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Hey there everyone, how's it going!? So then, recently, I was playing the video game Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, and I finished said game today, and well, seeing as how I've finished it, I want to give my review on the game! Worry not, for those of you who haven't played the game, this review is spoiler free! So then, let's get into this review, shall we? Now then, this game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, and in the story of this game, you control a man named Talion, who is a Ranger at the Black Gate. He, along many other Rangers, keep a close and vigilant watch on the land of Mordor, to make sure that they keep back the threat of Sauron. And so, in an attack by the Black Captains of the dark lord Sauron, Talion's wife Ioreth, and son Diarhael, who also resided in the Black Gate with him, were murdered before his very eyes, and he was slain as well. After death, Talion is prevented death by a mysterious wraith, whose identity I shall not reveal in this review! With said wraith by his side, both of them decide to go on a quest to get revenge on the Black Captains and challenge the might of Sauron! So yeah, basically, the story revolves around that, although there are some story arcs with a few characters that offer a bit of variety, but I shall not spoil said arcs, because I feel that would not be appropriate, because you should all play this game! Okay, now that we've got the story down, I'm going to focus on combat, world exploration, and such! So then, basically, you are in the land of Mordor, which is split between two big maps: Udun and the Sea Of Numen. You begin the game at Udun, and then you go to the Sea Of Numen later in the game. Anyways, to explore the world, you just simply run around to your leisure, and go to whatever destination the story requires you to go, unless, of course, you want to tackle the side quests, which is something I'll elaborate on later on! So yeah, exploring the land of Mordor is fun, and there are these towers that appear called Forge Towers, and scaling them and activating them allows you to fast travel to different points of the map! It's a very convenient feature for when you're in a rush! Combat-wise, the battle system is easy to grasp, but it's also very rewarding! People who have played the Batman: Arkham games will no doubt familiarize themselves with the combat fairly quick. There are three types of weapons you can use to fight. There's the sword Urfael, which you use for melee combat, and then there's the dagger Acharn, which you use for stealth kills, and finally, there's the bow Azkar, which is used for long ranged combat! As you kill endless amounts of Orcs, you get Experience Points, and when you fill the Experience gauge up, you get an ability point, which allows you to unlock abilities to expand Talion's combat arsenal! Trust me when I say that you'll want to get all of Talion's abilities, because they are just monstrous! One of the abilities, Shadow Strike, allows you to kill an enemy from a ridiculously far distance by simply aiming with your bow and then tapping the square button, therefore teleporting to your enemy and beheading him fairly mercilessly! Then there's this other ability, Shadow Chain, if I'm not mistaken, that allows you to perform the Shadow Strike ability in a chain! For example, in one story mission, there were five Uruks gathered in one place, and when I used the Shadow Strike ability, I pressed the square button in the direction of the next Uruk and killed the other bastard after having killed the first one, and then another, and then another until all the Uruks dropped dead at my feet! Another ability allows you to blow up Uruks heads after performing a Flurry attack! There are even abilities where you can mount wild creatures and tame them, therefore, allowing you to travel through Mordor faster, with the added advantage of being able to trample on Orcs and Uruks with gleeful joy! So yes, the combat in this game is addictive, and I know you'll all like it when you try it! A feature of this game that I love is the Nemesis system! It's a very unique feature, and here, I'll give you the basic rundown on how it works! So then, picture this! You're fighting against a normal Orc, or perhaps a captain, and things are going fairly well...and then, after much effort, the enemy you are fighting kills you! The most intriguing thing about this is that after said enemy kills you, they get promoted and move up the ranks, and they become stronger! When you face them again, they'll remember who you are and they'll remember that they had killed you before! It's a very awesome mechanic, and one that was executed quite well! Also, on the subject of Orcs, there's another ability which allows you to Brand them, and therefore make them become your soldiers! This is a very fun ability, as it can help turn the tide of battle by turning Orcs against each other! It's so much fun!!!! X_X Now then, I shall get into the side quests. Honestly, when I started this game at first, I was just thinking of playing through the story, but, when I played one of the side quests, I liked it...and then I tried another...and then another, and then another, until I became hooked! You see, side quests range from making your weapons stronger, to liberating slaves, to hunting specific monsters, to collecting specific mineral herbs, to invading other Uruks' battles...gahh, it's just that it's so addicting! There's also a bounty of collectibles to collect if you want, and they are divided in two: Artifacts and Ithildin. Artifacts are items you find around the map, and each item contains memories of people or Orcs in Mordor, which you can listen to! And then, Ithildin are markings you collect that form a mural of pale light, like the one that appears in the doors of Moria! My point with all this is that you should take the time to go and do these side quests, because they are so fun! X_X I practically got the game to 100%, since I collected and did everything! X3 And now, I bet you're all wondering, how much play time does this game offer? Well, to be honest, if you are only going into the game for the story, the game is fairly short. I'd say that in ten hours, or even less, you can get the story done and over with! But, if you do all the side quests and try to get all the abilities and collectibles and whatnot, you'll clock around thirty two hours of game time! In other words, I am saying that you should all get this game, because it is truly well made, and it's an addicting ride! Plus, you get to kill hordes of Orc scum, so what's better than that!? Lol, I even joked about the game being similar to a few games, and at one time, I would dub the game as Arkham's Creed: Middle-Earth Unleashed! The reason why for this weird nickname? Well, the combat is reminiscent of the Arkham games, the platforming is reminiscent of Assassin's Creed, and the story is an interquel between stories, much like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an interquel between two trilogies! Anyways, that aside, if you are fans of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, you should all play Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, because not only will you find some references to the mythology of Middle-Earth, you'll just enjoy kicking Orc and Uruk ass! So then, until next time, this has been another of Shigehiko's reviews! Over and out! (Also, something to note, I played the PS3 version of the game, since I don't have a PS4, and the only thing that irritated me was the loading times, but, after a bit, you get used to it. But, if you can play the PS4 version, which I assume doesn't suffer from these loading times, then get the PS4 version! )