Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor in 2021 | Is It As GOOD As We Remember?

[@LazerzZ]

The first 1000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/lazerzz08211

[@KnightLincoln]

It does not bother you more than it should. I hate it with passion when game has prerendered cutscenes that switch to default outfit. As if the devs are slapping you in the face, especially in modern games. The sequel did that too and it had multiple armor sets instead of just few optional outfits. I'm taking in-engine cutscenes any day.

[@theangryimp1345]

Oh please you've already turned AC into a joke of a fan base full of misinformation and an ever changing narrative that has lead us to have Odin the all farther to be a woman in cannon even when it make no sence and unity of all good awful games is now good in you're eyes while origins is bad! Please for gods sake I'm begging you, just leave my middle earth games alone..... PLESE.

[@SevannM]

Sick dude, thanks.

[@tanveermalik7582]

Fun fact- The lead writer and designer for the Nemesis system was John Gonzales. (if he wasn't the lead he was surely heavily involved). He also wrote the story of Horizon Zero Dawn(he's left now) and Fallout New Vegas. He really is an unsung hero in the industry.

[@LazerzZ]

very interesting stuff, what a guy

[@MamaBearKS]

No wonder I cherish the hell out of both Shadow of Mordor and Fallout New Vegas!

[@pepe2veces]

no wonder i love Shadow of Mordor and Horizon, can't wait to see his next project

[@StayFractalesque]

horizon is one of the best science fiction stories ever created, of any medium too, not just games ..

[@DRNGDGMR]

Thank you for the knowledge

[@Deivid-bn6yw]

The nemesis system is actually amazing. I remember from the very start of the game this one warchief killed me which basically started a rivalry between me and him throughout game. It was this constant back and fourth between me killing him and vice versa. Eventually I got good at the game and he never managed to kill me again and he'd always come back with more and more scars and bandages around his face seeking his revenge. The best part about this rivalry was when he showed up at the Final battle in the story and I had to fight him one last time. Everything came full circle

[@gene6794]

That's fucking awesome! You pretty much created your own story there.

[@brightestlight9462]

did he show up at the start of shadow of war?

[@angiehunt6478]

I’m too good to get a true nemesis

[@AntonsVoice]

@@gene6794 that is the point of the nemesis system.

[@XDtko]

@@brightestlight9462 My nemesis from Shadow of Mordor showed up in Shadow of War and he was a defender that had vault breaker, frost proof, arrow proof and vigilant against stealth. Took me a dozen or more times to kill him in the arena mission.

[@CaptPierce]

The sequel is better when it comes to fighting and the nemesis system but in my opinion the design of the Uruk’s in the first game looked better and more monstrous in the first game then they did in the second.

[@AlexCass1515]

Im like 50 percent finished shadow of war but I like the map from shadow of Mordor better but I agree with everything you said aswell.

[@T-REX-KNIGHT]

The orcs in the second game do look like disappointed Grand Dads

[@AntonsVoice]

Sauron was perfecting his army?

[@CaptPierce]

@@AntonsVoice No I think it was just a design change because at some points in the game you meet you most loyal follower and greatest nemesis and sometimes they look like what they did in the first game but other times they look so different you have to look at there name to figure out it’s them.

[@theworstcatholic7247]

@@CaptPierce Pretty sure it's less a design choice and more the fact they made the second game on their own engine. Which is why everything looks different.

[@cactuscam913]

I've recently started playing it again and its great it's like assassin's creed meets lord of the rings

[@moosejuice4231]

If say it’s more like the Arkham games x LoTR

[@dyltube6395]

@@moosejuice4231 id say it’s a cross between the three

[@steveo1131]

IIRC the game stole code from AC2 and was used to create some of the mechanics in the game. One of the devs who worked on AC2 called this out back in the day.

[@kingduria7480]

@@dyltube6395 I thought the same thing when i played the Game in 2014

[@marzbanofmerv2324]

@@steveo1131 these days it feels like AC games are stealing from the Shadow duology, Settlement raids, lieutenants, alliances and whatnot, Ubisoft is basically making it's own inferior version of the nemesis system.

[@Longshanks1690]

“It would have been as good as you remembered if we had obtained the Palantir and my ring, James!” - Celebrimoir the totally-trustworthy, probably.

[@ra.n9482]

Preston - settlements + Palantir = Celebrimoir .

[@fantasywind3923]

Heh and to think Tolkien actually tried to make Celebrimbor into better person in contrast to his Feanorian family heritage hehe, and here in this game Celebrimbor almost becomes Feanor 0.2 :). ""In that time Celebrimbor the son of Curufin repudiated the deeds of his father, and remained in Nargothrond..." ... "Now Celebrimbor was not corrupted in heart or faith, but had accepted Sauron as what he posed to be; and when at length he discovered the existence of the One Ring he revolted against Sauron, and went to Lórinand to take counsel once more with Galadriel." but jokes aside, they at Monolith really did not have licensign rights to use any of the Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales stuff still they were quite a bit contradictory to established lore, timeline of events etc.

[@humanbread2619]

he was . . . until he litterally became a second sauron when he made the new ring

[@Ronnie-mx1wu]

@@fantasywind3923 how did they make this game if they didn't have the license? They would have been sued immediately if they didn't

[@fantasywind3923]

@@Ronnie-mx1wu read with understanding please, I said they didn't have the license to use The Silmarillion stuff (or Unfinished Tales or any other work of Tolkien), they had the normal license that is held by WB in regards to making Lotr related video games license for both movie and book rights to use The Hobbit and Lotr (hence the Shadow of Mordor use of movie aesthetic). Warner Bros took over the license for making Lotr video games after EA lost it.

