Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 05:07:22 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Shadows of Mordor

Started by wasp_f15ting, October 04, 2014, 01:26:02 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

wasp_f15ting

Have any of you picked this up yet?

I am about 14hrs in and am loving the story / combat and and lore.
The story is pretty good considering its a bastardised tolkien fare.

I read somewhere the guy from red dead redemption had made this. It really does feel like a superb game. It is rather ruthless at the start, but starts to open up later on. If you have a passing interest in LOTR you will like this.

Mobius

I'm really fucked off that Australia get this a week after the rest of the world but yeah I've been excited about this for a while and everyone seems to agree that it's bloody brilliant, so Thursday can't come soon enough for me!

Hangthebuggers

Not played it yet - judging by the reviews, it seems to have some very innovative mechanics.
Namely the 'nemesis' mechanic, which basically allows
Spoiler alert
various orc captains and tribe leaders to not only remember you after various encounters, but actually fucks with orc hierarchy if you kill them or are killed by them. They die or get promoted / demoted, which causes a kerfuffle amongst the orc ranks, causing conflicts and problems, which I think is very neat.
[close]
. This, apparently makes every play-through completely unique.

On the surface - it looks like a very good story combined with a very fluid fighting system that takes the best from assassins creed and the Arkham batman games in regards to multiple opponent combat and animation styles, but underneath there's supposed to be some very cool hierarchal stuff with the orcs you fight, which may affect gameplay.

Jerzy Bondov

Either I'm crap or this game is hard. Or both. I'm only about 2 hours in I think but I'm getting pasted all over the place. And of course when you get killed the uruk leaders get stronger! I feel like I'm digging ever deeper graves for myself every time I go after a guy. The upside to this is when you do manage to knock off someone tough it's very satisfying.

Just now I went after a War Chief, having taken out his bodyguards and studied his weaknesses etc. He was on the run and as I chased him he managed to find two captains, one of whom had killed me before. Well things got out of hand and I had to leg it so the war chief escaped. The little fuck. I can't wait to suck his brains out with my ghost friend!!

Quote from: Jerzy Bondov on October 04, 2014, 10:46:10 PM
Either I'm crap or this game is hard. Or both. I'm only about 2 hours in I think but I'm getting pasted all over the place. And of course when you get killed the uruk leaders get stronger! I feel like I'm digging ever deeper graves for myself every time I go after a guy. The upside to this is when you do manage to knock off someone tough it's very satisfying.

Just now I went after a War Chief, having taken out his bodyguards and studied his weaknesses etc. He was on the run and as I chased him he managed to find two captains, one of whom had killed me before. Well things got out of hand and I had to leg it so the war chief escaped. The little fuck. I can't wait to suck his brains out with my ghost friend!!

John Walker's review on RPS talks about this. Says it's unreasonably hard at first because of all these things, and it doesn't make a great first impression, so you kinda need to stick to the main campaign missions instead of free roaming until you can get your shit together, which happens not too long into the game and becomes a lot easier.

Old Nehamkin


Thursday

With both this and Alien Isolation I'm wondering whether I should wait until I get a PS4 so I can enjoy the prettier graphics. But if it is just graphics and there's no actual content missing then probably not I suppose.

wasp_f15ting

Its really really hard at first. It really is a great feeling when you get the warchiefs. The taunts as they kill you are so annoying!

I am about 20hrs in now and still have 3 more warchiefs to "brand" in the second zone. It is getting really hard again. It forces you to do side missions to get the upgrades really. So going to do those skill missions so I can level up.

My fingers are numb from the stress yesterday. It is so addictive though. Those artefacts you see around are well worth getting as the reveal deep lore. I am 40% through now so will report back when I get closer to end game. I hope they haven't hidden the ending in some shitty DLC.

Alien Isolation is meant to be a massive missed opportunity. I did wonder how they'd be able to maintain any tension if it's just 'stop and hide until it goes away'. Aliens: Annihilation would have been much better.

Jerzy Bondov

Getting the hang of it now. As John Walker says, you need to realise how important stealth is before it clicks. Once you get the teleporting skill that helps too. And the stun, if you're not using the stun you're a fool. I'm really enjoying sneaking into the strongholds, isolating and killing baddies. I love it when you find the guy and lock swords and he remembers you from before. It makes the world feel so alive and reactive, there's nothing else like it really.

