Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

[Fingolfin]

Lord of the Assassin's Creed. Rings, I mean Rings.

Anyway, it looks to be a good game so far even though it is taking a lot of from Assassin's Creed and its system. The Wraith mechanic sounds promising and the Nemesis system that makes individual enemies remember previous confrontations with you sounds interesting. Hopefully, it's as good as it's implied to be. I would love to stab someone in the kneecaps and have them be pissed about it later even if they're random fodder.

Talk, discuss, hype, and bitch if you're so inclined.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

Speaking as a man, this game made me soak my panties in anticipation. I'm hyped like mad for it.

[Leftovers]

Not that this isn't cool as all hell, but...

Silmarillion ARPG when? ;_;

[Gilgamesh]

I want this to be good. But based on past experiences (The Third Age, War in the North, LOTRO, etc.) I'm going to go ahead and assume it will not be.

[Lycodrake]

Silmarillion ARPG when? ;_;

How many games will it take? I'd say more than Final Fantasy has - including spin-offs. :V
One does not simply make a Silmarillion game.

[RacingeR]

They don't have the license of the Silmarillion to work with, since Tolkien's son doesn't like what has been done with the LotR license.

Anyway, Shadows of Mordor has got me hyped. It looks to be pretty good, since it seems to have a more interesting combat than Assassin's Creed.

[Fingolfin]

I want this to be good. But based on past experiences (The Third Age, War in the North, LOTRO, etc.) I'm going to go ahead and assume it will not be.

The Return of the King and the Two Towers games by Visceral Games/EA Redwood Shores were freaking amazing. Much better than those pretenders. You should try those two.

[Laith]

They were fun beat'em ups.

[Gilgamesh]

I played them when they were new. They were simple but fun hack and slash action games. Not offensively bad for what they were but not what I'd want out of a game set in Middle Earth either, not even close.

[ZidanReign]

stop making lord of the rings games for fucks sake

hasn't the damage been enough

[The Geek]

The LOTR movie games were good. So was the Action-Platformer Hobbit game. The GBA version of Third Age was a shameless Fire Emblem ripoff, though.

[Gilgamesh]

To be fair, this isn't a "Lord of the Rings" game. It's set before LOTR and as far as I can tell has a plot pretty much unrelated to it, which is why they called it Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and not Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor. Honestly, it's probably the main thing I'm willing to respect this game for. It's not another "LORD OF THE RINGS VIDEO GAME" where we play as a group of bland stand-ins for LOTR characters that go on a "separate quest" that was totally important to Frodo's Fellowship and the events of LOTR we just didn't know it yet. Which is what most games set in Middle-Earth are. The Third Age, War in the North, Lord of the Rings Online. They all seem to suggest that there were certainly a lot of groups of heroes going on adventures that helped Frodo without him knowing.

Although I haven't been able to decide which was more insulting to me. The Third Age's NOW FIGHT THE EYE OF SAURON, DEFEAT THIS GIANT EYE WITH YOUR MAGIC SPELLS or War in the North's YOU MUST DEFEAT THIS TOTALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT-HAND-MAN TO SAURON THAT TOLKIEN JUST NEVER MENTIONED FOR SOME REASON.

I've been dying for someone to make a video game that didn't just try to tie itself into the Lord of the Rings story. Tolkien himself liked the idea of people taking his world and exploring it themselves with new stories and characters. So... like... people should do that? Although Shadows of Mordor isn't quite what I've always wanted to see, it does look to be a step in the right direction. I think it should take even more risks than it is (like maybe not be set so close to LOTR and maybe not involve Sauron at all), but we'll see what comes of it. If it were me, I'd set a game in The Second Age or The Fourth Age, not involve Sauron at all, and let players explore both iconic and new locations. And like actually have a good story and shit.

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The LOTR movie games were good. So was the Action-Platformer Hobbit game. The GBA version of Third Age was a shameless Fire Emblem ripoff, though.

The PS2 version of Third Age was a shameless FFX ripoff, so I suppose that's fitting.

[Break]

What i liked about the third age was the "now play as the ebemies and kill the good guys" mode, playing as Balrog was sweet.
Also yeah the old ps2 and gamecube Hobbit game was pretty great, and it didnt try to force the Hobbit to be like LOTR either.

[Fingolfin]

I've been dying for someone to make a video game that didn't just try to tie itself into the Lord of the Rings story. Tolkien himself liked the idea of people taking his world and exploring it themselves with new stories and characters. So... like... people should do that? Although Shadows of Mordor isn't quite what I've always wanted to see, it does look to be a step in the right direction. I think it should take even more risks than it is (like maybe not be set so close to LOTR and maybe not involve Sauron at all), but we'll see what comes of it. If it were me, I'd set a game in The Second Age or The Fourth Age, not involve Sauron at all, and let players explore both iconic and new locations. And like actually have a good story and shit.