[@RS-NOS]

I personally really enjoy shadow of war and is an improvement of the first. I understand people being turned off with the microtransactions of the second game. But they have now been completely removed which makes the experience all the better in my opinion. Both games are amazing overall!

[@runningcommentary2125]

Shadow of War was the first game I ever platinumed. It's great.

[@abnercliff9624]

They removed all the microtransactions

[@sh4rk535]

In my opinion SoW is better than SoM

[@NAWWMANNN]

You literally become a Nazgul and can kill a whole lot of Captains and Warchiefs flying on a drake, which is definitely a fellbeast. I don't understand how anyone can not love these games!!

[@heroicryan6257]

@@abnercliff9624 Yes, they did. The original poster included this in his comment...

[@urboijeff2545]

This game holds a real special place in my heart I actually bought it after watching your funtage of it in 2016. After that I spent countless hours sucked into this game whether it was trying to kill a nemesis that just kept coming back or reading the ridiculously funny names of the orcs to my friends in an Xbox party this game was a blast and this vid was a great reminder of that, Great vid mate.

[@SerialSnowmanKiller]

I feel like the Nemesis system would be ideal for a superhero game. Imagine, an open-world city where you create your own custom superhero, with a unique costume and powers, and the game produces a variety of randomly-generated villains. The ones you defeat easily fade into the background, while the ones you have trouble with form your rogues gallery. And when you get truly insurmountable foes, you can bring in other players with their own unique superheroes for an Avengers-style team-up. Kinda like a cross between Shadow of Mordor, Warframe, and City of Heroes.

[@kevinrob3910]

Suicide Squad game and nemisis..lets go!!!

[@A-G-A-G]

I’m pretty sure that they are developing a Wonder Woman game with the nemesis system

[@dannydecheeto5421]

I’d love to see a gang war type game with the nemesis system. Playing as a detective or even an “Omar” style character

[@SuperDoctor9]

Shadow of Mordor was just fun, it never got old beheading orcs. I ended up getting the platinum for it, which I don't think is too difficult, but it was just so enjoyable to play

[@kevyn3279]

It is fun but it sadly does get old it starts to get kind of repetitive but shadow of war is pretty unique and more active

[@SuperDoctor9]

@@kevyn3279 I never played Shadow of War because of the microtransactions, but from what I heard it was a massive grind and rather dull. So I'm curious as to what was unique about it, again seeing as I didn't play it?

[@necnec2668]

@@SuperDoctor9 The nemesis system in SoW is massively expanded, and orcs are way more dynamic. It also has better combat, in my opinion. I think it's not really worth 100% completing, since there is so much content, but I do think it is an improvement on SoM.

[@SuperDoctor9]

@@necnec2668 That's fair enough, everyone seems to agree that the orcs are the best part. I might have to check it out then

[@CoralCopperHead]

@@SuperDoctor9 The microtransactions have also been _completely_ gutted from the game. They're no longer even an option.

[@catnipnapkin3329]

To be honest, I liked the sequel a lot more. There was simply more gameplay. It made the first game feel like a demo. At least that's how I remember feeling when playing the second game.

[@cuddlemonster8979]

Dude ratbag was one of my favourite characters. I agree he's cheesy and comedic relief but I actually loved having him there to interact with. Seeing him again in the second one was amazing.

[@TimelessTransience]

I'd definitely like to see you go over Shadow of War. I understand that it "has its way" with universe lore, but taken as its own thing, I really love it. I still go back into my original SoW save on Xbox and dick around eith the system. I'm also partway through a playthrough on whatever the hardest difficulty is called, probably Gravewalker. That being said, I get why you'd dislike it then. What with the singleplayer microtransactions that were present at the time (they've been removed for those unfamiliar), the shadow wars grind (I didn't find it that bad), and any personal misgivings you may have had. SoW has comedic moments as well, and I liked them - but I don't know if your opinion on them would change between SoM and SoW. Story wise, I really vibed with the family stuff in SoM and the ending scene of SoW was emotional for me. (Fucking love the song that plays too, omgs.) I realize that wasn't the brunt of the story in SoW, but it was my personal biggest take-away. I also liked the twist - you know the one, I won't spoil for people that haven't played. And the post-twist gameplay mechanics (an ability that I believe is added to the last of the story "tree") are badass. Just my two cents.

[@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475]

Yeah, I remember too when Shelob and Sauron were in a relationship and are exes...

[@TimelessTransience]

@@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475 Funnily enough, I was continuing the playthrough I mentioned around the time you commented and I collected a Shelob memory - one about that in particular. Gotta love it /s

[@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475]

@@TimelessTransience Man, that shit is so bloody terrible. It's an insult to both characters.

[@TimelessTransience]

@@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475 Yeah. I don't get why they thought that was necessary. Like, I understand human-form-Shelob from the point of view of view that it adds a face to the character and the utility that brings. _I don't think anybody would've wanted the potential animation-atrocity that would be a talking arachnid._ It doesn't mean we need her sex life. (Uhhh, *beastiality.* )

[@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475]

@@TimelessTransience Also, Sauron has no need of petty attachments. He doesn't care about love or lust. He just wants everyone to suffer and serve him to dominate all of Middle Earth.

