Review for Middle-earth: The Shadow of War. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 10/10/2017
Ah, how tough the Dark Lord's life is: recruiting the best elven blacksmith around and commissioning him to forge the rings of power seemed to be such a clever move, who could have imagined that Celebrimbor's turncoat craftsman would rebel, even forging a new ring apparently incorruptible from the dark? I imagined it at Monolith Productions, and Warner Bros liked the idea: we are so ready to face the events of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, that after Shadow of Mordor is a candidate to become one of the more intriguing titles inspired by Tolkien's immortal work.
A (new) ring to rule them all
Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues and extends the already solid storyline drawn with the previous Shadow of Mordor: Talion, the man without death linked to the ghost of the elf Celebrimbor, continues in his determined battle against Sauron, intent on decimating the army of Mordor to assault the black gate.
The game world is dotted with main and secondary missions: in the first it is possible to immediately get to know Shelob the Spider and Gollum, who (as if there were still a need for them) once again demonstrates the centrality of this character in any story set in Middle-earth. During the numerous secondary missions, however, we will meet again the army of Sauron, composed of hordes of orcs with the most disparate characteristics, between old and new acquaintances belonging to seven tribes: to proceed with the main plot it will be necessary to find and eliminate or subjugate the captains of each region, up to the hierarchical pyramid and oust the forces of the Dark Lord from within.
Compared to the first chapter, there will be many more supporting actors, all well characterized and useful to make the narrative universe of the game real and deep. The between Talion and Celebrimbor has also been a subject of attention from storytellers: in their indissoluble union, the two protagonists will often find themselves at odds on how to achieve their common goal, with a Talion who cares about the fate of the men of Gondor and a Celebrimbor much more inclined to sacrifice everything and everyone in order to dethrone the enemy.
Celebrimbor, even as a ghost, has not lost his skills as an elven blacksmith: Shadow of War tells of his plan to forge a unique new ring that, free from corruption by darkness, should allow him and Talion to fight with arms equal against Sauron. Obviously, what seems so simple on paper is not really so simple in reality, so much so that the unlikely couple will find themselves facing countless obstacles in their attempt to win. Compared to Shadow of Mordor, the plot and characterization of the characters in Shadow of War is much more accurate: although many events are necessarily taken for granted - from The Lord of the Rings we know that Sauron and the Nazgul will not be killed by Talion, just as we know that Shelob and Gollum will survive until meeting Frodo - events unfold in a credible and exciting way, spurring the player to face mission after mission with the curiosity to discover how events fit into the complex Tolkienian narrative universe.
Sword and hammer
The gameplay of Middle-earth: Shadow of War is basically a reinterpretation of what was already good in the first chapter, with a refinement of some mechanics that today are much more fun than in the past. Frequent fights against orcs utilize the proven system from Batman's Arkham series: one button to attack, one to parry enemy slashes and some special combinations to unleash devastating special moves once the respective indicators in the hud are filled, always visible on the screen next to the map.
To make this system interesting and not boring, there are a large number of variables: first of all there are the different types of enemies that, those with shields and those with special weapons or particular physical abilities, need a specific strategy to be killed, with good peace of those who think of facing the game relying on generic button smashing. To complete the available moves there are a number of skills related to the physical abilities of Talion and the Specter of Celebrimbor, which can be purchased by spending experience points earned during the game: especially in the more advanced stages of the adventure - and at normal or difficult difficulty levels - counting on more finishing moves or the possibility of increasing the stealth abilities of the protagonist are fundamental elements to make gampelay not frustrating.
The role-playing component, however, does not end here: to complete what has been said so far, the equipment and the nemesis system, a real game within the game, are still missing to mention. Weapons, armor and equipment are collected from defeated enemies: it is above all the captains who carry the rarest and most powerful objects, but many times even simple soldiers carry gems with the most disparate effects, which can be embedded in the equipment of Talion to increase the character's vitality, speed, defense and attack stats. Impossible, at this point, not to think about The Witcher: although the perfection of the character customization system designed by CD project Red is still unparalleled today, what is offered by The Shadow of War approaches it in an interesting and perfectly contextualized way. .
