The Stoned Gamer Plays Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

“Two thousand years after Sauron was defeated, he has returned to Mordor.”

Those words alone are enough to excite Lord of the Rings fans! MiddleEarth: Shadows of Mordor is an awesome new battle adventure game from Warner Bros. Interactive.

You play as Talion. You and your family are murdered, yet you are trapped in between dimensions. You are banished from death. To break the curse you have to find the ones who cast it on you, the black hand of Sauron.

The game begins with a tutorial. As you play, you unlock Forge towers, which unlocks the wraith’s memories. You also unlock new missions, collectible locations on the map, and Mirian—which is used to unlock upgrades. The map shows you main missions, side missions, and other objectives in the game. As you defeat enemies, you gain Intel about where other enemies are hiding.

The game play, character action, and your abilities remind me of Assassins Creed. The way you climb the walls and hide in the bushes is very similar. The map is similar to the standard in gaming. Opening up forge points gives new places to re-spawn and fast travel making travel simple.

The story of the game is a guaranteed sell to Lord of the Rings fans. Even though I felt this game lacked PR when compared to Destiny, Shadows of Mordor gives fans control of their favorite story. Sure, Destiny is a great game, but the story doesn’t invoke emotion in a gamer. In fact, it doesn’t really exist in comparison.

When I was checking out the list of plants you encounter throughout the game, I couldn’t help but notice the pipe-weed. It’s fragrant herb can be found throughout Middle Earth. Ironically, the leaves are commonly dried cut and smoked in pipes by humans, hobbits and dwarves. Sounds like our kind of plant! The flowers of the pipe weed properly applied, Kindle pain and inspired his senses. Talk about awesome.

The lothrond, a mushroom-looking fungus, can create a temporary and inflated sense of heroism when mixed with other common herbs. Nice. Makes you wonder what strain the developers were smoking when they created this game.

All in all, this game is incredible. The enemies you fight become more powerful if they defeat you, making the battles become more complex. You defeat lower level beasts to work your way up to War Captains. I love how these characters talk shit to you when they defeat you. Needless to say, I’ve died a few times. I keep coming back for more!