[@dumbpotential1234]

We've just recently played (and finished) this game on our channel, and I'll admit, it wasn't as good as the sequel. But it had some charms of its own. While its nemesis system felt, at the time of its release, unique and innovative. At least, that was what I thought of it. Every Captain remembers you, whether you died by their hands or you ran away, it felt like you were playing an active role throughout Mordor. The combat system felt the same as the Arkham series, with its own spin when it came to the Captains where you had to change your fighting style and tactics every now and again. SPOILERS FOR THE STORY: Although the story did felt a bit inconclusive, as it felt like Shadow of Mordor was just an origin story to Talion and a non-disruptive fanfic story for Celebrimbor. However, it did define Talion's motivation throughout the story, with Celebrimbor appealing to Talion's sense of duty above his want to die and hopefully reunite with his family. Overall, it felt like a really good first game that set the stage wonderfully for its sequel.

[@fantasywind3923]

What is really lore breaking about the story of the game is that it tries to portray in flashbacks how Celebrimbor worked on the One Ring, stole it and waged his own mini war against Sauron within Mordor, that in itself is directly contradicting events in the Tolkien lore so indeed it is a big fanfic, but the most surprising is how detached from the known world and lore it feels, Talion is supposedly Gondorian and yet we do not see many connections either in his way of thinking, other things like reviving from death is sort of clashing with the more metaphysical aspects of Tolkien's world, though the idea of a spirit possessing a corpse or living is part of Tolkien more obscure writings. As far as the story of the game goes it is rather weak, as in the end the story was secondary, the game was made with the nemesis system in mind and the rest was an afterthought. On it's own it's enjoyable game, but as a sort of 'adaptation' of the Tolkien world, setting and stories it's poorly made and often seems more like something that tries to create movie continuity (except the movies never even mention Celebrimbor who is talked about in books). I for one would like one day to get a proper openworld single player RPG set in Middle-earth, a game in style of Witcher 3, Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, Gothic or even using GTA/Red Dead Redemption 2 style, buteven using Assassin's Creed formula would be great if the games were bigger more in depth, detailed and more about exploration of the setting, characters and good story using the world and it's lore to full potential, even modelling on later AC titles like AC Black Flag, mixed wiht AC Odyssey at least just for the feature of naval combat so we could have sea battles with ships of Corsairs of Umbar and Haradirm vessels and sailing in open world or a bit of AC Origins, in bigger detail recreating the lands of Middle-earth it's people and great cities, with PC's to talk to and interact with intriguing characters etc. or as in RDR2 having realism and bigger level of interactive world, and various vehicles to use like horse drawn carraiges, coaches, boats, various horses and steeds and so on, exploring secrets doing quests in more classical RPG manner. Such a game would massive hit no doubt!

[@jamesking7946]

@@fantasywind3923 Yeah a proper RPG set in middle earth would be great. I'm hoping with Amazon making the Silmarillion TV show they'll have the rights to that part of middle earths history and Amazon game studios will make a decent RPG game. Although I am skeptical about Amazon game studios turning out like WB and EA when I would like it to be like Larian who I think would do an awesome job.

[@fantasywind3923]

@@jamesking7946 yeha I hope so to, but I wouldn't count on Amazon in terms of video games, they already cancelled the new announced MMO Lotr game, heh Amazon's game division is total failure it seems. I would love one day to see a huge open world RPG that would become as popular and amazing as Witcher 3 was, or even better, but as long as the license is in the wrong hands we can't expect that, unfortunately WB which no hold the license to Lotr video games is even worse than EA it seems they don't do much with the license. Well we'll see, Daedalic Entertainment will make that stealth game Lotr:Gollum then we'll see if there will be more projects.

[@Jotepp]

Lowkey so glad to see people still remember this game and love it just as much as I did. Great video man, keep up the good work.

[@bynflew8552]

a week ago I started playing Shadow of War again and still to this day it is one of my favorite open world games and I want another like it. I prefer Shadow of War of Shadow of Mordor because it's more fleshed out and I just like the whole conquering fortresses thing

[@ink4852]

Shadow of War is one of my most favorite games ever. I always felt Shadow of Mordor was so good, but it just felt... unfinished I guess. Like a "demo" for what could be more. Well War is just that! I Platinumed both games and even continued to play them after the Plat.

[@bynflew8552]

@@ink4852 exactly how I felt bro. Mordor didnt feel finished but War did

[@GnarStark]

I bought this game on a whim in 2017 having never heard of it. I was honestly kind of blown away by it and got sucked into it pretty quickly. The feel of the game is very dark and the orc designs are so good and creative. I agree that the nemesis system is definitely the star here. That paired with the all the different creative orc designs made it really memorable

[@thedashingbullet607]

This is going to be a class video to put on after I get in from work tonight. Its been a couple of years since I replayed this (I think it was still on gamepass last time I played) and it was like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes, the combat is arkham a combat system I absolutely adore and have poured years of my life into across every game, you add the nemesis system (a system I want to see more of within WB in something like Gotham knights) into that and you get a game I'd never get tired of whether it's choosing to be stealthy and clever or a dumb fuck charging in swinging his blade and decimating every challenger that comes my way. I love this game far more than I do it's sequel shadow of war, a game which gameplay wise felt a bit lesser to me personally I never felt challenged unless I actively chose to limit myself (which is in itself a fun wee challenge to pass the time) I really hope you're not going to piss all over the game 😂😂😂😂 but honestly from my personal opinion on this game I really don't see how you could, is it perfect? No of course not but it's absolutely brilliant.

