Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

This is hands down one of the best games ever made, it was faithful enough to the the books and the lore yes they added some things like the storytelling and the orcs funny dark humor dialogs and interactions but they nailed it and stayed faithful to the lore and the general mode of middle earth, it actually made the game better more engaging fun and amazing journey instead of fighting lifless orcs and personally i think tolkien would have been proud, the nemesis system is just legendary, the orcs remember you now and they know what you did they are not another loser npc's they feel real with unbelievable amount of diversity in their looks and abilities, the story was one of the greatest i have ever experienced about middle earth i loved it to the last second,but gameplay was on another level it was just amazing and fun, i am very proud of this game and it will stay on my recommendation list forever and there is nothing i would love to see more in life than a worthy sequel for this legendary game.

MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR (2017) was definitely a worthy sequel to the Tolkien Middle Earth inspired ME: Shadow of Mordor and as a hardcore, diehard Tokien fan, I'm glad to have a sequel to the Middle Earth themed games to play. Since this game came out it's been both lauded and criticized, and I can honestly understand why. My opinion is often mixed as well. I tend to lean more on the optimistic side however, and remain just grateful to have a decent Tolkien-inspired game, and honestly because I did truly enjoy this series of games, I will rate it accordingly.

As other reviewers have said before, this game had strong similarities to Assassin's Creed series, as well as other similar parkour action styled games with elements of stealth, adventure, fighting, (i.e. Assassins Creed series, Watch Dogs, inFamous, etc.) however the unpredictability of the AI for the Orcs made this game really fun and much more strategic. I enjoyed the premise of the battlefield being the main focal point, recruitment of orcs, building your own army, all the while analyzing and dismantling the enemy army. Uber cool. And the revenge aspect often made it more enjoyable as well.

While it can still be a bit repetitive, (Aren't most games when you think about it?) the graphics are pretty great, cutscenes are visually praisable, and the story is compelling enough to drive the player onwards WITHOUT overstepping too much outside of the Tolkien lore and world. I really appreciated that the writers didn't want to diminish or tarnish an epic masterpiece world by adding too much of their own. Not saying everying here is cannon, per say, but just that it didn't really feel overdone or too butchered. I enjoyed how the many collectables offered room to share lore and background to players that might not know about it. Lastly, while Talion as a character was alright, I really liked the persona and portrayal of Celebrimbor as a main lead.

Overall, this game was really fun and offered a decent ammount of play time. While, not perfect, it was still pretty great for a Tolkien / Middle Earth inspired game and I hope to get more sequels in the future, as long as they don't stray too far from the literature or take too many liberties with the source material.

Shadow of War takes everything from its predecessor and improves upon it. It is everything the first game should have been. The nemesis system is incredible, the numerous large maps are amazing and provide plenty of beautiful locations to explore, and the combat is nearly perfect. The focus on warfare is really what make this game stand out from other action/adventure games. Where Assassin's Creed and Arkham focus on puzzles and solving mysteries, Shadow of War focuses on mass warfare between your army and Sauron's army. It also takes many elements from the wider LotR universe and gives them some screen time here, providing connections to the films and books. This is one of the greatest games I have ever played and that stands true as I play it a second time 2 years after release.

Yeah, it's a fun game. I had fun playing it. It's Fun. Yep.

It makes you feel like you're in Middle-Earth. But it also makes you feel like you're Batman.

Regarding the loot boxes. People don't understand how this works. You do NOT have to spend money on the game more than you already spent. Do you need to do online vendettas and online fortress assaults to get spoils of war to get legendary orcs? Yes. But this is in game already. The people rating this 1 without actually understanding its not a requirement are ruining it for other people making them believe something that just isn't true.

Now that that is out of the way. The game is far better than its predecessor. They took everything that worked in the first game and tweaked it to make it better. The orcs can also cheat death which makes it for a more difficult gameplay. You also got watch who you recruit and kill. If one happens to a be a blood brother of another they will avenge the death of that brother whether they are a follower of you or not. They will turn against you. Also you have to be careful about hitting your follower captains. They can get tired of it and switch back to the other side. Others will switch back for various reasons and once they do you can't get them back. So that really only leaves one option. You can also be ambushed so be careful. I don't feel I am really that far into the game but I think a lot of things opened up now.

But anyways ignore the lootbox bs. I get a lootbox every time I complete an online vendetta and those give you gear on or around your current level. They can also give you legendary gear. I have got one full set so far. They are apparently 54 legendary gear/weapons, in the game that constantly can be upgraded if you fulfill the challenge requirement. This also goes for the Epic Sword of Dominion you could have received with a preorder. Starts at level 5 weapon and I have it up to 30 right now. Keep in mind you can't recruit orcs/trolls higher than your current level. There also seems to be no inventory limit. There is legendary loot boxes that you can get once you have accumulated enough spoils of war which you get for online vendettas and online fortress assaults. You get more for the assaults so you choose which way you wanna go about it. Believe the lootboxthing isn't nearly as negative if it really is at all as people are making it out to be.