Arguably one of my greatest feats was watching the full twelve and a half hour of The Lord of the Rings director’s cut in one sitting. Needless to say, I’m a bit of a LOTR fanboy. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, the predecessor to Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was without a doubt one of my favorite games of the early years of the current gen era. I was stoked when Monolith Productions announced the sequel which was released in 2017 to a bumpy start.
A lot has changed
With Shadow of Mordor growing steadily in fanbase, the sequel already had a fair share of fans who needed no convincing. The company decided to maximize their potential profit from Middle-Earth: Shadow of War by adding microtransactions to the game. Although I understand that every company tries to get the most out of their releases, angering your fanbase in doing so is never a good idea. Luckily WB Games and Monolith listened to the fans and decided to take action with an updated version which featured the removal of the lootboxes and microtransactions. Evening out the game so you could unlock everything at a decent pace while playing the game well.
Throughout the year the game has been released, the development team got rid of a lot of bugs and tried improving on all aspects of the game. Glad to hear that fan criticisms were heard and things got better through respecting the fanbase instead. This resulted in a well-polished final version of the game. Since the changes to the initial release are definitely noticeable and all the DLC is out there. Monolith and WB decided to release a final fully updated version and the added DLC as a new package… Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition.
Older fans won’t miss out
If you own the first version of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, this version won’t offer you anything new. All the improvements mentioned before came as updates to the original version so you’re not missing out. If you’re new to the game (or franchise) you can now get the full experience, DLC included, for a budget price. No downloads needed because everything is on two disks. For a fan of physical releases, this is a great plus.
Batman meets Assassin’s Creed in a LOTR setting
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition brings you back as Talion who is still merged with the spirit of Celebrimbor, the maker of the rings of power. You’re still trying to stop Sauron and need to battle hordes of Orcs and other beasts to reach your goal. The fighting in this game is directly derived from the Arkham/Batman games which means the many brawls you’ll have, feel extraordinary and flow as ever before. The movement throughout some key places from the Lord of The Rings are very Assassin’s Creed like offering a really fluent game experience.
Nemesis system
Although the story adds some lore to the whole LOTR saga, the real star of the game is the Nemesis system. Throughout your journeys, you’ll encounter many “named” orcs who are harder to kill than their regular counterpart. Some of these need to be killed in a specific way. By collecting intel from other orcs you can look for the perfect opportunity to annihilate your foe. The Nemesis system uses your actions against the orcs to adjust the way they act towards you. If you failed an attempt at killing a certain captain, the dialogue you have with that captain changes accordingly. This makes the experience really personal.
DLC galore
If your orc-slaying needs are not fulfilled after the main game, DLC is available on this definitive edition to continue your orc-blood-thirst. With some new additions to the Nemesis system, you’ll be occupied enough. If you need some more story, you get two expansions. Blade of Galadriel lets you play as the elf Eltariel and continue the game where the main story ended. In the Desolation of Mordor you can fight as Gondorian captain Baranor who needs to assemble a team of mercenaries. Both expansions offer a different playstyle which makes the game feel fresh again after getting used to Talion’s skills.
Conclusion
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition gets you the most bang for your bucks. If you never experienced a “Shadow of” game, this is the version you need. Having everything on two physical blu-rays is a great plus for the collectors out there.