[@thedashingbullet607]

I did not mean to type a mini essay but I do that when I'm passionate about something, usually ends up coming across as me spouting random useless bullshit though I tend to repeat myself a lot when I go on and on

[@Shiftry87]

I remember 1 specific orc in SoM that was my nemasis i even remember he´s name (Latbag the Raven) I dont know how many times he kicked my ass. He was a curse or poison master hunter with the humiliator skill so any last chanses i hade he just ignored and walked away from just 1 hit. The very moment when he later showed up in SoW´s arena battle he was just as op as in SoM being practicly immune to anything other then basic attacks and still having that damn humiliator skill. Thats the moment u realise how mutch u need to be able to adapt to a fight on the fly. Even to this day when i play SoW unless i have the full skill tree unlocked i always have 1 or 2 unspend points ready to be able to adapt to a fight if needed. That save from SoM is no longer on my PC so SoW no longer uses Latbag the Raven in the arena in a new save so it´s a steamroll everytime. But if u do have a SoM save on your PC that arena battle will probadly be among the hardest fights in the entire game. Especially if u dont know what´s coming as u are very unlikly to have more then 1 elemental effect unlocked if even that.

[@jamesking7946]

I had a poison master assassin called Latbag something, he got legendary in SOW and was infuriating to deal with at certain points.

[@bikkyychaudhry4510]

The fact that you found this game better now than it was before might just be indicating something about the quality of recent games coming out that we are playing nowadays.

[@DragonTamer31K]

Time is the best and final judge

[@zacharycrater2588]

This.

[@MarluxiaX2]

@Bzake LOL, that's funny.

[@chrismarple]

@Bzake no

[@HHHHEEELLLLOOOO1]

Good point. No one is creative anymore. Not in games, or movies. Like everyone is too scared to make something new

[@jamaphy8621]

If this video does well, I politely ask for a shadow of war vid as well please.

[@LazerzZ]

For sure, if there’s a clear want for that video, I’ll definitely be jumping back into it and seeing how my feelings have changed

[@runbaa9285]

@@LazerzZ Looking forward to it. IMO, the narrative of Shadow of War is shit, but the expanded Nemesis system just opens up a lot of possibilities and crazy scenarios

[@1001pierre]

@@LazerzZ be warned. Its a long game and has a great endgame.

[@kokroughtoss1257]

2:47 I think that's the only continuity the game and it's sequel abide by. The physical fire eye of Sauron was a movie exclusive thing and Gollum is straight up borrowed from his movie design. There are subtle characters and references from specifically the movie only material but I think you get my point.

[@davey8953]

Wow now I wanna revisit shadow of mordor... far from perfect but still something I remember enjoying a lot. I guess it’s cool we are going back to middle earth in the Gollum game whenever that releases

[@matius7260]

It breaks 90% of the lore yet I love it

[@LazerzZ]

Basically 😂

[@grahamlaw2571]

Glad to have you back making content James, hope you’re doing well and aren’t pushing yourself too hard.

[@IQ2992]

Before i could get a ps4, i played the ps3 version of this FOR YEARS! Was still a good experience Still play both this and its sequel today, making new accounts for new save files.

[@TheJohnSeed]

I still play Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War occasionally and IMO they are pretty solid games And I honestly hope they do another game one day I’ll definitely play it if they do

[@GermFreeAcron]

Imagine a Deathstroke game with the nemesis system

[@dust195]

I mean Warner Bros patented it so they better put it to use if nobody else can!

[@AntonsVoice]

Imagine an MMO with the nemesis system.

[@Shiftry87]

1 thing that Mordor did better then War atleast in the lategame was that all kills gave u xp. True a trash grunt dident give u mutch but atleast u got something so if u needed to lvl up before a fight u hade little but reliable xp available all over the place. In War u pretty mutch hade to constantly hunt down Captains for xp as regular grunts dont give u any. And if u were playing on Brutal or Gravewalker and died to a captain they could then gain anything from just a few lvl´s to 20 lvl´s from 1 death making that target pretty mutch no longer possable unless they hade some very easy exploitable weakness. Nemesis was a very good difficulty balance imo but if u wanted to take that extra step then Brutal really did test your tactical skills and tought u very fast what captains that u could duel it out with and other captains that if u couldent kill them FAST then run away and hide was the best strat. Looking at u commanders! that enrages every orc within a mile.

[@randybobandy9828]

I bought this game in 2016 on steam and tried it a few times through out the years but finally getting around to really playing it. Pretty fun game.

[@nicinat0r]

Great content as always ;)

[@whitecat1441]

i love it when orc scream "GRAVEWALKER" at Talion(me) make me feel special or something lol

[@BubblegumChewer]

and then it echoes in the background. They also do this thing/taunt with their arms where they put there arms back and chest forward.

