Shadows of War Trailer

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robinhoodsghost
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Shadows of War Trailer

Post by robinhoodsghost »

I enjoyed Shadows of Mordor, looks like he sequel is on its way. Hope is as good as the first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPhOCXzLBKA
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Farodel
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Farodel »

Same here. From a little piece in the first trailer, it LOOKS like we might get to see a little Ithilien? I would love that so much.
"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
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Elleth
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Elleth »

...

I get the excitement, but I fear compared to the heroes of the Middle earth I've read, it "looks fairer and feels fouler."

To each their own, but not for me I think.

Edit... you know, the more I think on it, the more the entire premise of the game bugs me.

The world as written:
‘But I have so little of any of these things! You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?’
‘No!’ cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. ‘With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.’ His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. ‘Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great, for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me.’
The world in the game:
Fine! I'll make my own Ring of Power to dominate orc armies! With blackjack! And hookers!
(You can tell I'm still the protagonist because mine glows blue)
The whole narrative frame of the game drives you down the path of the Nazgul.
It just... feels wrong to me.
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Udwin
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Udwin »

Elleth wrote:It just... feels wrong to me.
That is because it IS wrong. It is a case of the themes of the game contradicting the themes of the secondary world it claims to represent. As written, Ambition and the will to dominate others are the hallmarks of The Enemy(the same is true for our Primary World as well)! This is why hobbits are Tolkien's heroes--they are lacking in both. We are dealing with ascended fan-fiction.
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Farodel
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Farodel »

I absolutely understand the criticism from Tolkien fans about this series. It's definitely not for everyone. It's a very loose usership of the characters and properties of the books, and definitely diverts wildly from what we may envision of Middle-Earth. For me, the story of the video game is tertiary. It's a game that allows you create your own story (which I always do in games anyway), and that story happens to be mainly focused on being a ranger and killing orcs. With a good combat system, that's enough to entice me. For some people, the books are the only way to really enjoy Middle-Earth. I can let each medium exist individually and contribute in its own way to the Middle-Earth in my mind.

My favorite thing is seeing 3-dimensional interpretations of the places in the world. I never really got into Lord of the Rings online, but every time they make an update I like to see how they've constructed different locations.
"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
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Greg
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Greg »

I think, in this instance, that's a good way to look at the game, Farodel. What Elleth and Udwin are ultimately getting at is that this isn't something that we should look at as being Middle-Earth, lest it taint our understanding of what was really going on. The professor wrote an absolutely beautiful story of good triumphing over evil, not at the expense of anyone's morals, and simply because a few good people chose not to do 'nothing'. So if we interpret this game as Middle Earth, we're allowing ourselves to believe that allowing Sauron to corrupt us a bit for the sake of the greater good is okay.

It worked in Star Wars; Luke came back from his fit of rage and denied the dark side in the Emperor's face. In Middle-Earth, Boromir turned from his fit of evil, shook it off, saw the error of his ways...but still paid for it in the end. Redeemed, but not 'all is well'. Evil has a consequence, but in that game, the difference seems to be a large grey area.

I'm glad you'll be able to enjoy it for what it is...just remember that what you do within the circles of Middle-Earth, particularly as a Ranger, asks of you a higher standard than the game creators chose.
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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robinhoodsghost
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by robinhoodsghost »

Live action trailer came out this week. It would be hard pressed to be as good as the first. The nemesis system was original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO9lGXUd6Jo
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Elleth
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Re: Shadows of War Trailer

Post by Elleth »

:(
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