Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

1. TemplarQuacks95

   Feb 8, 2015

   10

   I waited two months to buy this game because I knew it would released with countless flaws on last-gen. I waited for an update to beI waited two months to buy this game because I knew it would released with countless flaws on last-gen. I waited for an update to be announced. Once it came out, I purchased the game for Xbox 360. And you know what? I was not disappointed. The graphics may not be nearly as pretty as they are on next-gen versions, but this game is an action-packed feast. If you love the Batman Arkham series and Assassin's Creed, you'll LOVE this game. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor takes inspiration from Batman Arkham's combat mechanics and Assassin's Creed's parkour mechanics and molds them into a beautifully crafted masterpiece. The nemesis system is also a very impressive concept, as it makes the world feel much more dynamic and alive.
   The game was surprisingly violent compared to other works based on the Tolkien universe. The combat is excellent, and you feel quite satisfied and powerful seeing a bunch of Orcs flee in horror as you brutalize their captain before their eyes.
   Needles to say, if you haven't played this game, you are seriously missing out on an awesome experience.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
2. Desdicado

   Mar 19, 2015

   9

   A very enjoyable romp thru Mordor. I bought it the same time as Dragon age inquisition, which I completed first, so only completed the mainA very enjoyable romp thru Mordor. I bought it the same time as Dragon age inquisition, which I completed first, so only completed the main game today. I have to say it grew on me as i persevered with it. I thought it might get repetitive but the missions and locations were interesting enough to keep my interest. All in all I sunk about 45 hours into it so good value. The missions were fun, combat developed well as you got stronger and the story was good. Great game. The only issues on the 360 were load times and the blocky graphics which gradually seemed to render, just like Dragon Age actually.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. DarthFronz85

   Aug 6, 2015

   8

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I want to begin by giving any reader of use reviews good advice: If someone says they didn't finish the game, ignore their review. If they didn't finish the game, they didn't get into all the things you could do, didn't get the full story, and thus cannot put together any kind of intelligent review. That bit of wisdom aside, on to the review!
   Unfortunately, I can understand some people being disenchanted with this title, so I'm going to have to defend the score I'm giving it a little bit. I will not compare it to newer-gen systems because I am reviewing the Xbox360 version of the game. The graphical criticisms are definitely true, this game has more pop up than a frat house at a naked lady party. Talion often looks like spiderman climbing smooth, textureless walls until all the boards and stones and things load, the cutscenes seem to clip short, and one time the cutscene just abruptly ended before the characters even finished their conversation with no input from me. The load times are also horrendous, every time you pause the game you can expect to dedicate at least 45 seconds of your life to getting back to the game and you must pause often to check the map and equip new runes and things. However, when one insists on playing a new game on old hardware, one must accept that technical hiccups come with the territory and some things have to be changed entirely (Looking at you, The Force Unleashed on PS2).
   The game itself, like an ugly puppy, does manage to endear itself to the player, however. Talion moves and fights like the love child of Ezio Auditore and Batman. I'm almost 100% certain that he even uses Ezio's running animation from Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood the exact animation. He hangs from ledges like Ezio, leaps onto Uruks like Ezio, and even hides in bushes like a true Assassin or voyeur. When the Uruks come a-knockin' and Talion gets to rockin', he does so with the grace of the Dark Knight holding a sword. The button inputs are the same: X is the kill button, Y counters, and you have this neat little stun thing you can do by pressing B. It adds its own flair by adding automatic combat finishers that change as you level up your abilities. Later on you can take control of Orcs and Uruks and make them into captains and even warchiefs by sending them to kill one another, which is the meat of the game.
   Being a Tolkien fan, I found the story to be a fun bit of non-canon. Like the LOTR movies from more than a decade ago, the game revolves around a major character but doesn't necessarily stay completely faithful to the source material. In fact, for the game, they focus on one character (Celebrimbor, the Elf Lord who forged the Rings of Power and the One Ring) who was only really mentioned in passing in Tolkien's work and turn him into a full on anti-hero. It's actually very interesting to see how Celebrimbor and Talion evolve together and to learn of the Elf's true, less than heroic intentions.
   So yes, the technical issues are there, but what do you expect from a last-gen console? The gameplay is solid, fun, and challenging, the sense of progression and player choice in the manner of that progression is there, and there's even a decent story in there if you're nerdy enough to look into it. Not to mention that when the game does look good, it looks GOOD. I will say the boss battles were a little disappointing as far as their difficulty, but I can let that slide. The game was never about them, anyway. It's about one man looking for revenge and the ghost who's going to give him the power to claim it whilst also gathering power for himself for his own ends. Just dig in and enjoy.… Expand