[@killerjay1740]

I started a year and a half ago, and i still find myself coming back. Ive got a fortress ive to take, and a nemeisis i remember

[@JainaSoloB312]

This is the last true Assassins Creed game imo. I know the combat is more Arkham, but the whole game is tracking down key members of a hierarchy to get to the man who slaughtered your family, and it has the perfect balance of combat, stealth, and traversal (including parkour) which are all part of the combo system and that incentives you to use all of them. Plus you're climbing towers and getting intel and assassinating targets however you see fit. Side content actually does change how you experience the story, weirdly. If you find all the Icthildin you assemble a wall carved by Celebrimbor with Elven runes which begin "I am the Bright Lord of Mordor" and end with "All shall fear me and rejoice", paralleling both Sauron and Galadriel (when she's tempted by the One Ring). Depending on how early you assemble that wall, you will see Celebrimbor very differently in both this game and the next. 13:09 Haven't had this much fun with a sword combat system in a long time? You haven't played Ghost of Tsushima😉 Okay to be less bitchy about it: I highly highly recommend Ghost of Tsushima, it has the best sword combat of any game I've played since 2003, and sword games are my niche so I've played most of them If you're so inclined, my most recent video is a good showcase for it, but honestly you just have to play it to really understand the depth of its mechanics. Light, heavy, 4 unique styles which you can switch between at will, blocks, parries, dodges, feints, special attacks, lots of enemy types, etc. There's enough variety here for completely different styles of swordplay, and it's all using a more grounded version of that Mordor-esque freeflow combat mixed with an approachable Sekiro influence giving it both a low skill floor and a very high skill ceiling. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on Shadow of War. I find it is on paper objectively superior to Mordor in every way (except the title of course) but I like Mordor more, and have never been able to articulate why.

[@THEKXRMANETWORK]

Anybody else here after the Wonder Woman announcement? God that game is gonna be so sick😭😭

[@danielallenaromin270]

Just recently played and platted it last night on Playstation.. I enjoyed it.. i even got all the trophies for both dlcs :)

[@unc54]

Good video. I bought this game years ago but never played it. Definitely have much more motivation to play it now.

[@mallerschwab980]

I hope this video on the main channel means that james is finally feeling better and able to get working again

[@alexblatchford4147]

I love hunting orcs. Like the king Aragorn says “ let us hunt some orc”.

[@battlecry75]

I played this for the first time and just beat it this year. The entire game just felt like a setup for the 2nd game. Especially when you dont start giving them commands until main mission 17/18 and theres 20 main missions.

[@aliananda6912]

Quick assassins creed question in ac rogue Liam says that chevalier took care of the precursor box then later on haytham tasks shay to finding the box he says it may take you a life time. Did shay ever find the box? And if he did what did he do with it?

[@Daniel-fi7jp]

The black hand is trying to become Sauron by being possessed by Sauron's Spirit (Like Talion is possessed by Celebrimbor but too a much greater sense), this is why he is doing the sacrifices to bring Sauron's spirit back from the Wraith world. At least this is my scuffed explanation

[@LazerzZ]

Well that certainly makes sense

[@pawang_game_id]

I played games for years, for me this game has the most satisfying combat system.

[@temi472]

Loved Shadow of modor and shadow of war, shadow of war is the only game i can't delete from my console because it so fun

[@aliquidgaming1068]

I'd like to throw a fun fact out there for LoTR Tolkein encouraged others who liked his universe to make stories of their own that do and don't fit into his canon. He just wanted people to tell their stories. This is why his estate didn't have an issue when Montreal wanted to make a game outside the movies and books canon.

[@YhwachTheAlmighty]

Shadow of Mordor and War especially are in my top 10 of games last gen.

[@Lima7210the1st]

That’s cool and all but did you feel like Batman?

[@tonyluong6732]

playing war one thing I loved about mordor was when you promoted a war cheif they geared the f up. which made sense better position better gear

[@luciaszocsova496]

Shadow of Mordor has a special place in my heart for a very funny reason- it's one of the very few games I have played along my older brother and actually beat it before him and had more achievements than him... so I rub it in his face. Plus, as a vivid lover of anything that has to do with Tolkien/Middle Earth, this game is awesome. I don't care if it's 100% lore friendly, it doesn't claim it being.

[@LincolnMills-fx4jd]

I actually loved Lord of the Hunt dlc, sure you’re only in Nurn map but it’s so cool fighting the beast master warchiefs like GRAUG RIDER and GHUL KEEPER, I would recommend it.

[@pg5650]

I still enjoy this and shadow of war to this day

[@gene6794]

I must say, I have missed these types of analysis videos that have a focused topic and are not too long to watch, among all the recent streaming activity you've been doing recently.

[@Nachumbox]

Shadow of War improved so much when they took microtransactions away. I feel that now it is a much better game

[@Nachumbox]

@Return to the Old World iup, you are lucky man. For me at least, the difference is gigantic. Also, 11 bucks! Nice :)

[@ImTheMan0fSteel]

@Return to the Old World the microgramsactions were completely useless to begin with. They didn't matter. The hate for them was completely overblown and fabricated.

[@loris.herbener]

Please visit Shadow of War again. At least from a gameplay perspective its just a much better and smoother game than Shadow of Mordor. The story is okay but fun all the time imo. I really liked the game because I played it after they took the horrible microtransactions out of the game (or made them so unimportant that I didn't realise they are there). Really good video mate!

[@sydhamelin1265]

I've been giving this game a casual glance for something like the last 5 years, soon after I got into gaming. I may need to check it out.

