Have you played… Middle-earth: Shadow Of War?

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Have you played… Middle-earth: Shadow Of War?One free-flowing combat system to rule them all

One free-flowing combat system to rule them all

With Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor, I thought, “This is it. They’ve perfected Arkham-style combat. It can’t get better than this.” WithMiddle-earth: Shadow Of War, I realised how mistaken I’d been.

Just to make sure, I went back and reinstalledBatman: Arkham City, which I fondly remembered to have some of the most jaw-droppingly brilliant combat I’d ever seen at the time. I feel a bit guilty saying it, but it paled in comparison to Shadow Of War. In Shadow Of War, I’d fight dozens of Uruk-hai, melting in and out of Wraith-form, delivering kicks, thrusts, and magnificent-looking counters. I can then dive to the side, see the incoming reinforcements of axe-wielding berserkers charging towards me. I’d take out my bow, slow time, aim. Pop, pop, pop. Pop-pop-pop-pop. Seven headless orcs collapsing in a pile.

Turns out, the extra ingredient that Arkham-style combat has always been crying out for since the days of Batman was the element of surprise. Those moments that take you in an entirely different direction than you expected, and give the free-flowing combat system the opportunity to patch up the inconsistencies, and smooth everything out into a wonderful gory cinematic masterpiece. Go play Middle-earth: Shadow Of War.