Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - anyone here excited about this game? update-reviews!

[Grooveriding]

For the SLI Profile, have you tired the setting that dmoney1980 posted a few posts back??
it is essentially putting the AFR mode to 2

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36778164&postcount=162



I got to the 2nd map on the weekend, and been getting all the collectables first before doing any of the main story missions.
On thing I wish is the unlock for controlling an orc was not tied to a story missions, would like to have used that in the first map.
Also so you know if either when you die or when you advance time do the warchiefs get replaced? i tried a bit on the first map but did not try that hard.

I've tried the AFR2 method and the Fear 3 SLI profile, both work but give me this dramatic hitching when I play. Using a single card it goes away completely, so I'm assuming those methods are not really functional, at least on my system configuration.

 

[TheUnk]

There are lots of odd reports of how to get SLI working...

I forced AFR2 to get SLI working. For myself, SLI bits don't make a difference. Nothing in there, FEAR3, Batman Origins, none make a difference in performance. All give me great scaling until I start fighting, then GPU usage drops to 50-70% on both cards.

I'm not running the latest 344.11 drivers though, when I use them the HDMI port on one of my cards stops working. 340.52 work fine.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Yeah, I think I have made 4 games already in this. My first game I think I died 5 times on the same power struggle in the beginning of the game (not sure if it is the same for everyone), but he was immune to ranged and stealth attacks, and had the call followers ability so you just kept getting more and more orcs, with 2-3 of them being captains/vets with their own abilities...

The next 2 games I simply tried to learn what abilities to grab first...

Now on the 4th game I think I am going to play through with it. Beat down a power level 10 captain after I just ran into him by accident (there was an informant/information packet in a tent right next to him). He took a bit of luck, since the only thing that would kill him was a combat combo finisher, and I had just unlocked the execute ability killing some of the minions around him. It still took a couple "executes" against him. I don't think the rune I got is too bad, something like 28% chance to partial heal on critical strikes.

 

[Subyman]

I'm using the FEAR3 bits and fps stays pinned at 100fps, the game cap. It may decrease slightly when in a huge combat situation, but I don't notice much hitching. Usage doesn't get near 100%, but I chalk that up to the 100fps cap or my CPU. I'll have to look into more tonight.

 

[CPA]

Game uninstall by itself for anyone else? Yep, you heard that right. Just went to the game, haven't played since late last week and the game is uninstalled. Nope, it wasn't me. And apparently it's happened with others.

Folder is there, but when I click on the .exe file, the Steam download box pops up.

 

[pandemonium]

So, as awesome as this game is, and as much as I love slaughtering waves of orcs, it really needs to be a lot harder.

I guess I'll be getting the season pass after all and going for the Challenge mode.

 

[escrow4]

Pssst, you basically can't die in this game unless you fail to block or get hit with too many arrows. Seriously. Your mouse will likely die if you keep on hitting the prompt to block you can keep on going. More or less. Although I haven't murdered a really hard captain yet, they all fall (so far) if you keep on whacking at them.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Pssst, you basically can't die in this game unless you fail to block or get hit with too many arrows. Seriously. Your mouse will likely die if you keep on hitting the prompt to block you can keep on going. More or less. Although I haven't murdered a really hard captain yet, they all fall (so far) if you keep on whacking at them.

Wait till you face 2-3 at once, with one or more of them having unblockable attacks, and with one or more of them having a summon followers ability, and one or more of them having an extremely long range melee attack. You will die, trust me, you will die...

 

[pandemonium]

In relation to blocking (take the spoiler seriously if you want to enjoy learning the ropes for yourself, please!):

Spoiler

blocking becomes substandard to dodging. Once you learn to vault everywhere and only block when there aren't any enemies around that do the larger attacks that can't be blocked, it's a whole new level of wtfbbqlollerskates

.

 

[XiandreX]

Wait till you face 2-3 at once, with one or more of them having unblockable attacks, and with one or more of them having a summon followers ability, and one or more of them having an extremely long range melee attack. You will die, trust me, you will die...

+1... I got cocky and tackled a Stronghold and found 3 targets, 2 new ones around level 6-8 and a Captain that I had failed to kill 3 times and was level 14.
Rest assured I died, but I put up a serious fight.
The units that get me are the Archers/Axe throwers.

Honestly its been ages since I have stayed up late playing a game and forgoing sleep. This is what games should be more like. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[davie jambo]

+1... I got cocky and tackled a Stronghold and found 3 targets, 2 new ones around level 6-8 and a Captain that I had failed to kill 3 times and was level 14.
Rest assured I died, but I put up a serious fight.
The units that get me are the Archers/Axe throwers.

I honestly its been ages since I have stayed up late playing a game and forgoing sleep. This is what games should be more like. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Hit and run tactics work well in the larger fights , also think it's best to get intel before taking on captains :thumbsup:

Some game though. I've got two missions left to do and I have been holding off doing them as I don't want it to end

 

[XiandreX]

Hit and run tactics work well in the larger fights , also think it's best to get intel before taking on captains :thumbsup:

Some game though. I've got two missions left to do and I have been holding off doing them as I don't want it to end

Oh trust me I hit and run all the time, just sometimes it gets rough. I will hit and run to a plant, quickly get a boost and turn and fight again.

I am intentionally not pushing story and having fun working on achievements, side quests, collectables etc. I am in no rush to finish the game.

 

[Rakewell]

Honestly its been ages since I have stayed up late playing a game and forgoing sleep. This is what games should be more like. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Yup.

This totally sums it up.