[@johnbutcher6326]

Giving a big point to the shadow games they made Sauron look way more intimidating. Broader, darker and the helmet redesign was a good choice.

[@saintbastion]

No idea when this takes place in the lore, but the black hand is sauron. Sauron is essentially a lower tier god in the lotr universe and he can resurrect after being killed. This is probably after melkor (Saurons boss basically) died as well as sauron, who then comes back, and he was just using an alias while creating an army.

[@saintbastion]

Also celebrimbor in the actually lore was killed by sauron and his corpse was used as a war banner while fighting the elves

[@theburningphoenix8211]

At the start of this game I met a captain named Horza Corpse-Eater, I proceeded to kill him and forgot about him. He then came back so I did it again. Around 5 deaths later he stopped coming back. At the end of the game when your going to the final area I believe he was the one who appeared. He was my nemesis throughout the entire game

[@elijahmcelroy]

I remember my first time playing this. It was on my cousin's Xbox, I had never watched any lotr material or anything and he hadn't even promoted it to me. I just kind of picked it up and was like wow this is cool. This just came as a complete shock.

[@LoganProductions54]

From what I can gather, the sequel bait at the end was supposed to introduce Saurman who whispered to you throughout the game, but by the time War entered production, they couldn't get the rights to the likeness(?) so it had to be dropped?

[@vortexgaming9779]

This was definitely one of my favourite games ever! I just loved the whole combat focused gameplay and the Dark atmosphere!

[@TheOnceandFutureJake]

00:18 HEY NOW! Second Son has aged really well, and still looks amazing! You leave my kid alone!

[@LazerzZ]

I more meant that it's not one of the greats, it's not really a bad game, it's just forgotten, it was fine 😅

[@montywh]

played this game about a year or so ago, after having not touched it since launch. started it up right after finishing the Arkham trilogy, so i didn't have too much trouble. sadly as a result, i think my rival was more or less the first guy who killed me, since i was able to finish off most with ease that said, if you want some comedy, there's one youtuber who played through this game years ago, and he had hands down the best nemesis. Prak Jaws (nicknamed Bane), who wore a grilled mask over his mouth, and never spoke a word. all he did was scream bloody murder and then laugh at you before walking off. he never killed Talion, because he was never worth it, which made Prak all the more terrifying

[@oOTheSilenceOo]

First time viewer - Excellent video - reminded me of what I loved about this game! As for the Nemesis system - I very much hope that WB re-introduce it within Gotham Knights or The Suicide Squad (Most likely Gotham Knights as WB Montreal are involved directly with it). Using the nemesis system with Gotham Gangsters running the streets and then the marquee characters like Riddler, Penguin, Joker as the ‘overlords’ could be brilliant!

[@AyZeD]

The second game was awesome, literally played that right through about 5 or 6 times.

[@itsjustagame2981]

K so in canon Celebrimbor made the 7 rings for the dwarves and 9 for the king's with sauron as his pupil (sauron was originally a Maia corrupted by the first dark lord Morgoth). Celebrimbor did not know of saurons treachery until it was too late and he created the one ring to rule them all which corrupted the 16 rings. However, Celebrimbor also made 3 elven rings, the most powerful (excluding the one ring) which sauron did not corrupt as he did not know they existed (he still had control over them though, because dark magic). Anywayyyy, then sauron is like yeah nah I'm gonna destroy your city which he does, then he tortures Celebrimbor making him reveal the locations of all the rings excluding the three eleven ones. He is then riddled with arrows and put on a pike.

[@sirith9157]

About music and being only ambient. Don't take me wrong, you're right and I can't deny that 😅 However there are recognizable melodies, one of theme is the piano version of the main theme. The one that plays in main menu. Combat and stealth music like "Stealth is my only advantage" gives that wierd vibe of being predator striking from shadows, never stopping and impossible to catch while being living terror (don't mistake with horror) to unfortunate orks. Hammer theme is powerfull, striking like a hammer on anvil. Keeping pressure of the moment, and never going to stop. Pity the fight was so, simple :/ And ambient part, it fits. It really fits the tone of the game and it's story. Talion is revived as immortal, coming to "life" wraith. It's wierd, it's creepy and unsettling while giving calming tone on top. He's family is dead and he can't just go with them to afterlife, so only thing left is... Vengeance. Bloody rampage on his enemies that took everything from him. There is that creepy part. Talion makes ork feel fear, panic even. They know he's there somewhere so the moment they see him going to kill them, they panic or jump a little in surprise. And I don't think I need to say why. Look at the animations, got damn it. Those kills are not brutal, they are simply disgustingly cruel and efficient. And then he have Celebrimbor. Someone that can feel the same pain, our ringmaker is the "calming tone" for Talion. Someone that will not go until the end. I know I wrote a lot, sorry for that. If you survived to the end, I hope you enjoyed it. I also know not everyone is a music theorist or something like that, so don't take it as a scolding or something 😅

[@ireitman1087]

I understand, the theme that plays when riding the caragor will always stick to my head especially the chanting part.

[@huygaming325]

bro when you were talking about boss fights you didn't mention the great white graug, that fight was awesome

[@jcgmusic16]

I just finished the game again a few days ago and now i got all the achievements. I don't know why but this time it felt amazing. I guess we're getting a lot of trash lately that almost every 5 years old or even older game feels incredible. This game was good back then, but now it's even better.

