Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition Review (PS4)
Introduction
This is the complete edition of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which includes the two story expansions The Bright Lord and Lord of the Hunt as well as additional Trials of War challenges. However, the physical version is not fully patched, so you still need to download an update file to play the game in 4K mode. This version also has it's own Trophy set.
Story
This game takes place in the world of Middle-Earth, sometime between the Hobbit series and The Lord of the Rings series. You will control Talion, who is a Ranger who lives at the Black Hand along with his family. Due to unknown circumstances, he is bonded with a Wraith, who allows him to use unusual powers to decimate his foes in combat. Talion and the Wraith must work together to find out why they are bonded and the Wraith's secret past.
The game has some interesting lore, but the overall story seems hit or miss to me. There are no interesting story developments in this game that impress me, which is a minus to me. Talion is a static yet mildly boring character to me, and I generally prefer the Wraith's character a lot more compared to Talion. Other characters doesn't seem to interest me much other than Gollum, Black Hand, and Torvin.
Gameplay
1) Main Gameplay Section
This game is an action open-world game, where you control Talion/Wraith in both exploration and combat. You can explore two regions and complete story mission to progress the story. You can run, walk, or ride monsters to get to your destinations quickly. You may also unlock fast travel points to travel to another area instantaneously.
Progression is simple, as you must complete Story Missions to progress the story. However, some Story Missions may have different requirements to unlock, such as killing all Warchiefs or complete a set of missions before progressing. Objectives are simple in design, such as travelling to your objective marker, fight Uruks, and etc. You may also choose to complete optional objectives in missions to unlock additional reward.
You can upgrade Talion/Wraith's powers by spending Skill Points. To earn one, you must earn enough experience points to gain a Skill Point. You can earn experience points by completing missions, saving outcasts, and killing tough Uruks such as Warchiefs. You may also choose to customise your weapons with Runes to gain special effects such as chance of refilling your Focus when scoring a headshot on an Uruk. Runes can be obtained by killing Captains and Warchiefs. It's effectiveness highly depends on their Power Level. The higher the Power Level of the defeated Chief/Warchief, the better the effects that Rune may have.
Nemesis System is one of the game's unique features, where random Uruks can become Captains/Warchiefs whether with or without your control. Each Captain can initiate Power Struggle to increase their Power Level, which you can participate to eliminate them or promote them as Warchiefs to get better rewards. They also have their own lines as well as appearances, as well as names and titles. Each Captain/Warchief also has their own strengths and weaknesses, which can be obtained by interrogating certain Uruks or by reading information scattered in different Strongholds.
Combat is actually almost the same as Batman: Arkham games, except with more brutal animations such as your Execution moves. You can attack enemies with your sword, stun an enemy, dodge, and use special moves to fight your enemies. However, this game allows you to use the Bow to shoot at enemies in third person shooting mode easily during combat. In stealth combat, you can engage enemies and kill them stealthily, which is vital in many missions in the game. The Power Level of Captains/Warchiefs indirectly affects the game difficulty, as some of them may be immune to special moves, fire, and others.
Overall gameplay is great. Excellent combat system, interesting Nemesis System, good stealth system, good game controls, good variety of Uruks, good amount of side activities and good playing completion time. However, this game does have gameplay issues. The story missions have average design, without enough variety to keep it fresh. Game difficulty in story missions are also not balanced well too, personally. Many story mission boss fights are also not well designed, and the last boss fight is extremely disappointing, which is only a bunch of QTEs. Regardless, the gameplay is great, but not without flaws.
2) Downloadable Content Section
The Game of the Year Edition includes the story DLCs Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord, as well as the Trials of War challenges. you may play them for additional challenge in the game if you want to.
Lord of the Hunt DLC takes place sometime during Torvin's story arc, where you must defeat all five warchiefs which are called Beastmaster Warchiefs. Unlike regular Warchiefs in the main game, Beastmaster Warchiefs have the ability to ride or control monsters at their will, as well as have special abilities in taking them down easily. Not only that, this DLC also introduces new monsters, where one of them allows you to use stealth kills as use a powerful monster that can kill powerful Uruks easily or instantly.
