Batman meets Assassin`s Creed meets Lord of the Rings

I am now not necessarily the biggest Lord of the Rings fan. Have seen the movies and find it quite cool, but games of this universe I've never touched. Nevertheless, I was very excited about "Mordor shadow". After all, the gameplay videos that you always got to see in advance, saw already damn interesting and it always smelled a hint of Assassin's Creed, but just in the Lord of the Rings world with its own elements. Well, now I zocke "Mordor shadow" for several days quite intensively, am with the main campaign nearly, have completed secondary jobs and give here now times as always my impressions from the game.

\\\ /// GRAPHIC

Visually, "shadow of Mordor" quite pretty. Very nice to say that it looks very appealing and harmonious all in one package, but I do not really skin off your feet. When characters / enemies Design the makers have given noticeable effort because all the figures and characters that appear in "shadow of Mordor" and you run over the game time on the way, look really class. Above all, the clothing of the main protagonists with their details makes her a lot (the cape blowing in the wind, the swords on his back jiggling according to body movement, everything seems very dynamic and realistic). The main opponents were designed quite individually. The facial animations are solid contrast for next-gen conditions, no more and no less. The environment, so the game world, can also be seen and provides especially good vision, but also looks pretty bland and very abwechslungsarm. Liked me against the rain effects.

\\\ /// GAMEPLAY

The gameplay can be, in principle, describe in a few words: Batman and Assassin's Creed! The basic game structure reminds every second at Ubisoft's AC-series. Running, sprinting, the jumps of roofs and projections climb layers on walls and rocks, even ducking when one sneaks through bushes, all AC-like, which is not so bad (this really only the famous Eagle noise is absent). Unfortunately, the Sprint was not included so great. While you could sprint on the assassins with the R2 button and adjust the tempo, you can only run (usually normally via stick) or even races (with the X button). A well-maintained endurance with which I am always happy fortbewege is not possible. But the only time on the edge. Also, the whole movement feels nowhere near as soft and delicate like the larger model. Even stupid, that one gets stuck somehow on the walls and other obstacles from time to time, if you really close at a certain angle goes ran. And the camera zickt happy times around a bit, so that I will always - particularly in the fight - must readjust to keep track.

The combat system is 1: 1 taken from Batman, but really 1: 1. For attack and defense as the Dark Knight you need only two keys. From a certain combo number can then be combined with other buttons, for example, perform special attacks by opponents to send immediately the Jordan. With the X button to make evasive hops (for example, as in Batman to hop behind an enemy with a shield to those of the back attack) and even stun the opponent via the round button is absolutely the same as in DC`s superhero. And even if the whole concept is quite simply stolen, it was at least well taken, because the fights put clearly the highlight of the game. These fall out very dynamic and fluid, are impressively choreographed and in bulk (10 or like more enemies) really fun and also challenging. The Finisher, which have a fairly high degree of violence for a 16-title and are represented mostly in Slow-Mow, are also confusingly similar to, I had to think about Ryse here again. Overall, the makers have thus served plenty other games. In sum, all but gives a very entertaining gameplay.

\\\ Game world ///

The game world is open, so a typical Open World with different sections, which you can see on a map from the menu. It's not the largest, but not necessarily the smallest card. On this map there are the usual suspects, such as fast travel points, main and side missions, Collectable such plants, the main men that need to do it and more many many bad opponents thugs who were almost all equipped with the same dubbing voice and usually the always the same-looking slaves chase through the country. The pity is that the game world looks pretty lifeless and bland. Everything looks kind of the same, there is little appreciable details and you really only applies opponents and slaves in the game world, nothing more.

\\\ OPPONENT CONCEPT ///

Particular attention certainly deserves the opponents concept (which has also NEN specific name but escapes me) which was so big advertised in advance. Therefore, I explain the whole for a quick. Basically, it's about all, I'll call officers to bring the corner. There are the normal infantry, that is the traditional enemy encountered abound again, and then there's captains and chiefs, meaning the leading the troops. At these bosses can be reached, for example, by the marked certain soldiers of the infantry, snaps and interrogated. This eventually leads to information such as the whereabouts of captain as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Then you go into a, I'll call it shadow menu, where an army of shadow puppets waiting. Each of these dwarfing this as a boss. For all these shadow figures you can now select any one. So button and see the villain once and learn details (its strengths, its weaknesses). Then you mark this captain, so it appears on the map. Well, and then it's go hunting. Was the captain finally done successfully, it reaps a experience points and also mal ne Ruhne. Then the game starts all over again. So get back to more, again choose a new captain and go hunting again.

A cool idea of ​​this game concept is the following. In this army there is a hierarchy. If, for example a captain by your hands, a place at the management level is free. Now if you killed by a foot soldier, this rises to captain and takes this open space. Will you killed by a captain, this gets more power and moves further close in on the rank of a chief. Whenever you so faded away, her refilled the management level. This game concept makes her a lot, looks fresh and yes, you can tell simply the makers have given some thought here. The downside to the whole thing is that the whole is sometime very very monotonous. Kill captain, kill Captain, killing Captain, kill chief, kill captain and so on and so forth. What with the time and a little goes down (so it was at least for me) are the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy. I am almost always just purely in the fight and got the bosses cut away by the sword. I rarely have the weaknesses of enemies, such as fear of fire, really used because it was not necessary simply.

\\\ /// KI

Here is the motto quantity instead of quality. Because the AI ​​is to express it nice times, quite stupid, and only in the mass really challenging, because their own life energy does not automatically or very difficult to regenerate by itself. When you're surrounded by 20 opponents and in addition the camera has to readjust itself to always keep track, then one can ever go often Hopps. But one does not always have a direct confrontation. Who pulls slowly across the field, namely has virtually no problems, let yourself opponent groups the succession patrol at a distance of one meter, bring cozy gradually around the corner without the precursor noticing anything. This reflects then always most apparent the weaknesses of AI. Also you can lure enemies in bushes to eventually bring this quietly to the ground. This, however, can not only once do or even two or three times, no, that one makes until datt bushes is full (fun!), You have no desire or is caught. There has therefore been a reason why you will usually surrounded within seconds by several opponents.

\\\ RPG elements ///

Well I like it, however, the share of RPG. One can not only weapons with runes provided (more damage, etc.), but also enhance the character (extend the health bar, more arrows, etc.). Here you have some ways the deal for a while, however, affects the whole and not overloaded.

\\\ Mordor SHADOW CONCLUSION ///

All in all, meet tight 4 stars in my eyes exactly the measure of "Mordor shadow", because it has plenty of light, but also quite a lot of shade. And of course all this reflects only my personal opinion, and especially Lord of the Rings fans will still have certain ne corner more fun with the game. Oh, and if you ask you should where the story section has remained. I have deliberately omitted, because particularly noteworthy is the whole not in my eyes, at least for me as not over-LotR fan. In addition, each player will eventually experience itself. In this sense, a lot of fun with the game, or maybe not ...

Century