Shadow of War, at it's core, is a great game. I can say this somewhat confidently after attempting to finish the game for the fourth (I think) time now. I have never completed the game, and most likely never will.
I like the combat, even if it is just another Arkham clone. Arkham was good, and really all this is missing in comparison to those games are the stealth elements. It makes up for that in the moment to moment action and different abilities you get throughout the game though.
Setting is great. LoTR is iconic for a reason. I do get slightly annoyed though, when an IP is used to sell something and the story can't be canon in the overall universe because it doesn't make sense in the context of everything else. Just make a new IP. Yes, that's hard, but i'd rather have something new over something that doesn't make sense for LoTR.
The only other thing I think is worth mentioning is the Nemesis System. This is simultaneously the thing that sold this game to millions of players, and the thing that brought it down.
It's a good system because it provides a cast of characters that don't have to written by the developers entirely. Most captains just have a basic template, and a few things that make them different than the standard orc, plus more health. There are some really cool encounters with orcs that return from the dead, or are infested with flies, or has a gang of enraged ologs that travel with them, etc. The coolest part about it, is that you can make any one of those orcs your follower, if, and only if, they are under your level. Which brings me to the negatives.
The nemesis system is marred by the microtransactions that plagued this game at launch. All of the store options are gone now, but the grind of progression that remains makes the game unenjoyable to me. You get to a new region excited to recruit more orcs, just to discover they are three to four levels higher than you and you have to shame them just to recruit them, or grind a few levels, which can take hours. It essentially doubles the time it takes to recruit any orc, and it makes the nemesis system something that is more tedious than it is fun. There's nothing worse than playing for a few hours and feeling like you got nothing done. You get a few things in the game that can help you boost your xp gains, but it essentially just kicks the can down the road a bit.
This game had a lot of potential, especially off the back of Shadow of Mordor. Unfortunately, it was yet another AAA game ruined by greed.
I like the combat, even if it is just another Arkham clone. Arkham was good, and really all this is missing in comparison to those games are the stealth elements. It makes up for that in the moment to moment action and different abilities you get throughout the game though.
Setting is great. LoTR is iconic for a reason. I do get slightly annoyed though, when an IP is used to sell something and the story can't be canon in the overall universe because it doesn't make sense in the context of everything else. Just make a new IP. Yes, that's hard, but i'd rather have something new over something that doesn't make sense for LoTR.
The only other thing I think is worth mentioning is the Nemesis System. This is simultaneously the thing that sold this game to millions of players, and the thing that brought it down.
It's a good system because it provides a cast of characters that don't have to written by the developers entirely. Most captains just have a basic template, and a few things that make them different than the standard orc, plus more health. There are some really cool encounters with orcs that return from the dead, or are infested with flies, or has a gang of enraged ologs that travel with them, etc. The coolest part about it, is that you can make any one of those orcs your follower, if, and only if, they are under your level. Which brings me to the negatives.
The nemesis system is marred by the microtransactions that plagued this game at launch. All of the store options are gone now, but the grind of progression that remains makes the game unenjoyable to me. You get to a new region excited to recruit more orcs, just to discover they are three to four levels higher than you and you have to shame them just to recruit them, or grind a few levels, which can take hours. It essentially doubles the time it takes to recruit any orc, and it makes the nemesis system something that is more tedious than it is fun. There's nothing worse than playing for a few hours and feeling like you got nothing done. You get a few things in the game that can help you boost your xp gains, but it essentially just kicks the can down the road a bit.
This game had a lot of potential, especially off the back of Shadow of Mordor. Unfortunately, it was yet another AAA game ruined by greed.