Thursday

Quote from: The Boston Crab on October 05, 2014, 12:57:34 PM
Alien Isolation is meant to be a massive missed opportunity. I did wonder how they'd be able to maintain any tension if it's just 'stop and hide until it goes away'. Aliens: Annihilation would have been much better.

It's got mediocre reviews from IGN, Gamespot and Polygon, but British sites and reviewers that I trust far more -  PC Gamer, Videogamer, Eurogamer, have given it 93, 9 and 8.

The IGN review in particular baffled me by saying that the Alien's AI being unpredictable was a negative thing. Might make sense to say that if you had patrolling guards, but with the Alien it seems an odd thing to say.

Kelvin

Quote from: Thursday on October 05, 2014, 06:34:25 PM
It's got mediocre reviews from IGN, Gamespot and Polygon, but British sites and reviewers that I trust far more -  PC Gamer, Videogamer, Eurogamer, have given it 93, 9 and 8.

The IGN review in particular baffled me by saying that the Alien's AI being unpredictable was a negative thing. Might make sense to say that if you had patrolling guards, but with the Alien it seems an odd thing to say.

Wasn't IGN's problem more that the unpredictable AI meant that you spent huge amounts of time repeating the same thing and guessing at what would and wouldn't work. One moment you could hide in a locker, the next it could find you in there. That kind of thing.

WOOOAAAAHHHH GOTCHA!

Tthat's probably what it's like.

wasp_f15ting

Well I completed it.

24hrs ish. I managed to do a fair bit of the side missions though its only giving me 50% complete.

This is one of the games I have really enjoyed playing of late. I loved the LOTR lore.. though some of it will be questioned by the hardcore tolkien fans among you.
Spoiler alert
The ending was a bit gash.. All of the warchief battles were far tougher and needed a fair bit of skill. The QTE final boss battles was a bit of a cop out!
[close]

I am tempted by the DLC.. but am wondering what more they can do. There are 6 pieces apparently. Overall I loved the vast open spaces and hope the witcher 3 is like this but more refined when it says its bigger!

Alien Isolation is preloaded.. looking forward to giving the a whack on Tuesday.

Pit-Pat

Quote from: wasp_f15ting on October 05, 2014, 12:55:23 PM
Its really really hard at first. It really is a great feeling when you get the warchiefs. The taunts as they kill you are so annoying!

I am about 20hrs in now and still have 3 more warchiefs to "brand" in the second zone. It is getting really hard again. It forces you to do side missions to get the upgrades really. So going to do those skill missions so I can level up.

My fingers are numb from the stress yesterday. It is so addictive though. Those artefacts you see around are well worth getting as the reveal deep lore. I am 40% through now so will report back when I get closer to end game. I hope they haven't hidden the ending in some shitty DLC.

There are more than the first 4 warchiefs?

Jerzy Bondov

Yeah I believe there's another big area that unlocks later on

wasp_f15ting

There are 10 or 9 you have to encounter in total.


Pit-Pat

Awesome! I've been holding off on fighting the warchiefs because I thought that'd be it.

Sexton Brackets Drugbust

I must confess, I'm itching for a new console, just waiting for enough next gen games to justify a purchase.  Would you say this is a worthwhile balance tipper?

wasp_f15ting

I got it on the PC for £22 PC is the way to go ;)

You'll make your money back soon.

As for buying a console just for this. No.. don't wait till February when more games will be out for both consoles and you can decide then.

Junglist

Quote from: Thursday on October 05, 2014, 06:34:25 PM
It's got mediocre reviews from IGN, Gamespot and Polygon, but British sites and reviewers that I trust far more -  PC Gamer, Videogamer, Eurogamer, have given it 93, 9 and 8.

The IGN review in particular baffled me by saying that the Alien's AI being unpredictable was a negative thing. Might make sense to say that if you had patrolling guards, but with the Alien it seems an odd thing to say.

I've played about 50 minutes or so of Alien Isolation so far, will give it a proper go tomorrow. Its incredibly tense, it has the feeling of the original films in style, and it is a slow burner to begin with. I've really enjoyed it, despite only running at 30fps on a pretty poor laptop. Its well worth a go. I've heard about the shonkiness in places, so we'll see.

Mobius

Quote from: Sexton Brackets Drugbust on October 07, 2014, 10:35:38 PM
I must confess, I'm itching for a new console, just waiting for enough next gen games to justify a purchase.  Would you say this is a worthwhile balance tipper?

