What’s Gus Playing? Episode 6
The GrogHeads’ munchkin of malice is mauling in Mordor ~
Lloyd Sabin, 6 November 2017
There is a lot to learn and the game is rather wide open, but you can get your ass kicked very easily.
I pre-ordered Shadow of War 8 months ago when I saw some footage of the game’s siege mechanics and drooled all over the keyboard. I am a casual Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fan at best, which is probably a good thing since Shadow of War does NOT stick to canon…not even a little bit. Which has sent some hardcore fans in to a bit of a rage. Fortunately for you, reader, there are other things in the game that have enraged me. The most enraging is the repetitive gameplay…a lot of the missions in Shadow of War are very, very similar, and very similar to the missions in Shadow of Mordor. I am only in the first act out of four, however.
The gameplay can be a bit tough as well, but I have improved at it as I have progressed. Another item that kinda, sorta enrages me is how long it takes to get to the aforementioned siege battles. The developers are making me slog through the first act, which is like a mini Shadow of Mordor game. Maybe I am being impatient but I need that sweet siege action. Give it to me!!
Despite my impatience and the sameness of Shadow of War, the game runs smooth as butter on my relatively robust rig…so CTDs and bad performance are not things I can get enraged at. I consider the performance a minor miracle considering the sheer amount of action that is going on at any one moment in Shadow of War. So much, in fact, that my 43 year old brain was flummoxed at what to do next for the first 5-6 hours of the game.
There is a lot to learn and the game is rather wide open, but you can get your ass kicked very easily. There are also a ton of fighting combos and character tweaks to master. If you love fighting games, and Lord of the Rings (but don’t kneel before canon), you will probably enjoy Shadow of War. Something about it keeps drawing me back…probably the promise of the sieges and army assembly.
And even though this is not technically a review, I would probably be remiss in not mentioning loot boxes and marketing here. Neither is much of a big deal to me, but Shadow of War has been getting shelled online for its loot box mechanics and its more-than healthy dose of marketing bloat buffeting Shadow of War. Me personally – sure it’s a little much, but easily ignored. Which is what I do.
So in the end I may be a little old for a game as frenetic as Shadow of War – but I’ve been advancing so maybe not too old, yet. Check out the below screens and wish me the best on getting to that sweet, SWEET siege action soon.
That’s it for this week. Next week’s entry will most likely continue charting my progress (or lack thereof) in Shadow of War since the game is huge. I hope to report back by then that I have at least started assembling my army in Act 2, if I am not fully engaged in some hot siege action.
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