VERDICT A bigger, deeper and better game
than its predecessor, with a more advanced
Nemesis System and huge action set-pieces.SEVERAL HOURS INTO Middle-earth:
Shadow Of War Talion (Baker), the player’s
character, gets the chance to ride a drake (basically
a dragon) to survey an orc-occupied fortress from
the sky above, before commanding his mount
to breathe a steady stream of flame onto the
green-skinned foes below.
As these adversaries are cooked from a safe
distance, Talion’s orc allies — brainwashed into
joining his cause some hours earlier — deal death
on the ground. Among their ranks is an ogre that
turns the stronghold’s fortified gates to toothpicks,
while a caragor-riding Uruk lops the heads off
anything crossing his growling mount’s path.
Engulfing the fortress in fire from atop a beast
that would make the Mother Of Dragons envious,
while watching your troops tear things up on the
surface, recalls the kind of epic clashes typically
reserved for a game’s conclusion. In Shadow Of
War, however, this stuff happens all the time.
In fact, the skirmish above was but a small
slice of a much larger battle, one that saw Talion
teleport to a dozen adversaries before opening
them from belly to brain-stem, sic swarms of
spiders on fleeing foes, and face the stronghold’s
powerful overlord in a blood-soaked bout.
Shaped by the game’s various story-shaping
systems, such encounters are not scripted, but
rather emergent, dynamic, and heavily directed
by the player. Most notably, the series’ innovative
Nemesis System returns from 2014’s Shadow Of
Mordor, allowing fans to make game-long friends
(but mostly enemies) and have a direct influence
on how the world responds to their actions. Get
killed by even the lowliest orc during the game,
and that enemy will level up, be promoted in
Sauron’s army and remember you next time you
meet — offering some trash talk before you get
a second (or third, or fourth) chance to kill them.
While assassinating, recruiting, humiliating
and manipulating adversaries lets you personalise
your encounter and overall narrative, the game’s
sprawling skill trees afford the same freedom in
customising your character. Fun, meaningful
abilities — such as the aforementioned
teleportation and arachnid army — dominate the
extensive upgrade path, making progressing
Talion an endlessly rewarding experience.
Toss in polished, spot-on mechanics — from
fluid navigation to crunchy combat — and even
gutting low-level grunts is a blast from behind
the ranger’s twin blades. Of course, it doesn’t
hurt that there’s way more to do than pile up
corpses. On top of overtaking fortresses, there are
numerous story missions and side-quests to tackle,
loot to secure and upgrade, and armies to amass.
When Shadow Of War stumbles, it’s in its
storytelling. The game offers a welcome, mature
take on Tolkien’s universe, but also steps liberally
on established lore to prop up its gore-soaked
action — the change made to giant spider Shelob
being the most fan-baiting of all. The plot
stretches in numerous directions, which does lend
meaning to even the most mundane of missions,
but it also splits focus and can become confusing
while hopping from task to task.
If you try not to sweat the canonical missteps
and go along for the ride — preferably atop
a fire-spewing mount — you’ll discover a highly
satisfying sequel that is not only one of this year’s
stand-out releases, but arguably the one Lord Of
The Rings game to rule them all. MATT CABRALMIDDLE-EARTH:
SHADOW OF WAR
DIRECTORSJB Blanc, Michael de Plater
CAST Troy Baker, Alastair Duncan, Laura Bailey,
Robin Atkin Downes, Jennifer Hale, Steve Blum
PLOT Ranger Talion (Baker) and Celebrimbor
(Duncan), the elf spirit possessing him, forge a new
Ring Of Power to try to defeat Sauron (Blum). But
they swiftly lose it to giant spider Shelob (Pollyanna
McIntosh), who can also appear in human form.
OUT NOW
FORMATS PC, PS4, XBOX ONE
★★★★★
SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY
★★★★★
OUT NOW / SWITCH
DIRECTOR Kenta Motokura
CAST Kate Higgins, Charles Martinet,
Samantha Kelly, Kenny JamesWHETHER AS A moustachioed frog, tank,
bullet or T-rex, Odyssey players will spend as
much time inhabiting the bodies of their foes
as the plumber’s trademark dungarees.
Thanks to sentient headpiece Cappy, Mario
(Martinet) can now hat-jack his enemies,
utilising their abilities to traverse the game’s
varied worlds, collect starship-powering
moons, and save Peach (Kelly) from the
clutches of an unusually well-dressed Bowser
(James). From its intricate boss battles to
the huge, open levels with delightfully varied
challenges, this is Mario at his most free-form.
Exploring the levels evokes the elation of
Super Mario 64 while doffing a cap to the ’85
original with beautifully retro 2D sections.
A towering achievement — hats off. JDECHO
★★★★
OUT NOW / PC, PS4
DIRECTOR Martin Emborg
CAST Rose Leslie, Nick BoultonA CREEPY AND isolating space horror and
a masterclass in tension. You’re En (Leslie),
a young woman lost in a labyrinth hunted by
unkillable clones of herself that learn from
their mistakes and become increasingly
dangerous. But there is respite. As you
explore, the world shifts between dark and
light phases — the clones disappear during
the dark phase allowing you to move freely
but, when they return, they will have
adapted to counter your play style. If you
relied heavily on shooting last time, for
instance, your enemies will regenerate with
guns of their own. There are a few aspects
that lack polish — En’s general movement
speed frustrates, and the animation is a
touch blocky — but given its indie roots, Echo
is a spectacular accomplishment. MK