Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions formally announced a sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The game, Shadow of War, begins right after the events of the first game, following Talion as he continues his revenge-fueled plan to stop Sauron and his gathering forces. Like a lot of players, Matt Miller and I enjoyed the first game, and we’re optimistic about the sequel – with some slight reservations. Check out our conversation to see why we’re excited, as well as some of the hurdles Monolith is going to have to overcome with this new game.
Jeff C: Hey, Miller! You’re a big ol’ Lord of the Rings nerd, right?
Matt M: Yep. I am a fan of world-building in all its incarnations, and there are few worlds as intricately constructed as Tolkien’s Middle-earth. I also wrote our cover story on Shadow of Mordor and our review, so I’m pretty clued in about this series. We don’t know a whole lot about Shadow of War, but with an official sequel finally announced, it seemed like an appropriate time for some conjecture. What should we talk about first?
Jeff C: This reveal has me torn. I enjoyed Shadow of Mordor, and I’ve had a lot of great times with the various Lord of the Rings games and movies over the past decade or so. But at the same time, the last few Hobbit films sucked a lot of the enthusiasm I had for that world right out of me. I’m at a point where I feel like I’ve explored every corner of Middle-earth and met everyone I could possibly want to meet. Am I excited to see a refined version of the Nemesis system? Sure. Do I want to walk around a volcanic wasteland again? Not really. What do you think? Is there a chance we’ll see anything fundamentally new here? Because looking at that trailer, it seemed like a remix of characters, creatures, and moments I’ve seen before. When a Balrog is boring, that’s a problem.
Matt M: I think Monolith is a really talented studio, and Shadow of Mordor had a lot of fascinating innovation, not to mention a stellar combat system. But the game felt like it ran out of steam about halfway through, and that the last third was rushed. I’m eager to see what the developers can do with several more years under their belts to hammer out the systems and improve the experience.
I do think there’s potential for new locations and experiences for their story, but I share your concern about pre-war Mordor being a pretty bleak place to return to. Part of me almost wishes they were using the same system, but jumping to a different point in the Middle-earth storyline. For instance, I’d love to see them tackle something like the The Tale of Beren and Luthien, which is this great adventure that unfolds in The Silmarillion, and bring their unique brand of action to some of the great stories further back in the timeline. As it is, I’m sure there’s a sense they’ve established a popular character with Talion, and they don’t want to abandon him.
To be fair, even though I didn’t love the ending, the last game did end on a sort of cliffhanger, so they’re kind of obligated to follow up.
Jeff C: I think the timeline is another sticking point for me. I was fine with the first one – which I’m sure made it easier for Monolith to sleep – but this one seems to be butting up against the events of the Fellowship of the Ring even closer. And the closer you get, the more it becomes clear that none of this stuff ultimately matters. Talion will fail in whatever he attempts to do, and it’s up to a bunch of Hobbits to save the day. That’s a dismissive way to put it, and Rogue One showed that you can tell side stories that are entertaining even within a limiting time-frame.
Matt M: I think your Rogue One mention is apt. I suspect Monolith is steering toward a plot of “the untold story” of how what Talion and Celembrimbor do might have been forgotten by history, but that it’s his interference that slows down Sauron just enough that the Fellowship can get underway and survive.
On the story front, I think it’s worth acknowledging that Shadow of Mordor told a somewhat unconventional hero story. Talion is mostly out for revenge, and is less interested in saving the day. If Monolith follows the trend of a classic Middle-earth fable, then Talion’s path is doomed to be a tragic one. Lord of the Rings fiction is littered with heroes who become obsessed with power (sometimes in the name of something good) and the way it brings them to tragedy. Given that Talion and Celembrimbor end the last game declaring that they’re going to go and construct a new ring of power does not bode well for their future.
from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/03/01/why-were-excited-and-hesitant-about-middle-earth-shadow-of-war.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment