The Lord Sauron has been lying in wait for centuries, so when this Necromancer preps his return, his armies lay waste to the surrounding countryside, sacrificing anyone who gets in their way. The victims of these sacrifices include a ranger of the Black Gate named Talion and his entire family. However, Talion is refused a peaceful death thanks to a restless spirit of vengeance that possesses his body, effectively making him immortal. This wraith points Talion at Sauron's army and sets him off on a quest for vengeance that reshapes the land of Mordor.
In our cover story last December, we unveiled Shadow of Mordor's unique Nemesis system, which randomly generates Sauron's legions, creating a social hierarchy where each Uruk grunt has his own special traits and weaknesses. This system alters each playthrough based on players' actions. At E3, I put that system to the test, and watched Sauron's armies bend to my whims.
The demo dropped me into the land of Nurn, where a queen named Marwen has asked Talion to help shore up the rebellion's defenses by using his wraith powers to possess and command several local war chiefs. I set off across the land, but traveling by foot is too slow, so I use my wraith abilities to shadow mount a cara gor and then use the wild, lion-like animal to work my way up a cliff face near a war chief's stronghold.
I try to sneak through this fortress, but am quickly spotted, and several Uruk captains overwhelm me. I fire a wraith arrow into a bonfire, which causes an explosion that takes out a few grunts, but it's not enough. I'm eventually overtaken.
Death is not the end in Shadow of Mordor, however, because my wraith companion soon brings me back to life. While I was “down,” time marched forward, and the Uruk who killed me was promoted to captain. A few of the grunts that I blasted with fire have also developed a fear of fire, which I might be able to exploit in a later fight.
At this point, I could make another run at the war chief's fortress or chase down the Uruk who killed me, but while I try to decide, another Uruk seeks me out. This Uruk has a special tracking ability and has been hunting me down ever since I sneaked through his camp earlier in the game. I make short work of his guards and use my wraith powers to bring him under my command.
Now that I have dominated an Uruk, he will complete quests for me. I could send him after the war chief himself, but that seems like a suicide mission, so I command him to usurp one of the war chief's bodyguards. After issuing these orders, I could just go about my business and wait for the Uruk to finish his job, but I want to make sure this gets done. I follow him to his encounter with the bodyguard and use my bow to snipe the bodyguard's companions from a nearby tower, ensuring that my guy kills his foe and assumes his new spot as the war chief's bodyguard.
Now that I have a man on the inside, my assault against the war chief should go smoother, but just to be sure, I spend the next half hour possessing a couple other captains and sending them on missions to infiltrate the war chief's fortress. The next time I go after the war chief, there is going to be another slaughter, but I won't be the one who ends up with his head on a pike. I just wish I didn't have to wait until October to finish infiltrating Sauron's ranks, because I've got a lot of Uruk left to bend to my will.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Style: 1-Player Action
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: Monolith Productions
Release: October 7
