While Shadow of Mordor is compared with Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham, it is very much it's own game in how the mechanics work and evolve over time. At first you're simply killing the Uruk Captains but later you learn new abilities to terrify multiple Uruks and handle crowds of enemies better. The second half of the game is where it opens up as you get the Brand ability which allows you to control Uruk Captains. It suddenly then starts to play out like a mature game of Pokemon where you're raising up your captain and making sure he wins all his encounters.

That's not to say that you don't do some more killing after you get that. Some wild animals cannot be controlled and you don't get to instantly mount a Caragor or Graug until you master the preceding abilities. The ability tree is linear in some respects but is spread wide so you can choose what to focus on. You can spend points to upgrade your health, focus, arrows and the number of slots on your weapons. The weapon slots are important as you can engrave it with the runes you get from finishing off the Uruks. The stronger the Uruk you fight against, the better chances of a good rune. Performing a Death Threat on a Captain will also raise their level and grants a higher chance for an Epic Rune (runes with special abilities not restricted by percentage).

With the exception of a few boss enemies and preset captains, all of the Uruk Captains and Warchiefs are randomised. This means that every encounter is different as you try to figure out what your rival is weak against. Some Uruks are immune to certain moves which causes you to change your tactics to adapt to their fighting style. The story missions do a good job at fleshing out the universe and focussing on a few seldom known facts. Overall this is a game I really enjoyed playing as the Nemesis system completely rejuvinates the third-person action genre. We need more innovative games like this that aren't afraid to push the boundaries and explore new territories.

While the DLC is optional they are also worth picking up in their own right, particularly the Lord of the Hunt DLC.

While Shadow of Mordor is compared with Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham, it is very much it's own game in how the mechanics work and evolve over time. At first you're simply killing the Uruk Captains but later you learn new abilities to terrify multiple Uruks and handle crowds of enemies better. The second half of the game is where it opens up as you get the Brand ability which allows you to control Uruk Captains. It suddenly then starts to play out like a mature game of Pokemon where you're raising up your captain and making sure he wins all his encounters. That's not to say that you don't do some more killing after you get that. Some wild animals cannot be controlled and you don't get to instantly mount a Caragor or Graug until you master the preceding abilities. The ability tree is linear in some respects but is spread wide so you can choose what to focus on. You can spend points to upgrade your health, focus, arrows and the number of slots on your weapons. The weapon slots are important as you can engrave it with the runes you get from finishing off the Uruks. The stronger the Uruk you fight against, the better chances of a good rune. Performing a Death Threat on a Captain will also raise their level and grants a higher chance for an Epic Rune (runes with special abilities not restricted by percentage). With the exception of a few boss enemies and preset captains, all of the Uruk Captains and Warchiefs are randomised. This means that every encounter is different as you try to figure out what your rival is weak against. Some Uruks are immune to certain moves which causes you to change your tactics to adapt to their fighting style. The story missions do a good job at fleshing out the universe and focussing on a few seldom known facts. Overall this is a game I really enjoyed playing as the Nemesis system completely rejuvinates the third-person action genre. We need more innovative games like this that aren't afraid to push the boundaries and explore new territories. While the DLC is optional they are also worth picking up in their own right, particularly the Lord of the Hunt DLC.