[@yueshijoorya601]

I loved the combat, the way every Uruk can chase you across the map. Collect two Knights of Eregion to chain Shadow Strikes infinitely. It was a blast.

[@MrSknottykid]

I just got back into gaming and found this game. It’s fantastic!

[@athalonARC]

I consider the Shadow games canon to the films, I mean, the films themselves make changes. One noteworthy one is making Sauron an actual eye, the game gives a neat explanation for that.

[@kanyepepper9977]

I’d like to think that the Middle Earth: Shadow series isn’t canon in the movies, but the movies are canon in the Middle Earth series

[@rukathekid7853]

As a huge Middle-Earth/Tolkien, I felt the story was a bit lack luster. However, over time, I began to fondly remember this game for its combat, exploration, atmosphere and mechanics: I actually went through the reverse of what usually happens, as in, I began to appreciate the game more and more after I beat it, while initially having mixed feelings, despite overall liking it. Solid game, deserves more attention.

[@patrickbateman4541]

Played it on release in 2014, was memorable but not mind blowing. Just now platinumed shadow of war in one week and I'll be getting Mordor again

[@gurply]

This should be a series

[@tonymaverickzane6899]

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: With most of the problem being the outdated graphics, and some other troubles, Shadow of Mordor had been holding up fairly well in its own regards, in terms of gameplay and systems. Most of the systems you get from Shadow of Mordor will be further revamped and new ones added in Shadow of War, which goes to show how well these systems are. Most beautifully and spectacularly done was the Nemesis system, a system that breathes life and minds into AI and took the world by storm in 2014. Other than that, the change of pace and scenery between Mordor and Nurń, as well as the objective itself, makes the second half of the game holds up like a hulking tank. While the second game is a massive improvement to the first, the first will always triumph in its world-building subtlety and the freshness of the Nemesis system. It’s totally worth your time again, and considering playing Shadow I’d War too, now that they have removed microtransactions and some grindy stuff out of the game.

[@UmbraBree]

Huh. This video was uploaded the day after i finished another playthrough of this game. How coincidental

[@hollowgetsuga425]

Main thing I remember was one damned orc that I must’ve killed 20+ times endlessly returning. Decapitation, Fire, Cliffs, Eaten by a graug, killed by allied orcs.Etc etc just refused to stay down lol.

[@BFMert]

It is good, as long as you stay away from 360/ps3 versions, is what people say. For me this was a great combination of elements i love, arkham style combat, Middle earth storyline and i think it only got better in shadow of war. Nemesis system is also fun and amazing

[@finghinmccarthy5021]

WB patenting the nemesis system is honestly so sad as its such an innovative and fun system. I know we like to rag on ac odyssey here but imagine how fun mercenary fights could have been had the nemesis system been available to ubisoft. Or in a stealth game with random generated targets that could appear for revenge later if you didn't take them out properly, endless possibilities for player lead stories

[@TheMasterMind144]

Well the system was available to Ubisoft, for almost 6 years (WB only obtained the patent in 2021) and they did try to copy it with the AC games and even Watch Dogs, they just did not sink the proper amount of time and money that the system needed in order to be as good as that in the Shadow games (which are more or less entirely built around the Nemesis system).

[@randomdude8877]

I will not watch the video yet because im actually doing my first playtrough rn. I play on Nemesis difficulty, and im having a blast. The different playstyles i can choose from, and all the different ways to approach the battles is just awesome as hell. All the Orcs feel very unique and after a while having a fav. orc getting killed actually hurts... lol After my orc got killed from a different chief i pursued him and yoinked his level down to 1, he gone so insane that he only is able to make baby noises xD poor fella. The story so far is okey dokey, i actually wish for a movie adaptation tbh Talion and Celebrimbor are awesome. Cheers. EDIT: Now i found out that they actually do a Amazon Prime Video Series and in the trailer it looks like Talion actually WTF xD awesome

[@ryansather8851]

for those who want to play it it is on sale on steam weary often

[@DAVELAAR666]

I 100%Shadow of war and i do not regret it. 70+ Hours to 100%

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

I think a final boss that worked like Dr. Freeze in Arkham City would've been really nice.

[@ThylMane]

Yeah i remember this game back in the day, those days i had no money nor a good PC, soo i just cracked the game online and played on a crapy laptop, and i loved it, a lot. I was very excited for the Shadow of War.... Than i got it and after 2 years of having it in my steam library, i have only 5hours played :) I have no knowledge about LOTR btw, i only played the game back in the day because it was one of the releases that was displayed on the website where i cracked it.

[@Peratohtori]

Both Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War are undoubtedly fun games, but also unfortunately a bit forgettable and honestly that's because of the story and the characters I definitely had fun with both and appreciate the work put into them but I also feel like the first thing people will forget about them is basically everything surrounding the story and the setting, even when it's based on something as rich as Tolkien lore. The story feels like it's only acting as a necessary frame for the game system and that's exactly why some people felt underwhelmed, but to me it was completely fine because I play games to play them and not just to get to the next cutscene

[@wuebboltc]

I'm watching this while I'm waiting for The Lord of the Rings Online to install on my new laptop. Fitting, really.

[@g0lgrim1]

Gahd yes... i hate it when games go to "defaul outfit" in cut scenes... but better this then not seeing equiped armor on my character at all... But also: Celebrimbor DID help Sauron craft all of the rings except: The one ring was made by Sauron alone and in secret... AND the three elven rings where made by Calebrimbor alone in secret to so that Sauron could not manipulate them after Celebrimbor dicovered Saurons plot.

[@jrad410]

I loved playing the game itself. The fortress mechanic, combat, and nemesis system delivered. Story was very mediocre and I never desired to replay it. Edit I was thinking about the sequel with this post lol.

[@GlidusFlowers]

Same

[@Shiftry87]

I think u are thinking of the wrong game. Shadow of Mordor dident have any fortress mechanics, those were in Shadow Of War. It did have an army screen but as far as i remember u never assulted any fortresses like u do in Shadow Of War.

[@jrad410]

@@Shiftry87 ah yea your right lol this comment is miss placed

[@jackhill4430]

The nemesis system has to be my favourite mechanic in any game ever

[@Apudurangdinya]

Som is great for it's time, replayed it recently and I'm having fun, yes it has flaw but the writing is great the combat smooth hella fun, don't forget building orc army

[@khan.hassan]

Me and my brother is playing, I'm a huge fan of shadow of war.

[@voteZDLR]

I loved this game and I loved Shadow of War that came out later. They're definitely worth playing.

[@Krimzen1000]

Haven't even watched this yet and I'm gonna say yes. Yes it is.

[@Bishop2155]

The game is canon.. it’s set before Frodo inherits the ring of bilbo and it’s set after bilbo finding the ring in Gollum’s cave, so there is a timeline it just doesn’t tell it well. I think it’s set in 2942 of the third age between Frodo and bilbo hope that helps

[@LazerzZ]

It's not canon, works not based on Tolkien work aren't considered canon, the rules for LotR is pretty strict compared to most franchises. You can do a quick google search and find out for yourself. Like I said perhaps you could consider it canon to the films, but even still it doesn't line up in a lot of places, one main place being Celebrimbor, it's all over the place compared to Tolkien's work

[@Bishop2155]

I did my research and the time line so

[@denysopalenyk4775]

100% finished it recently. Gameplaywise - absolutely amazing even in 2021. The story, in my opinion, was as flat as it could possibly go. And absolutely blank one-note characters (sometimes even without a note, really, like out comrade with whom we've never fought side by side as a player) don't add anything good to the narrative side. For me it's like all the budget has gone into really amazing and fluid gameplay, and the story was like a late afterthought

This was definitely a time where bossfights were sacrificed in favor of more cinematic moments (the final boss being a qte gives me Watch Dogs flashbacks). But also having a combat system that gives you too much power can be counterproductive when it comes to bosses. The Arkham series, aside from Origins and that one boss fight with Mr Freeze in City, doesn't have *good* boss fights either (hell, Knight doesn't have boss fights at all).

[@AtracBreezy]

Isn’t the final boss in Knight fought in the tank 😂 that game was 75% tank, couldn’t finish it

[@amchannel8087]

i just finished replying it a weak ago, perfect timing

[@knightslayer6161]

I know the vid hasn’t started yet but my biggest gripe with this game is not having a parry and block system similar to Ghost. Honestly with dodge being the only counter and triangle at the right time makes it so dull. And it’s especially annoying when a overlord or any of the sort adapts to your acrobatics.

[@LazerzZ]

I think what makes this shine is that you’re a rogue type chatacter, so your aim is to stealth your way around and then when encountered with enemies focus on crowd control and quick takedowns, it’s less about one on one fights and more about how well you use a crowd to your advantage, about being swift, moving quickly and taking down foes in a heartbeat, more so than being able to deal one on one with blocks and parries, it worked nicely for me

[@knightslayer6161]

@@LazerzZ I don’t think you’re a “rogue” character. Guy brutalize any Uruk he can and doesn’t care for the size of the beast. You can still have a more polished system with multiple enemies.

[@TheMasterMind144]

It's a completely different combat system from Ghost, it's essentially the Batman Arkham combat of jumping from one enemy to another, right down to the cloak - punch stun and vaulting over the bad guys, but with more supernatural abilities on top. It's dull in the beginning when you dont have a lot of abilities unlocked, but towards mid game you'll be vaulting over captains then double jumping into the air while pulling out your bow and shooting enemies in slow mo as you fall down. It's a different system with different rules, if you still feel like countering enemies is too easy then just increase the difficulty to something like Brutal and you will be a lot more incentivized to fight battles strategically, with hit and run tactics and from a distance, rather than staying right in the middle of large groups of enemies while whittling them down by fatally countering them one by one. You can also disable combat prompts for when to counter which makes things a lot more difficult.

[@knightslayer6161]

@@TheMasterMind144 I shouldn’t have to be the one to increase the difficulty because the systems are simple. Ghost’s combat is simple in mechanics but definitely ramps up with how enemies attack, having to use different stances quickly and kill whatever overwhelms you. It’s hard to play hit and run when there is a different option. But it’s severely weaker than hit and run. I want to be the man who opens his presence to an entire enemy’s base. But having effective counters being only triangle, Vaults/teleport and hit and run when you face strong warlords and overlords immune to almost everything is boring. That basically forces you to get gear that allows you to do whatever you want. Like wrathgiver. That basically turns any difficult off completely. You’ve basically beat the game when you obtain strong sets. You can’t frost stun many stronger captains because 99% are immune to it. Or they adapt on the fly. You can’t vault forever because they adapt on the fly. Which is a nightmare for shield bearers.