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[VanWinkle]

Watch a story mission and some in-depth gameplay in this Twitch stream.

Story trailer

Meet Ratbag, one of your Orc companions, in this more lighthearted story trailer.

Behind the scenes with voice actors Troy Baker and Nolan North

This game gets very little hype on GAF and probably elsewhere, but it looks fantastic. It's developed by Monolith, who you may know from No One Lives Forever, Condemned, and F.E.A.R. So, yeah, they're good.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is an open-world action-RPG set in Tolkein's Middle-Earth, taking place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It's got an Assassin's Creed feel in it's movement, a Batman Arkham feel to it's combat, and the open sandbox style of a game like The Witcher 3 or Dragon Age. The main character, Talian - voiced by Troy Baker - co-exists with a wraith, who is able to revive him and give him Wraith-like abilities. This creates some unique gameplay opportunities, like a sort of teleportation and controlling minds of enemies and even creatures.

The main innovation in the game is the Nemesis system. This allows enemies to remember your interactions with them and adjust their behavior and actions toward you accordingly. As one example, a low level orc may somehow manage to kill you. In turn, he will move up in their rank, as killing you was an important goal for him. You may be revived and meet up with him again some time down the line and he'll comment on how you're supposed to be dead, and may remember things about your interactions. It's a very sophisticated and deep system, and it's one of the ways the game separates itself from those action RPGs that precede it. Every Orc is different, and memorable in their own ways.

The game is being developed for PS4, XB1, and PC. Another developer is handling the port for PS3 and 360. The last-gen versions will have reduced features and a lesser version of the Nemesis system, so there is no need to worry about the negatives of a "cross-gen" title here.

Devs said PS4 version is 1080p and targeting 60fps. We don't yet know the resolution of the XB1 version, but they are targeting 60fps on that version, as well.

Here a couple of previews for the game:

IGN

Pretty much everyone from IGN who got their hands on WB and Monolith’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at E3 2014 was immediately surprised by just how great the game felt.

...

My time with the game was an absolute treat, and the only reason I left the demo was because of a conflicting appointment. And at an E3 as packed with incredible games as this year’s has been, that’s saying something.

Gamespot

I have a difficult task ahead of me. I need to try to convey why, after just the first day of E3, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is quite likely my personal game of the show.

...

In the time I played, I was repeatedly flabbergasted by the continual layering of deep systems and large-scale consequences that I never expected.

Polygon had a great 30-minute video with a lot of info and gameplay footage from this year's E3 that I HIGHLY suggest watching, which is on YouTube right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL5BOqYizms

I'm really, really excited for this game. Its release date just got pushed forward a week, from October 7th to September 30 of this year. I don't know if maybe because it's a licensed game that it's not getting a lot of attention, but I certainly think it's worth some.

 

[the_firewithin]

i have been hyped for a while !!

 

[DaleinCalgary]

It screams Peter Molyneux hype.

 

[antitrop]

I have more interest in the game than I did before I read this thread.

 

[Ventara]

Yup, pretty excited for this. I have a few other RPGs to finish, though, so it depends on how I do with those whether I'll get this Day 1 or not.

 

[Vashetti]

Oh, I didn't realise the last-gen versions were being done by someone else.

Hype returning.

 

[shem935]

It screams Peter Molyneux hype.

What does this mean?

 

[Pudge]

I bought it months ago with the help of some spare GMG cash I had lying around. It's what I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year. I hope it does to LOTR what Arkham Asylum did to Batman.

 

[Camp Lo]

It screams Peter Molyneux hype.

Yep. I'll wait for reviews on this one.

 

[Adam_Roman]

I was hyped from the moment the setting was announced. I got hyped again when seeing the gameplay, again when seeing the nemesis system, and most recently, when they revealed the wraith is Celebrimbor. I don't care if this wasn't written by Tolkien, it seems like it's gonna be absolutely fantastic. I really hope they can reach 60fps on the PS4 version like they said they're hoping to.