Well, if it helps this is not going to be canon and is implied to differ greatly from canon. In other words, you might really be able to kill Sauron and shit or totally destroy the established order.

You will meet Golum as Talion though. Or, as so I've heard. Otherwise, you won't meet anyone else really since this is set before the Lord of the Rings but after the Hobbit so it's not set during the Lord of the Ring's plot.

[Gilgamesh]

you might really be able to kill Sauron

That would be really stupid. For one it would mean the plot would have to become about this character somehow getting the ring from Bilbo and destroying it, which would change it from a new story set in Middle-Earth to more LOTR fanfiction in video game form. Unless they decide he can kill Sauron without destroying the Ring, in which case they've done more than be set in an AU, they've completely ignored the core of the source material which would be baaaad.

So I really doubt they are going to do that in particular. I suspect the game will end with the main character dying.

[Fingolfin]

That would be really stupid. For one it would mean the plot would have to become about this character somehow getting the ring from Bilbo and destroying it, which would change it from a new story set in Middle-Earth to more LOTR fanfiction in video game form. Unless they decide he can kill Sauron without destroying the Ring, in which case they've done more than be set in an AU, they've completely ignored the core of the source material which would be baaaad.

So I really doubt they are going to do that in particular. I suspect the game will end with the main character dying.

You see, that's exactly what everyone would expect considering the aforementioned. There's no way they would do that it's too damn predictable. In which case they do, it would make the ending terrible and ruin the entire game.

Plus, this is basically fan-fiction already since it's not going to differ to canon anyway or follow it to a tee. It's not like we ever hear about someone with Wraith abilities trying to assassinate Sauron either. Also, disagree with that meaning that will make it automatically bad. Super Robot Wars does the same thing and it's fucking awesome.

[Siriel]

The Third Age's NOW FIGHT THE EYE OF SAURON, DEFEAT THIS GIANT EYE WITH YOUR MAGIC SPELLS

That boss fight is the only thing that redeems Peter Jackson's inexplicable decision to make the eye a real physical thing.

The Third Age was great because it was literally just a fanfic with no pretense otherwise.

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"Gandalf, we're here to back you up against the Balrog!"

"I really don't know who you are but...eh, alright."

- Another great moment.

[Fingolfin]

I liked the fact he turned Sauron into a giant flaming eye ball.

Also, we see Sauron in his actual body in this so that's what we are likely to fight and kill as Talion as we become the new Dark Lord of Mordor.

[Gilgamesh]

That boss fight is the only thing that redeems Peter Jackson's inexplicable decision to make the eye a real physical thing.

I had no problem with the eye being a physical thing. It would have been cooler to only see flashes of it when they feel Sauron's presence or know he's watching them like they already do in the movies and not have the giant eye on the tower, but I get that the common movie goer needed a physical villain they could understand. Even to this day there are people I know who love the movies and only really understood Sauron as "the big eye".

The Hobbit spoilers:

Spoiler:

For what it's worth, I actually think the way they depicted him in Desolation of Smaug is the best way they've done it yet. Shadow and darkness taken form, and then a trippy visual moment with a NOT physical version of the Eye and the iris of it turning into his old physical body and then back to the eye and so forth.

The Third Age was great because it was literally just a fanfic with no pretense otherwise.

"Gandalf, we're here to back you up against the Balrog!"

"I really don't know who you are but...eh, alright."

- Another great moment.

If only the characters weren't insanely boring and the entire plot an excuse just to shove them into moments where they shouldn't have been shoved into....

You see, that's exactly what everyone would expect considering the aforementioned. There's no way they would do that it's too damn predictable. In which case they do, it would make the ending terrible and ruin the entire game.

Plus, this is basically fan-fiction already since it's not going to differ to canon anyway or follow it to a tee. It's not like we ever hear about someone with Wraith abilities trying to assassinate Sauron either. Also, disagree with that meaning that will make it automatically bad. Super Robot Wars does the same thing and it's fucking awesome.

I'm fine with AU stories and fanfiction, but they have to follow the core rules of the original. Having Sauron able to be killed without the Ring being destroyed betrays a fundamental core of the entire world/franchise. AU can change things and go in new directions all they want, but they can't just ignore the rules of the world. That would make it bad fanfiction.

[Fingolfin]

I'm fine with AU stories and fanfiction, but they have to follow the core rules of the original. Having Sauron able to be killed without the Ring being destroyed betrays a fundamental core of the entire world/franchise. AU can change things and go in new directions all they want, but they can't just ignore the rules of the world. That would make it bad fanfiction.

Shinji Ikari not being whiny and pathetic all around is against everything that's Evangelion but every time he greats Bright slapped in SRW it's always amazing. It's all about how it is executed, the concept can sound horrible on paper but if done in the right way it can be amazing. That's something I only recently learned myself. Not matter how unoriginal or original, it's all about execution.