   • 0 of 11 users found this helpful
5. megacritic1

   Nov 19, 2014

   4

   This game has the genuine feeling that it was not meant for this last-gen console. Though many of its elements seem like they could have theThis game has the genuine feeling that it was not meant for this last-gen console. Though many of its elements seem like they could have the potential to be amazing, its obvious that the 360's software just is not strong enough. It feels like a stripped down port that was made simply so that last gen users didn't feel left out. The nemesis system is stripped down compared to the Xbox One and PS4, the textures in the environments are messy and constantly messing up, and the constant load times is insanely annoying. It's quite obvious that this is technically a great game, just not on this system. Do yourself a favor and save up for next gen before you buy it.… Expand

   • 6 of 9 users found this helpful
6. Nart566

   Apr 14, 2021

   3

   Game is a disaster on xbox 360, Optimization is like a trash. Game is also a trash I am not saying for today, I am saying for 2014. I Didn't like it.

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. Retroshowcase

   Nov 21, 2014

   2

   I played this game for....hmmm.....25 minutes! And it wasn't appealing at all. Bad textures, bad draw distance, bugs and clippings everywhereI played this game for....hmmm.....25 minutes! And it wasn't appealing at all. Bad textures, bad draw distance, bugs and clippings everywhere ... blah blah blah. This looks more like an old XBOX(R) game than a 360 game. I don't know what happens with the PS4 and XONE versions because I don't own one (and probably I won't since I prefer to give money to a good PC from now on). But I think the XBOX 360 -besides being outdated- could do far better than that. But the devs seemed lazy enough and they made a X360/PS3 game that does not -by any means- worth of 55 Euros!! Avoid.… Expand

   • 4 of 6 users found this helpful
8. slomofojoe

   Oct 5, 2015

   0

   WARNING! WARNING! - Please read. Poor Port.
   
   I agree with Bert2e. I just got xbox live sale for $11. NOT WORTH IT! You know the Dragon AgeWARNING! WARNING! - Please read. Poor Port.
   
   I agree with Bert2e. I just got xbox live sale for $11. NOT WORTH IT!
   You know the Dragon Age Inquistion port? Some bad textures and renderderings, some horrible pop-ins, BUT all in all DA:I was fun and looked good enough all was forgiven. NOT IN SHADOW OF MORDOR! IT IS THE WORST PORT YET! Worst part is i dont believe it had to be. Simply put, it was poorly optimized. No excuses!
   
   This is so sad because ive played on a PS4 and it's so great! Ppl will say that at least the combat in xbox 360 port is intact. Yes and no. Yes, all the combos are there, but does it matter when the combat is no longer fluid? Youll stutter through your combos clipping through walls and stabbing a textureless war chief whose lips never sync up to audio.
   
   And in a massive open world game where youll be accessing the menus every few minutes for navigation and upgrades, the 10 sec load in and load out times for pause menus is a NIGHTMARE!
   
   DO NOT BUY PLEASE! Let them know this kind of port is NOT OK!
   Those giving this a 10 are just trying to level out the low score. No one on earth thinks this is perfect. Or even good. Just maybe passable. Maybe, but only because there no game breaking bug i know of. You can finish the game, but god, why would you want to :'(
   
   RIP Shadows of Mordor XBox 360 port.
   YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful

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