I'm near ready for harder yet.

[Danimal]

I am struggling enough with normal difficulty. Don't think I'm near ready for harder yet.

It is very easy to get swarmed and not know where the axes and arrows are coming from. Not sure how it is on the console but the camera can be a little wonky at times, I wish I could zoom out on my guy.

[greggsand]

I know I probably have to play the story a little more to get there, but I know eventually you can dominate a grunt and send a message to the captain that you're coming for him. If you kill the captain, you get an Epic Rune instead.

I am struggling enough with normal difficulty. Don't think I'm near ready for harder yet.

Like a couple reviews I read stated, you have to upgrade your guy a bit (small missions & just running around taking guys out) before you can take on big packs of dudes. Once that happens, you can handle bigger fights pretty easily - unless a captian or two shows up to ruin everything.

[Rodster]

Graphically I'm not overly impressed yet on the PC. I have no idea if my settings are bumped up due to time. I'm also near the black gate, not the best looking countryside around. I didn't experience any frame rate drops people mentioned in the PC version but my machine is beyond most mortal

Did you install the Ultra HD textures? It's a 6GB file.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... b-textures

[TCrouch]

Caragors piss me off. I've died more to them than to the Uruks so far. I don't know how far I have to play to unlock the "counter and mount" ability, as it's still locked, but if I have one (or 2 or 3) meet me on a battlefield, I pretty much have to turn tail and run like a little girl.

[Danimal]

I didn't know there was a high res pack, I'll take a look at it. Last night I died so many times, I can't unlock any of my tier 2 abilities because I need more power from power struggles but can't find any on the map. There was one point where I had 4 captains pounding on me with another 20 Uruks. When I died so many people went up. I have one captain who manages to somehow go up every time I die, he is like PL 15 now.

Caragors suck except when you ride them. I used them last night to clean out an area. There were 3 of them and up the bluff were a patrol of 15 orcs. I used the bows distract ability to draw both parties to one another. The Caragors went wild on the orcs, nothing funnier than hearing the orcs s*** the bed when they see 3 of them.

I think I played 4 hours last night and couldn't tell you what I accomplished

[TCrouch]

http://www.ign.com/videos/2014/10/02/mi ... sis-system

That video actually had some helpful stuff in it. The meat sacks and fires to explode to cause chaos in a fortress, the shank-repeatedly-to-build-your-hit-counter-at-the-start-of-a-fight tips in particular were interesting to me.

I'd been trying to sneak around everywhere. I thought the fire explosions would alert them to my presence, but instead it just seems to cause confusion and chaos, which is good. The hit counter thing is a cool idea--didn't think about shanking a guy to death to open a fight, and then using that counter to insta-kill the first guy who comes close.

[greggsand]

This is super helpful (non-spoiler-y):

http://kotaku.com/tips-for-playing-midd ... 1640847458

I like to control a Caragor & then jump off it. They'll still attack the orcs, but I don't have to worry about them attacking me.

[Danimal]

I like to control a Caragor & then jump off it. They'll still attack the orcs, but I don't have to worry about them attacking me.

I used this tactic repeatedly last night when I figure it out.

[Sudz]

Just snagged it for the PS4.

Thanks for that Kotaku link. Seems very helpful.

[RobVarak]

I love games like this, where any inclination toward analysis just dissolves into...holy crap this is fun!!

[MizzouRah]

I dove briefly into it and love it so far. I'm off all next week.. so I really plan to delve into it.

[Sudz]

Had a moment where I was headed out toward a guy who had killed me and I was trying to get my revenge. I got to the top of a hill and he was down in the valley below. Just as I was pulling out my bow, 3 of those dog things came out and kicked his ass. Fast forward 20 minutes and he comes out from behind me and says, "oh you thought I was dead. I have a score to settle with you" and then we fight. I f***in kicked his ass.

Now I'm hunting some level 2 that killed me and is now a level 4. f*** that guy.

[Teal]

The 360 version of this doesn't come out until November. Dammit.

[Sudz]

Question: Why when I nail some guy in the head with an arrow he doesn't drop?

[TCrouch]

Because you didn't fully charge the shot. I haven't had any enemy other than Captains NOT fall to a charged headshot, but if I release before it's fully charged (even if it's alllllllmost charged in a hurry), then they will survive the first arrow.

When you hold down the RT/R2/LMB button to draw the bow back, the circle shrinks. It's not until it does that "snap" at the smallest circle diameter that it's charged, and it's a 1-hit kill. At any point before that little snap/blip/whatever, it's just a damaging shot, not a fatal one.

[RobVarak]

Nice moment. Listen carefully to what the soon to be expired Orc says...