I got about 30 minutes in yesterday and was able to kill the slaver before I had to start the grill. This game looks like it will be commanding a lot of my time in the next few weeks...really liking what I have seen so far

I had one guy who kept showing up to fight me no matter where I was on the Udun map. I would be in a pitched battle with some Uruk and BAM this guy would show up! Finally I thought I killed him but he came back to life even more pissed off than before! After two straight fights I was able to put him down for good. Best fight of the game so far and I have only played about three hours total.

If you kill me, I will then make it my mission to hunt you down and destroy you. I was fighting this higher level captain and had almost killed him when this little orc comes running up and hits me and kills me before I can deliver the killing blow. I was so freaking mad I spent the next 30 minutes hunting him down and killing him before I went back to the original captain.

Shooting the fire pits to make them explode has saved my bacon a few times. I was surrounded by too many guys and slowly led the pit over to the fire and just said adios mofos! Only one to survive was the captain who I quickly dispatched.

I've got about 2 hours into it and really like it, but I wish there was a finishing move with the lower leve Uruks. I hate getting into a battle and fighting 15 and not being able to kill some of them quicker.

There is an ability in the first tier you can unlock. After a combo of 8, hit Circle+Triangle (not sure what XBox is) it automatically kills a lower level enemy. And it doesn't have to be an Uruk you did the combo on.

Y+B is it.

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There is an ability in the first tier you can unlock. After a combo of 8, hit Circle+Triangle (not sure what XBox is) it automatically kills a lower level enemy. And it doesn't have to be an Uruk you did the combo on.

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The best part about the execution move is that it's so smooth and doesn't disrupt the flow of combat. Multiple animations and very natural movement that makes sense regardless of whatever you're doing before hand. Seriously, this is the most satisfying combat I've played all year.

I still don't think it is the smoothest or intuitive combat I have used but it is fun.

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I still don't think it is the smoothest or intuitive combat I have used but it is fun.

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No, it's not... and the stealth mechanic is wonky sometimes too with some awkwardness when you want him to "attach" to a wall and then "detach" when you wan to move. I still only have like 1 hour of playtime in the game though so I'm still so early into the game. I will almost certainly have at least 1-2 hours to play tonight so I'm looking forward to it.

In general, games like this will always get the benefit of the doubt while games like Destiny will be picked apart for inconsistencies. But hey, when you bring something new to the table (which we don't get very often anymore) like SOM does, it's deserving of praise. I can't wait to see how complex and interesting the nemesis feature gets in future games!

A cool concept would be to combine this with a setting like Fable where you start as a soldier and work your way up the ranks through evil under mining ways or good noble ways to become a hero/king of the land.

NERD ALERT (and possible SPOILER)





















I'm a bit confused on where this game is in the timeline. In the beginning flashback parts it shows Mordor being all fertile and pretty and the Rangers own the black gate. Then he gets owned and now all or Mordor is how it was depicted in the novels & movies. When exactly did Sauron return and erupt Mt Doom? A few years before the movies? A few decades? A few hundred years? Exactly how long was the hero of this tale dead before rising again and stalking Mordor?

Clearly this game takes place after Bilbo stole the ring from Gollum but has Gollum been captured and tortured yet? Are the 9 riding yet?

Its somewhere between Hobbit and LOTR, that's all I can tell so far.

Now that I think about it there is a long period between Hobbit and FOTR, about 70 years. It just seems odd that Mordor can go from green and pretty to almost instantly covered with orcs & Uruks-- the volcano would kill all the stuff but the orcs sure seem to sweep in pretty quickly. Unless the hero was dead for 10+ years.

From what I've read, Sauron returned to Mordor about 50-60 years prior to FOTR. I could be off on that but that's what it looked like to me.

I haven't played the game yet but a part of Mordor is fertile.

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Nrn is a region in the southernmost part of the realm of Mordor that holds the inland Sea of Nrnen.

Nrn was a semi-arid place due to its close proximity to Gorgoroth and consisted mostly of short grass landed plains, fertile enough to support farming to support the armies of Sauron, as opposed to the arid plateau of Gorgoroth, which is north-west of Nrn.

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http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Nrn

For those of us that are LOTR nerds, I've been very impressed with the incorporation of Middle-Earth lore into the game. The guys who were in charge of the story and side-plots really know their stuff, which makes me enjoy this game even more.

Talkin' 'bout referencing Fanor, Gil-Galad, etc.

stupid new TexAgs script not recognizing elvish script.

Feanor

So here's what I've been able to piece together so far:

All of the dates given below are in the Third Age (TA)

0 - Sauron is defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Isildur takes the One Ring (this is the opening scene in the first movie).

1944 - Towers of the Teeth (original Gondorian name for the fortress aka the Black Gate, built by Gondor to guard against the possible return of Sauron to Mordor) are still under Gondorian control.

? - Black Gate is deserted by Gondor.

2941 - Bilbo Baggins obtains the One Ring from Gollum.

2942 - Sauron is driven out of his stronghold in Dol Guldur and returns in secret to Mordor.

2951 - Sauron declares his presence in Mordor openly.

2968 - Frodo Baggins is born.

3001 - Bilbo leaves the Shire and entrusts the One Ring (still unaware of its identity) to his nephew and adopted heir, Frodo.