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

I've been hyped since the great footage I've seen at E3.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

What does this mean?

It means it doesn't deliver.

 

[BananasWithGuns]

I'm excited for the game and I have it preordered right now but with that said I want to go in with tempered expectations. There are a lot of aspects in the game that I think have the potential of falling flat so I don't want to overhype myself and end up disappointed in the end.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

I have more interest in the game than I did before I read this thread.

Werd. Reading the OP got me a bit hyped, good job. Definitely on my radar now.

 

[licktheenvelope]

I'd be luke-warm hyped... but I really, really like Monolith so i'm there day one.

 

[Kleegamefan]

Gaffers are very much awere of this game and I feel it has quite a bit of hype......

No, its not a AAA monster like Destiny or COD but I would say it is up there with games like Alien Isolation and Dragon Age:Inquisition in terms of Gaf hype...

Game will probably be a Million+ seller, no doubt

 

[Tucah]

It's the kind of game I'm definitely going to wait and see reactions for before I buy it but it looks interesting enough.

 

[deoee]

When is this happening? :O

nvm. I did not catch the last sentence somehow.
So 30.9 yeah?

 

[Markitron]

It looks great, but I am a little apprehensive about it as it seems like one of those games that could go either way. I love the AC/Arkham games and the LotR franchise so I am hoping it's really good. I even liked War in the North despite the fact that it was painfully average in every way.

I'm not sure about the Nemesis system, I really hate it when developers say 'the game changes according to how you play', as 99% of the time its utter bullshit

 

[Shengar]

My new i7 processor is ready.

 

[shem935]

It means it doesn't deliver.

Sorry I'm not that familiar with him. What gives people the impression it won't deliver? What "screams" Molyneux about it?

 

[antitrop]

Werd. Reading the OP got me a bit hyped, good job. Definitely on my radar now.

Somehow the fact that Monolith was developing this game escaped me.

 

[Wasteman]

The Lord of the rings licensing will help it sell an absolute shit load. I wouldn't be surprised if they went for the LOTR universe over a new one for that sole reason.

 

[saunderez]

I'm totally hyped! Helps that I won it in Shadownet's amazing giveaway and it's sitting in my Steam library taunting me. Can't wait!

 

[Dryk]

It screams Peter Molyneux hype.

Yeah, I am aware of the game but I refuse to get hyped because the Nemesis system is exactly the sort of thing that never turns out as good as the developer says it will.

 

[mollipen]

I don't like Lord of the Rings. "Hate" wouldn't be the correct word - more like "utter disinterest". But, I've had a chance to play pieces of the game a few times now, and I'm legitimately interested in it.

It's hard to really know if the game's ideas will fully work out or not through such small sampling of them, but they're definitely intriguing. It feels like a potentially fun adventure game that suddenly has this whole other layer to it, and not knowing how deep (or shallow) that layer will be is part of my interest. It's like Dungeons & Dragons meets Assassin's Creed meets Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is an interesting mix.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Getting this day one. Didn't know that the last gen version was being developed by another studio, neat.

It means it doesn't deliver.

What's there not to deliver, the Nemesis system? Everything else is pretty textbook.

 

[TimmiT]

It screams Peter Molyneux hype.

This. There are a lot of promises made, and it seems like it could be a cool game, but I'd wait for impressions before buying it. Though really you should do this with just about every game unless you're a big fan of the franchise or developer.

 

[Steel]

Sorry I'm not that familiar with him. What gives people the impression it won't deliver? What "screams" Molyneux about it?

Molyneux generally hypes up his game's system's beforehand as being revolutionary and awesome, and generally doesn't deliver the experience he talks about. The nemesis system talk kinda sounds like the type of thing molyneux would hype up.

That being said, I know little about this game and I'm willing to give it a shot. Can't say I'm hyped or expecting a train wreck.

 

[Gbraga]

I think I knew Monolith was making this, but for some reason I forgot and so I wasn't hyped at all. Damn, I kinda need this now.

I hope the PC performance is good.

