So, about that final boss in Shadow of Mordor...

Demonchaser27

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If anyone has reached the end of the story mode in Shadow of Mordor I just want to discuss the game in general. Although, does anyone else feel the sheer disappointment of that final fight? I mean the base game and it's "Nemesis" thing is amazing. But some of the major boss fights were just... ugh.
 

Starbird

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Really looking forward to this game (should be arriving tomorrow or Monday). Haven't got into an Open World game since Skyrim so hopefully it's decent.
 

Demonchaser27

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Starbird said:
Really looking forward to this game (should be arriving tomorrow or Monday). Haven't got into an Open World game since Skyrim so hopefully it's decent.
I feel like it's the best open-world game I've played in a long while, from a gameplay perspective. I hope you enjoy it too.
 

Elfgore

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So I just beat the game... the flying fuck was that! The big baddie took seven button presses to defeat! The final two boss fights were downright pathetic. I had more trouble slaying captains than I did them. It's like the developers just kinda stopped caring an hour before the end of the game. Yeah, so I'm not touching the story again with a ten foot pole, I'm just gonna kill Orcs for hours on end.
 

Sleepy Sol

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Elfgore said:
So I just beat the game... the flying fuck was that! The big baddie took seven button presses to defeat! The final two boss fights were downright pathetic. I had more trouble slaying captains than I did them. It's like the developers just kinda stopped caring an hour before the end of the game. Yeah, so I'm not touching the story again with a ten foot pole, I'm just gonna kill Orcs for hours on end.
That sounds...disappointing, as much fun as I'm having with the game. I'm not sure why the "couple of buttons kills final antagonist" situation caught on in a number of games. But at least I can do the same thing and just spend time on all the Nemesis stuff since it's pretty much the best part of the game to me.
 

Demonchaser27

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Yeah I generally feel that the game would have actually benefited more if they had just not had the story. If they had just focused on minimalistic "told story" and letting the main narrative be more influenced by and focused on enhancing the "Nemesis" system further allowing for "player stories". The Nemesis stuff is clearly the meat of what makes this game good. Without it the game is sub par, average at best, gameplay. Funny too, because before my brother and I had heard of this game we already had talked about if a game had a system like this.

We sort of envisioned factions that were against each other though. You picked your faction carefully akin to Gothic and Risen and would help boost the ranks of yourself or manipulate events to boost the ranks of fellow comrades. You could be a part of multiple factions, although you would have to be extremely careful to not let other factions know that you are working with another faction or they would try to behead you for treason. So the manipulative role (of exploiting entire wars and events between two factions under your control) would be awesome but would require more care and effort by the player so they don't get figured out. Also we talked about the game world's wars and other various conflicts of interest between and within factions happening without the players interaction, like how this Nemesis system worked. Except in our talks time passed irregardless of whether you made it pass. So events would actually occur whether you wanted them to or not. The basic theme of the game is showing the player that you can't control everything. But interesting enough, in the player's head they want to. So they are going to likely go to great lengths to gain prestige in each camp or in a preferred camp if that's their choosing.

They could have a wife/husband (or two?) and children. You could partially raise your child to uphold certain values that will shape how they grow up. And at the beginning of the game you start as pretty much a nobody. You can choose an easy life and work lowly and/or you could pick a faction and work your way up the ranks. And obviously as I said before you can become a manipulator of factions and work for more than one faction. Possibly even steming a sort of peace between them. Essentially the game won't have an ending. The game would work like skirmishes that go until the player either quits or all the major civilizations make themselves collapse. That kind of game is years and years away though likely.
 

Agayek

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Elfgore said:
So I just beat the game... the flying fuck was that! The big baddie took seven button presses to defeat! The final two boss fights were downright pathetic. I had more trouble slaying captains than I did them. It's like the developers just kinda stopped caring an hour before the end of the game. Yeah, so I'm not touching the story again with a ten foot pole, I'm just gonna kill Orcs for hours on end.
Wait, you mean people unlock brand and still kill Captains? What madness is this?

Do what I do and mind control all 50 Captains and amass your army!
 

Drizzitdude

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Agayek said:
Elfgore said:
So I just beat the game... the flying fuck was that! The big baddie took seven button presses to defeat! The final two boss fights were downright pathetic. I had more trouble slaying captains than I did them. It's like the developers just kinda stopped caring an hour before the end of the game. Yeah, so I'm not touching the story again with a ten foot pole, I'm just gonna kill Orcs for hours on end.
Wait, you mean people unlock brand and still kill Captains? What madness is this?

Do what I do and mind control all 50 Captains and amass your army!
How else would I have all these epic runes?

Hell...I slaughter my own chieftains just to make more! Orcs aren't people. Never feel bad for killing them.
 

FieryTrainwreck

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Demonchaser27 said:
If anyone has reached the end of the story mode in Shadow of Mordor I just want to discuss the game in general. Although, does anyone else feel the sheer disappointment of that final fight? I mean the base game and it's "Nemesis" thing is amazing. But some of the major boss fights were just... ugh.
I know this is an old thread, but I just finished the game myself and had to get this out of my system: UGH.

The last two boss fights were FUCKING PATHETIC. The Tower was a complete non-entity. He did literally fuck all besides teleport to a spot and survey the ~30 degree cone directly in front of him. Stealth attack (as per the game's instructions!), rinse, repeat two more times. Then hold down a single button when the game tells you to and... he's dead. What the hell?

Sauron was almost worse. The game gives you this amazingly accurate recreation of the big baddie directly from the films, and how do you vanquish him? A simple, 4ish-step QTE. That lasts all of maybe 10 seconds. One of the most disappointing final bosses I've ever experienced in a video game.

All of this was made substantially worse by the incredible combat mechanics permeating the rest of the game. Fighting orcs was freaking fun, and the game did a relatively solid job mixing it up with new techniques, new challenges, etc. I had many satisfying and hard-won battles versus 3+ captains at once. Then the game gave me "combat brand" with a healing rune, and most of the challenge was gone. Still, the actual nuts and bolts of combat remained very entertaining despite the disappearance of "fear".

When the last two fights completely abandon those mechanics in favor of QTE bullshit? And versus the characters I'm most excited and motivated to engage in actual straight-up combat? UGH.

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