The Bright Lord DLC takes place way before the main game's events, and it acts as a prelude to the game. You will control the Wraith, who has access to the One Ring, allowing him to use special powers such as controlling Uruks to answer his command, as well as using special moves in a limited time such as unlimited Execution moves. This DLC does not introduce any new monsters or Uruk types, but this game has a good final boss compared to the main game.
Trials of Wars are also included in this edition. A Trials of War is a set of challenges where you must complete main objectives to gain the highest score in shortest time as possible. You may also complete optional objectives to obtain additional score.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
Overall gameplay is great. Excellent combat system, interesting Nemesis System, good stealth system, good game controls, good variety of Uruks, good amount of side activities and good playing completion time. However, this game does have gameplay issues. The story missions have average design, without enough variety to keep it fresh. Game difficulty in story missions are also not balanced well too, personally. Many story mission boss fights are also not well designed, and the last boss fight is extremely disappointing, which is only a bunch of QTEs. The open world feels incredibly desolate, with not many NPC activities other than Uruk patrols and slaves.
The downloadable contents are also mediocre, with neither of them are actually groundbreaking other than The Lord of the Hunt's addition of new types of Uruks and monsters, as well as the good final boss from The Bright Lord DLC. Trials of Wars have decent challenge, yet unrewarding at the same time. Regardless, the overall gameplay is great, but not without flaws.
Graphics
This game has excellent graphics. The characters are well-designed with memorable appearances, such as Talion, Wraith, The Black Captains, Gollum, and especially the Uruks. The Uruks have amazing appearances such as their armour designs, faces, skin, and etc. Some even may have scars after being defeated by you once. The environments are well-designed too, as well as amazing rain effects. No technical issues encountered while playing the PS4 version.
Sound
This game has great voice acting. Kudos to every voice actor in this game for delivering great performances. Liam O'brien does a phenomonal job on voicing the fan-favourite character Gollum in this game, especially. The Wraith's voice actor, Alastair Duncan also did amazing job voicing the character as an enigmatic yet vengeful elf wraith.
The soundtrack is mediocre, as well. Not many memorable themes, and many of the tracks played while playing the game are not incredibly memorable. However, the game has excellent in-game chants for the Warchiefs' appearances as well as when regular Uruks are killing you.
Replay Value
In the base game, this game does have low replay value due to the inability to play back missions as well as playing other side activities. You can however, play the game again and fight tough Uruk Captains/Warchiefs by manipulating the Power Struggles scattered in the game's regions. You may also complete side activities such as completing hunting and survival challenges, complete your weapons' legend side missions, as well as saving outcasts.
This edition also offers additional DLC to play, such as playing both story DLCs, as well as completing Trials of War which bump the replay value moderately. However, this is advisable only if you like the game's combat system and Nemesis System, as the overall game's replay value solely rely on those two features.
Conclusion
Final Score: 8.0/10 or 32/40
- Contains all DLCs.
- Mediocre and rushed storyline.
- Not many memorable boss fights in this game.
- Disappointing final boss fight in the main story.
- Repetitive progression.
- Repetitive side activities.
- Average soundtrack.
- Non-substantial DLCs.
**Screenshots are from PSXextreme game page and official Playstation game page.
This is the complete edition of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which includes the two story expansions The Bright Lord and Lord of the Hunt as well as additional Trials of War challenges. However, the physical version is not fully patched, so you still need to download an update file to play the game in 4K mode. This version also has it's own Trophy set.
Story
Talion and the Wraith are bonded due to a curse.
The game has some interesting lore, but the overall story seems hit or miss to me. There are no interesting story developments in this game that impress me, which is a minus to me. Talion is a static yet mildly boring character to me, and I generally prefer the Wraith's character a lot more compared to Talion. Other characters doesn't seem to interest me much other than Gollum, Black Hand, and Torvin.
