Shadow of Mordor game

[rmjones0411]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

You know what I think would make an interesting setting for a game? The Kin-Strife. It's confronting and deals with issues of racial prejudice, and would break the mould of just killing lots of Orcs.

I really enjoyed this thoughtful and thorough analysis of some of the game decisions. This is probably one that I will rent and try out of sheer curiosity. I find the amazing depth of Tolkien's universe fascinating. I own the Silmarillion and it's mind-bogglingly rich, though I have a lot of trouble following the stories. There's SO much out there that could create an awesome gaming experience. With all the stories of valor, courage, political intrigue, racial tensions, oppression, and epic battles within the existing writings, it just seems silly to me to add an element (wraith-powers) that kind of compromises the very nature of the universe Tolkien created in the name of "flashy" effects that may look cool aesthetically but at the cost of a pretty large breach of the lore.

I can see your point that a linear story having a known beginning and end could be difficult to design a game around. I'm no game designer or Tolkien scholar but I think it could be done well if someone could figure out how to capture the emotions of the people involved and get the player "into the moment". Because even though we know how it ends, the characters in those moments, do not. I actually feel like the Jackson movies did pretty well in this regard. They captured my emotion, anyway, and I felt vested in the various characters by the end so much so that by the end of the Trilogy, I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. I remember wanting to follow the boat out of the Grey Havens into the West and not have to say goodbye to Frodo, Gandalf, and Bilbo for good; wondering what they would experience on the other side and wishing I could see some of what they saw. I wanted to wander around in the Fourth Age and see how the characters lived out the rest of their lives. I'm aware that many people who really know and love the source material feel very differently about the movies but they created moments of wonder and awe in my life that have never been re-created by any other film.

As I've stated elsewhere on this forum, I'm one who really discovered Middle Earth through experiencing the films. One of the neat things about this is that I didn't really know how the story ended so it played out as if I were seeing it for the first time. I still remember when Aragorn said goodbye to Frodo after the incredibly well-done scene where he proved his loyalty to the Ring-Bearer and then went in to face the Uruks alone. Because I didn't know the story, I wasn't sure if Aragorn was going to make it! I'm thankful for those moments, but I realize I missed out on a lot of richness in the books, which is why I'm working through them now, albeit slowly.

All that said, I appreciate your analysis of the issues with the game. I'm with you that it's one to keep our eyes on, but it looks like another commercially-driven venture, less interested in honoring the incredible world that was created for us, and more in making a game that will keep the twitch-gamer happy and turn a good profit.