I was waiting too but figured I'd end up getting it, so best just be put out of my misery and get it done. This game is cracking fun, and Dragon Age Inquisition is out in about a month too. Depends what you're into I suppose but I'm massively enjoying splitting my time between Shadows of Mordor, Final Fantasy 14 and FIFA 15.

amnesiac

ok that seals it, this Mordor thing is my next purchase, I'm not a fan of the franchise, I'd go so far as to say I hate LOTR, but you can't keep a good game down.

thraxx

Quote from: Old Nehamkin on October 04, 2014, 11:26:50 PM
Is Tom Bombadil in it?

Tom Bombadil - the biggest wanker this side of the Old Forest.  Even Jar Jar Binks thinks Tom Bombadil is a cunt.

#24
Mama! Just killed an orc.
Stuck my dagger in his head,
Fucked his mind and now he's dead.

Mama! Life had just begun,
But now I've stuck an arrow through his mate.

Mama! Ooh ooh-ooh-ohh!
Don't care if I die,
Cause I'll just come back to life again tomorrow.

Carrion! Carrion!
As if Mordor really matters.

lazarou

Might be a good time for fence-sitters to pick this one up. It's going for $33 at most places, but if you grab it from Bundle Stars with the voucher code SUPERNOVA25 you can get another 25% off making it $25, which is a shade over 15 quid or thereabouts. Not too shabby for something that feels like it came out yesterday.

The clincher for me was the just-released free DLC that lets you play as some Badass Lady instead of stock videogame grizzly Ranger Dude. You'll still have the same cutscenes and the same internal monologue, but you can play through the whole thing as a character more to your liking regardless. More games should do this (looking at you, Arkham Games).

On the minus side, since this morning happened I've now got the best part of a week with less than no money.

Sexton Brackets Drugbust

It's clearly 'inspired' by the Rocksteady Arkham games, but I'm amazed at how well it's done.  Once the game becomes a political intrigue simulator, with you directly influencing the orcs' hierarchy, it really comes into its own - it's obviously pretty basic, but it's an interesting starting point for new gameplay possibilities, and I'd be keen to see what can be done in the future.

lazarou

#27
Yeah, it's one of the first mainstream games in a while that makes you wonder when people are going to start stealing the good stuff for other games, or exactly what they're gonna do with the sequel now they've got a solid base (and probably a chunk more cash) to work with.

I love the combat. I know games tend to throw around the term 'visceral' to the point of becoming a worthless joke, but this is one of the few games where it's actually earned. Probably the first time in games I've started a fight where another dozen baddies join in and thought "come on then, I'll have the lot of you fuckers". And then you only go and bloody do it and feel like king/queen badass of fuck you mountain until the part where you charge into half a dozen captains and get your head readjusted. As much as it cribs from the Rocksteady games, the need to find a window to finish people off or use your finisher combo adds enough of a tactical layer to make it feel like its own thing.

The nemesis system really knows how to rub things in, too. I've managed to chalk up a small handful of basts that have been killing me since day one, and they just keep getting stronger. I just made a complete twat of myself fudging an ambush during a hunt where I failed to take out the main offender, a weasly little archer with a thing for poison arrows and lots of friends. Would've got him if I'd held back more and not killed his buddies then charged him in the middle of a pack of beasts. Fucking fucking idiot.

Basically you're all right and it's a bit ace.

Sexton Brackets Drugbust

The different skills and weaknesses of the captains is also a really nice feature, that has a genuine influence on how you approach battles.  You can't afford to become complacent and rely on any one strategy - I just had a pasting from an archer Captain, because I got distracted by his bodyguards.  I foolishly overlooked his 'no mercy' trait, having decided I'd mastered the combat and would thin out his troops before branding him in my own time.

Jack Shaftoe

Quote from: lazarou on November 29, 2014, 02:00:58 AM
Might be a good time for fence-sitters to pick this one up. It's going for $33 at most places, but if you grab it from Bundle Stars with the voucher code
The clincher for me was the just-released free DLC that lets you play as some Badass Lady instead of stock videogame grizzly Ranger Dude. You'll still have the same cutscenes and the same internal monologue, but you can play through the whole thing as a character more to your liking regardless. More games should do this (looking at you, Arkham Games).

Ah, that might have sold it for me too, what an excellent idea. Hoping to wrap up all my work just before Christmas, so I could maybe pile into this for a few evenings.