 

[shinobi602]

Really excited for it myself. Everything about it looks like quality fun.

 

[Camp Lo]

Sorry I'm not that familiar with him. What gives people the impression it won't deliver? What "screams" Molyneux about it?

He was the creator of Fable and notorious for over hyping his products and under delivering on his promises. This game has a lot of promises on gameplay but yeah, I'll wait till it's in the hands of people I trust before I get hyped.

 

[benny_a]

I'm not sure about the Nemesis system, I really hate it when developers say 'the game changes according to how you play', as 99% of the time its utter bullshit

They have without exaggerating shown at least 5 hours of gameplay for this title between E3 and today.

Not many games can claim that. Nor do most attempt previews that rely this much on narrated gameplay.

 

[Goodacre0081]

release date pushed forward?

 

[VanWinkle]

They have without exaggerating shown at least 5 hours of gameplay for this title between E3 and today.

Not many games can claim that. Nor do most attempt previews that rely this much on narrated gameplay.

Yup, exactly. They're incredibly open about the game and the system, so I don't think it's fair to act like it's unfounded overpromised hype.

 

[OverBlood 3]

It's developed by Monolith, who you may know from No One Lives Forever, Condemned, and F.E.A.R.

Well my eyes were like O_O when I read this.

On my radar, don't even care what else is going on.

 

[Bloodrage]

I'll probably check this out on PS4 if the reviews are good.

 

[burgerdog]

I'll be picking it up, been interested since the reveal.

 

[licktheenvelope]

They have without exaggerating shown at least 5 hours of gameplay for this title between E3 and today.

Not many games can claim that. Nor do most attempt previews that rely this much on narrated gameplay.

And it's Monolith, they of making games that no one talks about... they sneak up on me and surprise me all the time.

 

[Markitron]

They have without exaggerating shown at least 5 hours of gameplay for this title between E3 and today.

Not many games can claim that. Nor do most attempt previews that rely this much on narrated gameplay.

Their confidence is very reassuring, but I'll wait until the reviews before I get excited about a system that could still end up as a gimmick. Like I said I really want this to be good

 

[Horp]

I'll join! I'm hyped as hell!

 

[Kusagari]

I doubt the nemesis system ends up anything like they're claiming, but that doesn't really matter anyway.

What matters is if it's fun to play and it looks like it is.

 

[Nuke Soda]

Hyped enough to pre order it.

 

[Hooks]

I'm am definitely aboard this hype train! This game looks amazing.

 

[Kleegamefan]

Oh, I didn't realise the last-gen versions were being done by someone else.

Hype returning.

Better yet, the Curren-gen version have increased features and scope over their last-gen brethren, ala Forza Horizon 2

 

[Hypemaster]

Been hyped for this, can't wait.

 

[benny_a]

Their confidence is very reassuring, but I'll wait until the reviews before I get excited about a system that could still end up as a gimmick. Like I said I really want this to be good

Sure, I always recommend to wait until a game is out so you can make an informed purchase.

I just wanted to counter the Molyneux comparison because he is known for talking and making up features mid-interview.
Monolith are showing the Nemesis system by just playing the game and based on that the Nemesis system is real enough. The question is just how much are the systems needed if you can mash your way to victory.

 

[phen0m24]

Can't wait to play it - hope the combat is as satisfying as the prospect of the Nemesis system. Enjoyed the interview with Troy Baker as well as all of the trailers.

Spoiler

pre-ordered yesterday

 

[New002]

Definitely interested in this.

 

[licktheenvelope]

Sure, I always recommend to wait until a game is out so you can make an informed purchase.

I just wanted to counter the Molyneux comparison because he is known for talking and making up features mid-interview.
Monolith are showing the Nemesis system by just playing the game and based on that the Nemesis system is real enough. The question is just how much are the systems needed if you can mash your way to victory.

One thing they did say though is that they didn't want to interfere with how players want to play so, apparently, if you get enough Orc guys on your side you can send them in themselves to do all the damage.