Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Warner Bros. has a stellar line-up of games at this year’s big show, and one of the most impressive in the bunch is its new chapter in the saga of Middle-earth. Shadow of Mordor has seemed an interesting project since we first revealed the game on our cover several months ago, but this E3 was the first time I've had the opportunity to sit down and play an extended section of the game. An earlier preview offers an extensive look at the content of that hands-on session, so today we’re taking a different tack – stacking up a wealth of individual moments I encountered during my lengthy play session to see how they add up to a great time. Much of Shadow of Mordor’s appeal comes from its emergent approach to mission design, combat, and exploration, and the following help illustrate how many small situations and features come together to make an impressive gameplay experience. 

Galloped on a Carragor: Mordor’s answer to mounts is the lion-like carragor – a massive cat beast that can be ridden across the countryside and into battle. While I charged headlong into a surprised group of orcs, the carragor slashed and bit at foes while I hacked away any enemies that got too close using Talion’s sword.

Ran Across Mordor: In between major encounters, I was happy to get to trek across the countryside of Nurnen, the newest announced  area of Mordor. Monolith has gone to great pains to craft an interesting environment to run through, with lots of slopes, cliffs, and hiding places. It’s also exciting to get to visit this most sinister of Tolkien locales.

Met Dozens Of Named Foes: Sauron’s army is made up of individuals, and I saw how distinct the Uruks can be as I confronted one after the next. Their names often offer hints about their nature, and I appreciate how well the game reflects personalities in the look of an individual, or the things they say. Killing a named enemy feels like more of a triumph than if they were anonymous soldiers.

Aided In a Beast Hunt: One of the Uruks I dominated needed to prove himself in order to advance through the ranks, and it went on a beast hunt to show its skill. I stood on a nearby cliifside and sniped at the pack of carragors my ally was hunting, assuring he survived to move up in the hierarchy.

Transformed Into A Wraith: Talion’s dual nature has been a big part of his appeal is since the game was announced.  So it was satisfying to finally get to see the transformative qualities of the character. At numerous points throughout my demo, I saw Talion’s face and body shift into a ghostlike form. The wraith looks very elflike, leading to some interesting assumptions about who or what the wraith is within Middle-earth lore. 

Shadow Strikes: One of the coolest moves in the game is the shadow strike, which allows Talion to teleport to a high or distant location for an instant attack, which often instantly kills the target. An upgraded form of the attack allowed me to chain these shadow strikes together to kill two or three targets in one flurry of motion. 

Slow Motion Archery: Draw back your bow, and the wraith’s influence makes time slow around you. This means Talion can pull off some impressive ranged attacks even while in the midst of a furious melee. 

Drained Enemy Souls: Talion’s arrows, called elf shot, are not normal physical shafts. Instead, to gain new ammo, I approach a foe and drain out his essence. The process usually kills the wriggling creature, but provides additional ammo for Talion’s ranged assault.

[Next page: Troll riding!]

Rode a Troll: Called graugs in the game, these troll creatures can be dominated and controlled to join your side of the conflict. While riding on a graug’s back, I shot Talion’s bow at approaching foes, but few survive the onslaught of the creatures wild arm swings. He also bites off heads. 

Created Missions: Shadow of Mordor allows players to shape and choose the type of missions they’ll use to move the story forward. By dominating foes, taking out warchief bodyguards, or choosing to head directly into a boss’ home territory, the game automatically spawns new mission start points to match your preferred style.

Arrow-Pinned A Fleeing Enemy: Sometimes the Uruks of Mordor are too terrified of Talion to hold their ground. As a target enemy fled, I sprinted after it, drew an arrow, and blasted it through its leg and into the ground. The unfortunate monster was left unable to escape until I made a more leisurely approach to finish it off.

Blew Up A Campfire: Talion’s supernatural arrows react impressively with fire. As a group of orcs gathered around their camp, I watched from a ruined wall high overhead. From my vantage, I shot an arrow into the campfire and watched it explode, then dropped down into the burning throng of those that survived to finish the job. 