3009 - After wandering into Mordor seeking the One Ring and being captured and released by Sauron, Gollum is captured by Aragorn.

3018 Frodo flees the Shire and the Fellowship of the Ring is formed in Rivendell.

3019 The One Ring is destroyed, and Sauron is finally defeated.



For those not interested in the timeline, TLDR version is the game has to take place between Sauron returning to Mordor in 2941 and Gollum being captured by Aragorn in 3009. Tolkien never specified when it was that the men of Gondor abandoned their watch on the black gate, so while SOM is not included in Tolkien's lore of Middle-Earth, it seems to be consistent with the established lore.

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stupid new TexAgs script not recognizing elvish script.

Feanor

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I'm loving the references, too. First time I heard an orc call Talion a tark I squealed with nerd glee.

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it seems to be consistent with the established lore.

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This is pretty much the opposite of everything that I have read.

They take quite a few liberties and even adding things that Tolkien said were impossible.

Thanks for the time line mid90 very helpful!

Just came across some deeeeep lore. I found an artifact: a human skull that turned out to be the skull of Gorlim. Gorlim was a companion of Barahir and Beren who was captured by Sauron, tortured, and tricked into betraying the location of his companions.

The skull I found in the game doesn't mention him by name, but it tells a tidbit of the story, which was how I identified it. I have my late night perusings of the LOTR wiki to thank for that, lol.

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it seems to be consistent with the established lore.

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This is pretty much the opposite of everything that I have read.

They take quite a few liberties and even adding things that Tolkien said were impossible.

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You're right. I was referring to the fact that the events could have happened within the timeline. There are lots of things in the game that certainly aren't in Tolkien's Middle-Earth, e.g. Ghuls, Graugs, elvish wraith inhabiting a man's body, etc.

Nothing like taking on two captains at once and beheading both of them!

Are the rest of you guys dying a lot? The archery missions seem really hard, any advice?

I've only played the game for 8-10 hours, or so, so take this as is; however, I feel my deaths have decreased substantially by:

• taking advantage of as many sneaky kills as you can before engaging in battle, by means of shooting behives, opening the gates to the dog things so they kill a few, shooting fires so they blow up, hanging off ledges and attracting one enemy at a time to the ledge to kill, jump kills and then immediately get back to the top of the building, etc
• when you are seen by a big group or your sneaky maneuvers get caught and they sound the alarm, focus a lot more on trying to get out of the situation (on to roofs or walls to hide) then trying to fight
• when escape is improbable or impossible, focus a lot more on blocking then attacking. if you are able to build up a hit streak of 8+, you need to take advantage of executes every single time (I like trying to get executes on the boss if I can, because as soon as you kill him, everyone will disperse)

That being said, when I'm doing missions, I follow these rules a lot more closely than when I'm just free-roaming.

Hopping on the doggies and using them as a weapon helps as well! Great tips though.

All good advice. I find the most success in keeping the mob of orcs in one direction. For example, I will jump/roll to the edge of the group and focus on attacking one in a direction away form the others. When he falls, I repeat the process so that I don't have 5 guys around me that can all attack me at once. Slowly but surely I thin the group out. Now, if you are in the middle of a base or something and they just keep coming, then I would probably run away or try to kill the captain asap so he drops the ruin.

also, a quick question. How are you guys interrogating the "rats" for info? Can you just grab them right away or do you have to wait until they're stunned? I have a problem getting them away from the rest of the group and normally end up killing them when in the middle of a huge fight.

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also, a quick question. How are you guys interrogating the "rats" for info? Can you just grab them right away or do you have to wait until they're stunned? I have a problem getting them away from the rest of the group and normally end up killing them when in the middle of a huge fight.

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Honestly you have to do your best not to kill them and save them for last. Really, your best bet is to stealth kill a lot of the guys around him because it become really easy to accidentally kill them.

bought an xbox one just for this game, tried to play it and the xbox wouldn't read it. tried a couple of blu rays just to make sure, and wouldn't load those either.

looks like I'll be waiting until Sunday to start this game up. I'll go get a new box tomorrow, but the Ags and all the other good games tomorrow, probably won't manage to play it tomorrow.

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also, a quick question. How are you guys interrogating the "rats" for info? Can you just grab them right away or do you have to wait until they're stunned? I have a problem getting them away from the rest of the group and normally end up killing them when in the middle of a huge fight.

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You can grab them right away. Only a captain needs to be weakened before he can be grabbed.

That being said, other enemies can still hit you during the 2-3 seconds it takes to interrogate the worm, interrupting and canceling the interrogation process.

I'm gonna end up with a xbone because of this game too

Killed 3 warchiefs so far, somewhat disappointed that they have seemed easier than I would have hoped for. I have had more trouble with random Captains at times than these guys.

One basically got killed by a Caragor, the other was an easy leap off the roof stealth attack, and the other I scared off alone due to Caragors and beat him 1v1 with ease. Was hoping for a little more, but still having a blast!

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Killed 3 warchiefs so far, somewhat disappointed that they have seemed easier than I would have hoped for. I have had more trouble with random Captains at times than these guys.

One basically got killed by a Caragor, the other was an easy leap off the roof stealth attack, and the other I scared off alone due to Caragors and beat him 1v1 with ease. Was hoping for a little more, but still having a blast!

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It will get harder