Gameplay
1) Main Gameplay Section
Fight against a legion of Uruks.
This game is an action open-world game, where you control Talion/Wraith in both exploration and combat. You can explore two regions and complete story mission to progress the story. You can run, walk, or ride monsters to get to your destinations quickly. You may also unlock fast travel points to travel to another area instantaneously.
Progression is simple, as you must complete Story Missions to progress the story. However, some Story Missions may have different requirements to unlock, such as killing all Warchiefs or complete a set of missions before progressing. Objectives are simple in design, such as travelling to your objective marker, fight Uruks, and etc. You may also choose to complete optional objectives in missions to unlock additional reward.
You can upgrade Talion/Wraith's powers by spending Skill Points. To earn one, you must earn enough experience points to gain a Skill Point. You can earn experience points by completing missions, saving outcasts, and killing tough Uruks such as Warchiefs. You may also choose to customise your weapons with Runes to gain special effects such as chance of refilling your Focus when scoring a headshot on an Uruk. Runes can be obtained by killing Captains and Warchiefs. It's effectiveness highly depends on their Power Level. The higher the Power Level of the defeated Chief/Warchief, the better the effects that Rune may have.
Nemesis System is one of the game's unique features, where random Uruks can become Captains/Warchiefs whether with or without your control. Each Captain can initiate Power Struggle to increase their Power Level, which you can participate to eliminate them or promote them as Warchiefs to get better rewards. They also have their own lines as well as appearances, as well as names and titles. Each Captain/Warchief also has their own strengths and weaknesses, which can be obtained by interrogating certain Uruks or by reading information scattered in different Strongholds.
Combat is actually almost the same as Batman: Arkham games, except with more brutal animations such as your Execution moves. You can attack enemies with your sword, stun an enemy, dodge, and use special moves to fight your enemies. However, this game allows you to use the Bow to shoot at enemies in third person shooting mode easily during combat. In stealth combat, you can engage enemies and kill them stealthily, which is vital in many missions in the game. The Power Level of Captains/Warchiefs indirectly affects the game difficulty, as some of them may be immune to special moves, fire, and others.
Overall gameplay is great. Excellent combat system, interesting Nemesis System, good stealth system, good game controls, good variety of Uruks, good amount of side activities and good playing completion time. However, this game does have gameplay issues. The story missions have average design, without enough variety to keep it fresh. Game difficulty in story missions are also not balanced well too, personally. Many story mission boss fights are also not well designed, and the last boss fight is extremely disappointing, which is only a bunch of QTEs. Regardless, the gameplay is great, but not without flaws.
2) Downloadable Content Section
Play as Talion again in Lord of the Hunt story mode, or play as the Wraith in The Bright Lord story mode.
The Game of the Year Edition includes the story DLCs Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord, as well as the Trials of War challenges. you may play them for additional challenge in the game if you want to.
Lord of the Hunt DLC takes place sometime during Torvin's story arc, where you must defeat all five warchiefs which are called Beastmaster Warchiefs. Unlike regular Warchiefs in the main game, Beastmaster Warchiefs have the ability to ride or control monsters at their will, as well as have special abilities in taking them down easily. Not only that, this DLC also introduces new monsters, where one of them allows you to use stealth kills as use a powerful monster that can kill powerful Uruks easily or instantly.
The Bright Lord DLC takes place way before the main game's events, and it acts as a prelude to the game. You will control the Wraith, who has access to the One Ring, allowing him to use special powers such as controlling Uruks to answer his command, as well as using special moves in a limited time such as unlimited Execution moves. This DLC does not introduce any new monsters or Uruk types, but this game has a good final boss compared to the main game.
Trials of Wars are also included in this edition. A Trials of War is a set of challenges where you must complete main objectives to gain the highest score in shortest time as possible. You may also complete optional objectives to obtain additional score.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
Great gameplay despite some issues.
