Game Review: Middle-earth Shadow of War Review - The war on Mordor has begun

In 2014 we were suddenly surprised by Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor . A game that inspired other games, introduced the revolutionary Nemesis system and carried a Lord of the Rings jacket. Monolith now comes with the sequel, Shadow of War. Can it surprise us in the same way? Read it in Middle-earth Shadow of War review.

At the end of Shadow of Mordor , protagonist Talion and fellow Celebrimbor make a new Ring of Power in the fire of Mount Doom. With this ring, they want to tie their own orch's army, and then pay for Sauron once and for all. A noble plan that does not go as planned, because within a minute the duo again loses the ring to the Shelob spin - which can turn into Shadow of War in a beautiful woman.

Meanwhile, Talion and Celebrimbor must also focus on Minas Ithil, the last bulwark of the people in Mordor who is currently being besieged by orks and the Witch-King of Angmar. Not only is Minas Ithil a very important and strategic point between Mordor and Minas Tirith, but it also houses an object that can change during the course of the war. The city houses a Palantír, a glass ball of Sauron, which must be kept at the cost of the Nazgûl.

A sword cutting on both sides

The story of Middle-earth Shadow of War is a two-edged sword. Like Shadow of Mordor, it tells its own story and does not overlook Tolkien's existing stories, giving it a lot of unexpected twists and turns and a lot of humor. In addition, it may be a matter of course with certain elements, such as Shelob, who can change a woman, and it is interesting to see how Monolith deals with it. On the other hand, occasionally, a troublesome pill for swallowing how to deal with Tolkien 's lore and we can certainly imagine that story lovers will shake their head more often than ever.

Having said that, the story is clearly not the first place in Shadow of War. Just like its predecessor, the orcs are central to the game, and it has also become clear that most attention has been paid. The first part of the Nemesis system was already a brilliant system that we would like to see in more titles, but Monolith has done a few more shadows in Shadow of War.

Your own army of unique orcs

Once you've got the new Ring of Power in your possession, you can continue to dominate orcs to fight them on your side. If you have a high-level orch, like a Captain or Commander , you can control them in multiple ways and make them work in the hierarchy of the orcs. For example, if you want to kill a strong Warlord , you can then infiltrate one of your hikers in his circle to put him in the back at the perfect moment. Or you can send one of your orcs to another ork to simply kill him and be, often crucial, a place to take over.

All this is nothing new to Shadow of Mordor, but the difference is in particular in the way in which orks in Shadow of War differ. First of all, every ork member of a particular tribe, who can already influence what weapon he uses, are special skills and of course the appearance. But besides, orks also have different classes and countless character features that make each ork unique.

For example, we had an ork in our army, once bitten by a spider, but really enjoyed it, so he wrapped himself completely with spider webs and crawled small spiders over his body. In addition, he is completely immune to poison and therefore ideal for turning off high-level orcs that specialize in poison. Another ork was again Morkz the Lookout, which almost only looked 'look out!' could be scanned and logically in no way surprising.

Immense fighting during a siege

Using and strengthening the strengths and weaknesses of your orcs is also crucial when it comes to taking a fortress. Each area houses one of these huge castles and is defended by hand and tooth by an Overlord and his dog-lover Warlords. Before attempting to take a Fortress, you can choose to turn off the different Warlords one-by-one in side missions, thereby eliminating certain castle defenses. On our own, on the other hand, it is much more fun to take over a fortress at full capacity.

Like the enemy overlord, you can also appoint captains to participate in the attack, each of which has different options to make a certain point easier. For example, the assault leader can choose to bring a group of Sappers that can blow up the main gate, but also an army of Ologs that can break a wall or a raid of caragors that can run across the wall. And so every captain who takes you takes another choice from three different options.

Once you open the attack on a Fortress , it is up to you to take over multiple control points, which will become more and more as you progress in the game. The battles on the points can be extremely chaotic with several captains fighting on your side and some captains fighting for the Overlord . If you manage to take over all the points and lead you to the main hall, then you'll finally win a big fight with the Overlord and his hikers who have to fight out one by one. It's a great job to take over, or defend a Fortress.

A harness for any occasion

Therefore, Shadow of War is certainly not an easy game and you will be guessed several times by the different orcs you get it. When leveling or completing certain side missions, you will get skill points that you can invest in one of the many skills or sub-skill that adjusts a skill. But all those skills are also really needed when orks can withstand almost all your attacks. In addition, if you use one attack too often, your opponent gets the trick and can then resist that attack.

The upgrades in weapons and equipment you find are also important and can provide an outcome in an emergency situation. For example, you can find a dagger that causes Quick Throw skill to put the opponent into fire and flame, ideal if you stumble into an eye with a strong force that is weak against fire. But in addition, weapons and equipment of higher levels also provide more damage, lifestyles and arrows.

Obviously, i must also talk about the infamous lootboxes that you can buy with money. As far as i am concerned, they could have left the lootboxes better because it really adds nothing and you can just play the game without having to open one lootbox for it - including the good end. In the lootboxes you'll find orks, weapons and skills for orcs, but on the latter you will get all those things just by playing the game. Therefore, the whole practice only feels like a way to rob players of their money if they are opposed.

A color palette that you say to you

One of the biggest criticisms of Shadow of Mordor was the boring color palette and monotonous areas, much variation can not be found near the Black Gate. Fortunately, there are several areas to visit. And these areas now vary greatly.

You start the adventure of course in Minas Ithil, where it is still gondorial with a big white city and impressive architecture, with a green forest next to it for a beautiful view. But soon you go to the more familiar Cirith Ungol, the ancient Nurnen forests, the snow tops of Seregost and the volcanic landscape of Gorgoroth. Especially Seregost and Gorgoroth are very impressive, but they all feel different and use a different color palette.

The sense of detail and the use of light is also much better in this way than in Shadow of War. When a bright orange sun shines lightly over the equipment of Talion, the orcs, people and elves, and the untouched nature, you'll be astonished at times. It is a very welcome improvement over the five different colors brown that Shadow of Mordor had to offer.

Middle-earth Shadow of War Review - Bigger and better in all respects

Shadow of War is not a better game than Shadow of Mordor. The first part laid down a solid foundation, which builds and improves the second part. Shadow of War is bigger and better in all respects, just like the orks.

Unfortunately, I also experienced some downsides during our Middle-earth Shadow of War review. Thus it is clear that the story is in second place, despite some interesting things with the lore does Tolkien. The loot boxes have also been a dubious choice and, as far as i am concerned, could simply be left out. But if you enjoyed Shadow of Mordor, then Shadow of War is a no-brainer to take home and an absolute topper.

The plus and the drawbacks

✔ Nemesis system perfected
✔ Various areas and color use
✔ Big bigger Biggest
✔ Loren van Tolkien is interestingly used ...
✖ ...but will not fall well with everyone
✖ Story is not for writing home
✖ Lootboxes are never needed

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!

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