Dominated Uruks: Once a foe is weakened, Talion can dominate and control them, transforming the former enemy into an unwitting ally. This process is possible even in the midst of battle, and I regularly used Sauron’s soldiers against him.

Died And Came Back: I got in over my head in a couple of fights, and ended up dead. The Uruk who killed me leaned down and ridiculed me, and then everything faded to darkness. After death, a small amount of time passed and I awoke on a nearby tower. In Mordor, death and rebirth is part of the story, and the world goes on without you for a while until you return.

Leapt off Cliffs: Talion’s wraith abilities give him impressive durability, assuring long drops are not a problem. From particularly high points, Talion can leap and flip off a ledge to land into the action. Unlike the Assassin’s Creed characters that may have inspired the move, Talion doesn’t need a haystack to land in.

Initiation and Betrayal: After dominating one of the warchief's bodyguards, I sent the creature into position to aid in my assault on its my target. At my signal, the dominated minion struck out at its former commander, and I joined in the fray.

Shadow Mount: In a fun combination of the shadow strike teleporting attack and the ability to dominate and ride beasts, I used the shadow mount move to teleport from a raised hillock onto a passing troll, and then take over his mind and ride off into battle.

[Next page: Going on rampages]

Leveled Up My Enemies:  By interacting with Sauron’s army, and particularly by losing to them, individual troops within the hierarchy improve. Defeat a warchief, and one of his bodyguards will take his place in the upper tier. Die, and enemies who helped kill you gain power. In a normal RPG, your hero is the only thing that levels up, but Mordor extends the same formula to your enemies.

Went On A Rampage: Some missions are structured to draw a warchief out of hiding. I completed one very straightforward one called a rampage, where I had just a couple of minutes to kill 20 orcs. When I succeeded, the warchief arrived to join the melee.

Gained New Abilities: Talion has four distinct skill trees to develop over the course of the game, and new ability points unlock all the time to help flesh out those trees. Ranger and wraith ability trees offer new active skills to deploy in combat, while the resources and weapon trees provide mostly passive bonuses to Talion’s abilities. Even with the couple of points I acquired during my hands-on time, it was clear that customization of Talion is a big focus.

Leapt Over Foes: It may seem like a little thing, but one of the greatest tools for mobility in battle sees Talion leaping over enemy foes into better position on the opposite side. Along with basic dodges, Talion is a mobile and speedy combatant.

Shoulder-Charged Bad Guys:  Sometimes the best way to start a battle isn’t with stealth, but in force. One chuckle-worthy moment had me charging an orc who foolishly stood guard at the edge of a cliff, and a button tap lowered my shoulder and knocked him, screaming, off the cliff. 

Clambered Up Walls: Talion has extensive climbing and traversal skills, so I spent a lot of time clambering up ruined walls and balancing along cables while stalking foes. Shadow of Mordor does an admirable job of letting you approach a conflict from any angle on the action.

Saved Humans: Throughout the Nurnen area shown in the demo, the Uruks have cruelly enslaved the humans who once worked the land. By attacking groups of enemies, the humans throw off their shackles and aid you. In the full game, after saving them, some humans will provide new missions.

Applied Relics: In addition to leveling up abilities, Talion can also improve by applying relics to his weapons. Powerful enemies drop these relics when they die, and the relic they drop is often related to their skills in life. I applied the new relics I picked up to my sword, and improved its killing potential.

Gathered Enemy Intel: For particularly tough enemies, a frontal assault is possible, but often ill-advised. Instead, attack foes that are connected to your targets, and you can demand new information about the weaknesses and strengths of the ones you really want to kill. A powerful warchief may be nearly immune to combat attacks, but find a way to light them on fire, and they may run screaming.

Stealth Killed A Warchief By Accident: Mordor is a living world, and it’s often possible to encounter enemies that aren’t your current targets. At one point in my demo, I had drawn out a warchief from hiding, and he’d killed me. Afterwards, I departed for another activity. Later, I happened to be back in the same area, hiding in the shadows around  a boulder as a Uruk passed by in the night. I slipped from my hiding spot and brutally assassinated the creature from behind. As it turns out, it was the warchief I had confronted before, and I finally got my revenge.