Overall gameplay is great. Excellent combat system, interesting Nemesis System, good stealth system, good game controls, good variety of Uruks, good amount of side activities and good playing completion time. However, this game does have gameplay issues. The story missions have average design, without enough variety to keep it fresh. Game difficulty in story missions are also not balanced well too, personally. Many story mission boss fights are also not well designed, and the last boss fight is extremely disappointing, which is only a bunch of QTEs. The open world feels incredibly desolate, with not many NPC activities other than Uruk patrols and slaves.
The downloadable contents are also mediocre, with neither of them are actually groundbreaking other than The Lord of the Hunt's addition of new types of Uruks and monsters, as well as the good final boss from The Bright Lord DLC. Trials of Wars have decent challenge, yet unrewarding at the same time. Regardless, the overall gameplay is great, but not without flaws.
Graphics
Great graphics.
This game has excellent graphics. The characters are well-designed with memorable appearances, such as Talion, Wraith, The Black Captains, Gollum, and especially the Uruks. The Uruks have amazing appearances such as their armour designs, faces, skin, and etc. Some even may have scars after being defeated by you once. The environments are well-designed too, as well as amazing rain effects. No technical issues encountered while playing the PS4 version.
Sound
Great voice acting and mediocre soundtrack.
This game has great voice acting. Kudos to every voice actor in this game for delivering great performances. Liam O'brien does a phenomonal job on voicing the fan-favourite character Gollum in this game, especially. The Wraith's voice actor, Alastair Duncan also did amazing job voicing the character as an enigmatic yet vengeful elf wraith.
The soundtrack is mediocre, as well. Not many memorable themes, and many of the tracks played while playing the game are not incredibly memorable. However, the game has excellent in-game chants for the Warchiefs' appearances as well as when regular Uruks are killing you.
Replay Value
Low to moderate replay value.
In the base game, this game does have low replay value due to the inability to play back missions as well as playing other side activities. You can however, play the game again and fight tough Uruk Captains/Warchiefs by manipulating the Power Struggles scattered in the game's regions. You may also complete side activities such as completing hunting and survival challenges, complete your weapons' legend side missions, as well as saving outcasts.
This edition also offers additional DLC to play, such as playing both story DLCs, as well as completing Trials of War which bump the replay value moderately. However, this is advisable only if you like the game's combat system and Nemesis System, as the overall game's replay value solely rely on those two features.
Conclusion
Great game with additional DLCs.
This is a great game based on The Lord of the Rings, with original characters and storyline that attempts to fit in the Lord of the Rings lore. The great combat system, excellent enemies, good challenge, excellent Nemesis System, good game controls, as well as excellent graphics are the major highlights of this game. However, this game is not without faults, and it pales in comparison with other open-world action games in terms of story, characters, variety of side activities, variety of mission objectives, and replay value. This game is worth playing for those who likes Lord of the Rings media, as well as enjoy playing action open-world games with great combat system and Nemesis System.
Score
Story: 6/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 8.0/10 or 32/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Contains all DLCs.
- Interesting lore.
- The Wraith is an interesting character.
- Easy to learn controls.
- Great combat system.
- Excellent Nemesis System.
- Good combat challenge outside of story missions.
- Many awesome powers to use.
- Excellent graphics.
- Great voice acting.
- Interesting new enemies introduced in Lord of the Hunt DLC.
- Excellent final boss fight in The Bright Lord DLC.
- The Wraith is an interesting character.
- Easy to learn controls.
- Great combat system.
- Excellent Nemesis System.
- Good combat challenge outside of story missions.
- Many awesome powers to use.
- Excellent graphics.
- Great voice acting.
- Interesting new enemies introduced in Lord of the Hunt DLC.
- Excellent final boss fight in The Bright Lord DLC.
Cons
- Mediocre and rushed storyline.
- Not many memorable boss fights in this game.
- Disappointing final boss fight in the main story.
- Repetitive progression.
- Repetitive side activities.
- Average soundtrack.
- Non-substantial DLCs.
**Screenshots are from PSXextreme game page and official Playstation game page.
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