 

[pandemonium]

Hit and run tactics work well in the larger fights , also think it's best to get intel before taking on captains :thumbsup:

Some game though. I've got two missions left to do and I have been holding off doing them as I don't want it to end

Nah, big fights are what I live for! I'm about at the same point in the story and debating how much I should farm for epic runes before I end the story-line (I have 12 sword, 4 bow, and 4 dagger...need a lot more bow and dagger).

I've become pretty comfortable with the clunky camera response and overtly close orientation issues when next to a wall, so it's not as bad as when I first started trying to fight it all. I have had to increase mouse aim and camera mouse sensitivity to nearly the maximum though. No other game has required that. In relative terms, I'm only at 1100 DPI though, since that works for me in everything else.

 

[XiandreX]

Yup.

This totally sums it up.

I kept on saying, just 5 more minutes, I need to take revenge on that bloody captain. That happened a lot, with many 5 minute segments added on. :whiste:

 

[slag]

+1... I got cocky and tackled a Stronghold and found 3 targets, 2 new ones around level 6-8 and a Captain that I had failed to kill 3 times and was level 14.
Rest assured I died, but I put up a serious fight.
The units that get me are the Archers/Axe throwers.

Honestly its been ages since I have stayed up late playing a game and forgoing sleep. This is what games should be more like. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Ditto. Wife went to bed last night around 9:45. Said I'd be right up. I finished a quest, went upstairs, and it was 11:30.. WTF? Been a LONG time since a game has done that to me. I really like it so far.

 

[XiandreX]

Ditto. Wife went to bed last night around 9:45. Said I'd be right up. I finished a quest, went upstairs, and it was 11:30.. WTF? Been a LONG time since a game has done that to me. I really like it so far.

It get's even worse. I snuck in around 30 minutes this morning before leaving for work. Been thinking about what to tackle next when I get home. :whiste:

On a side note.. I think the way to go with this game is slow, explore a lot and don't push the story too quickly... at least for me

 

[Dahak]

On a side note.. I think the way to go with this game is slow, explore a lot and don't push the story too quickly... at least for me

I feel the same way. I ended up doing all the collectables first and playing around with the captains. some time I let them live and run away, some times I die on purpose just to let them gain ranks

 

[XiandreX]

I feel the same way. I ended up doing all the collectables first and playing around with the captains. some time I let them live and run away, some times I die on purpose just to let them gain ranks

See I was wondering about that... gaining ranks definately makes it challenging but can be a bit too much if you dont know their weaknesses or even if you do, its tough to pull off with 20 minions beating on you.

 

[SlitheryDee]

See I was wondering about that... gaining ranks definately makes it challenging but can be a bit too much if you dont know their weaknesses or even if you do, its tough to pull off with 20 minions beating on you.

It gets a lot easier when you start unlocking larger amounts of arrows, focus, and upgrades. When you issue a death threat against a captain, they will usually jump to level 20 or at least somewhere in the high teens and they will gain a retinue of bodyguards of the same type that they are. That would seem to make them a lot harder, but with a lot of arrows, focus, and the right kinds of runes you can take the bodyguards out all in one focus bar, and then shadow strike the captain to close in on him before any other orcs even know what's happening. Most of the time they'll be invulnerable to ranged attacks, so the shadow strike won't land, but all you really wanted to do was get close to the captain so you can hack him until you have enough hit streak to combat execute him. It gets even better if you have the triple crit, reduced hit streak, double special ability upgrades, and runes that cause your first strike to be a crit because you can then whack him twice with your sword and immediately perform two combat executions in a row. Repeat that one more time and he'll be in the green or dead.

Once in a blue moon you'll run into a captain who is invulnerable to combat executions. That's when you start hammering wraith flash over and over again. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to kill those guys quickly unless they happen to be vulnerable to ranged or stealth attacks. I ran into one captain who was invulnerable to combat executions, stealth attacks, ranged attacks, and vault attacks. There was nothing left to do to him but wraith flash him to death. At least I was able to stun and flurry him to build up hit streak.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

You probably don't want to put off the story missions too too long - several of the best abilities in the game require story missions to unlock them.

See I was wondering about that... gaining ranks definately makes it challenging but can be a bit too much if you dont know their weaknesses or even if you do, its tough to pull off with 20 minions beating on you.

Start off a battle versus a captain with minions with a brutalize stealth kill on one of his flunkies, and the rest will run for the hills. Lacking that, fire arrows will thin the herd, or just regular arrows if you don't have those yet. While very similar to Batman, ranged attacks are actually quite useful even in the most chaotic melee.

 

[Homerboy]

What ever happened to game demos? I want to TRY before I buy dang it.

Also I doubt this is going to run on my 8800GT all that well

 

[Dankk]

What ever happened to game demos? I want to TRY before I buy dang it.

Also I doubt this is going to run on my 8800GT all that well

It's definitely not going to run well, if at all.

Your card is 7 years old. Time for an upgrade.

 

[Fire&Blood]

That GPU is ~xbox360. And replacing just the GPU won't do you much good either. You squeezed out a lot of value out of your PC if it lasted this long, time to build a new one.


Totalbiscuit brought attention to the issue, and Jim Sterling goes into detail. The weirdest thing is that none of this was needed. The game stands fine on it's own:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vid...st&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all

 

[Homerboy]

LOL I know it's time to upgrade. I really don't game much anymore so it's never really been a hindrance. I still will fire up TF2, Civ V and a few others. That 8800GT has always been able to plow through (Kids play Minecraft and Sims 3 without much issue either)

Paired with an AMD x4 Phenom II (unlocked and OC'ed) it's been holding up OK thus far