FEAR developer, Monolith, has unleashed its first gameplay vid for upcoming Lord of the Rings open world adventure, Shadow of Mordor.
When we first heard about the cross-gen project one feature that really stuck out was the advanced enemy AI. According to initial reports your opponents would remember encounters with the player, something that would affect both the storyline and gameplay itself. The pre-alpha walk-through, released today, demonstrates how the system works.
Scattered throughout Shadow of Mordor’s open world are Orc and Uruk sergeants, generals, and cronies. As Talion, a ranger who possesses wraith powers, you’re tasked with hunting them down in an attempt to thwart the dark lord, Sauron.
It’s these boss characters who remember Talion’s actions and, as shown in the walkthrough, they will react to him based on previous confrontations. The idea behind the system is to make these battles more memorable and actually form a personal bond between the player and grunts they’re cutting down.
Aside from the smart enemy system, the pre-alpha footage gave viewers a general insight into how the game handles. From what’s been shown there are similarities between other open world games such as Assassin’s Creed and Tomb Raider with an emphasis on stealth.
Combat sees Talion combine his supernatural abilities with a rhythmic melee system in which counters and attacks are strung together for devastating effect.
Needless to say, Shadow of Mordor is looking impressive. The game is planned for release later this year on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and next-gen platforms.
Kovacs
“Next-gen” is current-gen. At this point you might as well just list the platforms.
;)
Jim Hargreaves
Golly, it’s hard to stamp out the habit!
Kennykazey
I like “new gen”.
mclarenrob2
Is it actually open world then? I’ve always wanted to make my own way around Middle Earth in a game!
tonycawley
Looks bloody good, really like some of the mechanics on show in that trailer!
Wonder when it’ll actually release, never heard of it before now but I’m interested.
Shadow_lawless
Looks insane. might have to grab this
Kennykazey
Looks a bit too much like Assassins Creed, but that may not be a bad thing. It’s certainly on my radar now.
Severn2j
Seems one of the Assassins Creed devs thinks it looks a bit too familiar..
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/01/23/shadow-of-mordor-accused-of-using-assassins-creed-ii-code
Gareth Chadwick
I want to remain cautious but it’s been far too long since I played a good LOTR game so I’m pretty much sold on it already. Definitely looking forward to this now.