It's been 14 long years since The Lord of the Rings closed its epic trilogy with The Return of the King. 14 years since the Ring was destroyed, Aragorn was crowned king, and the hobbits returned to the Shire together. The series did a lot to catapult the fantasy genre into the forefront of pop culture, eventually leading to the popularity of shows like Game of Thrones, and while The Hobbit would try to recapture that sense of adventurous wonder in 2012, the new series never quite lived up to its predecessor.
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That said, Monolith's latest trailer for Middle-earth: Shadow of War certainly comes quite close to replicating LotR's famous battles. The trailer's live-action, meaning it uses real actors complete with all the outfits, make-up, and props you could expect from a fantasy setting, and to top it off viewers can access multiple endings via interactive embedded links in the video. Give it a try:
The trailer's first and foremost a demonstration of how Shadow of War's famous Nemesis system has undergone an overhaul in the new game. For those new to the series: this refers to how players impact the world around them, including the hierarchy of Mordor's ranks when they defeat (or fail to defeat) enemy Orcs. The grotesque, adversarial creatures can and will go on to rise in rank and power, acquiring new skills, bodyguards, and various other perks. Encountering the Orcs later, either by seeking them out or as they themselves hunt you for revenge, will trigger a type of "reunion" dialogue where the Orc references the previous engagement before once again trying to kill the player.
The system, though far from perfect, proved to be an innovative and highly popular mechanic for the RPG. Nemesis gave players a sense of agency in Shadow of Mordor, as though their actions actually mattered for once. Repeatedly clashing with the same Orc could build up feelings of genuine antipathy towards the fictional character, a phenomenon that is conspicuously absent from most narratives in the fantasy genre, and for whatever faults the overarching story had (and it had many), the Nemesis system provided a fresh experience that almost made up for it.
Not all Orcs are allies, and not all allies are Orcs. Source
As for Shadow of War, the most major change seems to be that choices will now be implemented semi-organically as players experience larger battles. There will be options, as demonstrated by the above trailer, that require the player to choose on-the-fly what their priorities are. In this example, the player can either save their companion, an Orc-turned-ally, or proceed to their target - and while I can't speak for everyone, ignoring the strangely sympathetic cries for help of the pinned Orc proved too much of a challenge. I rescued him and together we defeated the hulking monster, leading to the promotion of my ally to a personal bodyguard.
For the sake of covering the full experience, I repeated the trailer and instead abandoned him in pursuit of the Ranger's initial target - a decision that led to a very interesting development. Upon defeating the enemy on the right, the ally fired a crossbow bolt into the Ranger's shoulder and condemned me for abandoning him. I sent a group of crossbow-wielding, smaller Orcs after my former ally, and while he would survive the encounter, it wouldn't be without lasting injuries. The Orc emerged near the end of the trailer touting impressive burns that covered half of his face and promised revenge against the Ranger.
So there we have it. It seems that Shadow of War will provide a more dynamic and fluid Nemesis system that not only features regular encounters with specific enemies, but also choices that impact the Ranger's companions in addition to himself. Successfully attacking a fortress won't simply be a matter of hunting down and slaughtering one of Mordor's monstrous minions; there will be moments where minor targets will threaten the Ranger's allies, and the player will have to choose between saving them - monsters that, despite being on his side, still bear the horrific visage of their sworn enemies - or seeking out the revenge they came for.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War launches on October 10, 2017 for $59.99 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. For more information, check out the game's official website, or follow the developers on Twitter for instant updates about any future news.