As for the nemesis system, however, what was already good was taken in The Shadow of Mordor and has been greatly enhanced: first of all, the game map is huge and divided into regions, with a specific army of soldiers simple, captains and generals for each of them. It is up to the player to first discover - by collecting documents or questioning the "worms", orcs who know the army - the names and weaknesses of the captains. Once this is done, it will be necessary to find them and (initially) kill them by completing the related missions dedicated to them. After a few hours of play it will become possible to subjugate certain orcs, who will become the infiltrators of Talion in the army of Mordor. By bending the will of the highest ranks of the army, it will eventually be possible to rally troops, upgrade and arm them, and ultimately use them against Sauron. All quite effective and simple, if it were not that being the "deathless" does not mean not being able to die: being killed by any enemy will make them level up and rank in the army, while any other captains killed will be replaced. , forcing you to start the process of collecting information on newcomers.
Last gem, which is worth mentioning here, the so-called death threat: by interrogating a worm it is possible to send it to a captain to deliver a message of challenge. This action will raise the level of the challenged orc which, once defeated, will drop equipment that is rare or at a higher level than it otherwise would have. It is therefore clear the depth of this revised nemesis system, which we assure you will prompt you to spend hours wandering around Middle-earth simply to execute captains, interrupt their ordeals, or poison their grog reserves, not to mention the possibility of making fight against each other in the arena the orcs under your control: all apparently similar missions but with always that small dose of unpredictability that makes them fun and never boring, demonstrating how the developers of Monolith Productions have done their utmost to make a system already of its varied and fun.
The graphics of the shining gentleman
The technical department of Middle-earth: The Shadow of War offers exactly what one would expect: the polygonal models of Talion and his alter-ego Celbrimbor are highly respected, as are the combat animations and lighting effects accompanying the spectacular moves of the Bright Lord. Likewise, the characterization of the many orcs available is commendable: there are many details that differentiate each orc and, above all, the captains, each of which has characteristic traits that recall its battle name or race.
On the other hand, the settings suffer a little: certainly more varied and refined than the first title (which featured only the area of Mordor near the black gate and the more luxuriant area of Nurn), these are at times a bit bare and with recycled elements from time to time. As for the gameplay, in a game of this caliber the comparison with the first in the standings is mandatory: also in this case the comparison with The Witcher - especially if we think of the Blood and Wine expansion - sees the graphic engine of the Witcher, but at the same time The Shadow of War does not look bad, although we did not happen to stop to admire the landscape as instead we stopped - not too long, for obvious reasons - with our mouth open in front of the Balrog. Certainly the presence of many more settings is of great importance, in favor of variety: forests, strongholds of Mordor and entire cities of Gondor such as Minas Ithil are just some examples of game scenarios that, although not very rich in details, perfectly manage to evoke the Tolkien's imagery. The good news, however, is that the maps teem with enemies, villages and missions to face, a peculiarity that distracts from the scenario and makes the player focus on the action, during which the graphics engine is the master thanks to the fluidity of the animations and the level of detail dedicated to the protagonist, orcs and secondary characters.
Finally, the audio sector is also of excellent workmanship: with a good amplification system you really find yourself in the heart of the battle and identify with the game, especially listening to the deep voice of a Nazgul or the roar of a dragon, while the soundtrack accompanies always moments of exploration or action, animating accordingly. The localization is also decidedly taken care of, with audio dubbing entirely in Spanish of all the cutscenes and thoughts of Celebrimbor and Talion, all elements that amplify the cinematic feeling of the experience.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an unmissable experience for all fans of The Lord of the Rings, but also for lovers of The Witcher-style fantasy RPGs: the former will be happy to find Talion, Celebrimbor, Shelob, Gollum and many other characters of the famous saga, while the latter will surely let themselves be fascinated by the character's progression system and the countless sub-quests, never boring and designed on purpose to push the player to explore far and wide the entire game map . Superior in every detail to its predecessor with new orc tribes, a revised and improved nemesis system, an Oscar-winning storyline and the unrivaled charisma of Tolkien's great work, Shadow of War is definitely one of the PlayStation releases. 4, Xbox One and PC this last quarter of 2017 to keep an eye on.
► Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an Action-RPG type game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 10/10/2017
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