Monolith’s follow-up to 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor is out now. The action-adventure game played similarly to Assassin’s Creed, but the revolutionary Nemesis System brings a very innovative AI system that is truly dynamic to your playthrough. In Shadow Of War, the system is greatly expanded, with more enemy orc captain variety, more varied locations than just drab old Mordor and an expanded character and gear system which gives it light RPG elements.
While it all sounds good, the marketing surrounding the game is a bit worrisome. The big worry is loot boxes and micro-transactions. The game is primarily a single-player game and that is not a good fit. Early reviews have conflicting reports whether the loot boxes are necessary to reach the game’s true ending.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of War is available on the PS4, PC and Xbox One. Stay tuned for a full review of the game soon.