The gaming magazines labeled this one of the best video games of 2014, and I can see why. It’s got a good story, a nice advancement system, and an interesting new mechanic in the form of the nemesis system.
The story takes place in the time between the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Sauron has just returned to Mordor, and the Rangers who’d been watching over Mordor have been evicted by the Orcs. You play Talion, who at the start of the game is murdered along with his wife and son. Yet somehow he is merged with an Elf Wraith who keeps him alive (no matter how many times you die in the game) and grants him special powers. Talion’s goal is to avenge the deaths of his family, or at least find a way to die permanently so he can join them. However, the Wraith has goals of his own.
As a Tolkien fan, I think the game to be respectful of the established mythology of Middle-Earth while finding new ways to extend it. There haven’t been too many of the lore-style games for which I was interested in those scrolls or tapes or whatever was lying around. In SoM I wanted to read all the little bits of lore to see how they made everything agree with Tolkien while still keeping things fresh.
For experienced gamers, I don’t think SoM offers a significant challenge. For me it did, because there was no adjustable difficulty level; I really needed an “old folks” mode. I got through the game eventually by out-leveling the content: I went on every side quest I could to built up my abilities. As a result, the first half of the game was hard (with what for me was a punishing boss fight at the mid-point), then became relatively easy with rather trivial boss fights at the end.
In the nemesis system, you see an array of Orc Bosses, Captains, and Warchiefs on a screen. There are various missions that enable to you interfere with them, or kill them if you know their weaknesses. You can learn their strengths and vulnerabilities by interrogating weaker Orcs who will yield to your will. The goal, at first, is to identify the bodyguards of the powerful Warchiefs; take out the bodyguards, then take out the Warchief. If you are killed, even by a trivial Uruk, and the one who slew you will go up in rank.
In the early part of the game, I got killed a lot. Two of the Orcs maxed out at level 20, and I learned to run away fast whenever they were near. Eventually I was able to become tough enough to take them out, but as I said it made the remainder of the game less of a challenge.
I agree with what many Amazon reviewers said: The gameplay gets repetitive after a while. Even though I picked up the Game of the Year edition, I feel little impulse to play the additional two campaigns.
I imagine that most DC readers are reserving their gaming time for Legion. But once the excitement goes down and you’re looking for something else to fill the gap, I recommend giving Shadows of Morder a try. I picked up the GotY edition for $15 at an Amazon sale. At that price, I got my money’s worth.