I'm no LotR lore-master, but I think this game is most anti-canon lotr-related thing I've ever seen.

HOLY HELL!!!!! That combat looks better than in any other sword combat game I've ever seen!!!!! Game looks epic but yeah the whole move between spirit and normal world is stupid as...... If they had made this game fit with lore it looks like it could have been EPIC

Shamelessly copied from http://www.tolkienonline.de/etep/1ring4_2.html

Within Tolkien's creation it is quite clear that there is a physical world and a spiritual world. This is obvious from the very early writings that formed the foundation for The Lord of the Rings. There is continually a distinction between the "Mortals" like Men and Hobbits, and the "Immortals" represented by the Elves. Mortals, who live only in the physical world, died in the absolute sense and their souls returned to the Halls of Mandos to await the End. Elves, on the other hand, if slain in the physical sense, returned to dwell in bliss in Valinor. They did not, with the exception of Glorfindel, return to the physical world. Furthermore, Elves were aware of their spiritual nature and were able to cross over at will [103].

In an early draft, Tolkien suggests that the Elves dwell in both this world and on the other side without the aid of Rings [104]. Quite clearly it was a power that was present in the Rings to allow the Bearer access to and conscious awareness of the spiritual world. This was made most clear with the Ringwraiths, who had passed over from the physical world to the spiritual side;

"They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys; and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us: then they are most to be feared. And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring it and hating it. Senses, too, there are other than sight or smell. We can feel their presence - it troubled our hearts as we came here, and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also....the Ring draws them." [105]

The Ringwraiths clearly dwell in a spiritual world, but certainly not that of Valinor. It is the spirit world of the Shadow, the opposite to Valinor's Bliss, that is their realm.

...a-and zero connection to the topic.

Except from the layout of the spirit-world theme, as was brought up by Psycho.

The point is, a random human guy got possessed(!) by a spirit and now is able to perfrom crazy stuff never seen before. Teleporting, shifting out and stuff. Oh, yes, mass controlling minds of orcs.

I feel sick now....need to take a bath...

yes looks like some guy who love Assasin Greed and Prototype video games decide to make same game in LOTR world.

The game is cool but nothing to do with a Tolkien lore……

Assassins creed: Middle Earth. More or less.

If I hadn't sworn off AAA titles due to the fact they're all quite similar and never as good as they seem, I might have a look at this. It might be horribly sacrilegious to the lore but it doesn't look horrible.

it actually looks quite well done. I would love to play it if only to go sightseeing in Mordor and see the different ugly mugs of orcs. any ideas when is thos coming out?

7 of october.

The point is, a random human guy got possessed(!) by a spirit and now is able to perfrom crazy stuff never seen before. Teleporting, shifting out and stuff. Oh, yes, mass controlling minds of orcs.

All of that is seen. By the Ring-Wraiths (and some other spectral undead).

The mind controlling stuff is a little over the top (the shadow is really more insidious and slow than is presented in the above game). He doesn't enter the spiritual world he becomes aware of it (much as Frodo is presented as doing in the films when he wears the ring).

I mean I could accept someone arguing that all of that stuff is hollywood special effects and not true to the spirit of the books - however it is a possible interpretaiton of the world of Tolkien (as Nerdmister quoted). I don't see why you thought it was off-topic when it was clearly on topic.

It shows an interpretation of the work which would include some of these powers - I mean the "half-dead touched by wraith powers" part itself is a bit, special snowflake to justify our character being not just a ranger - and like everything else the licence is based only on the movie rights and not the entire body of the work (so it lacks a lot of subtly and is much more action based generally).

the game-play is just assassin's creed though I think some of the combat is taken directly from it - I feel like it would have been better not to bother with the wraith stuff and just be a ranger of gondor but as I said, special snowflake to sell game.

It looked like he didn't just became aware of it - orcs didn't seen him while he was in the spirit world. He constantly vanishes while jumping for the kill from the high place. Why would he need to be aware of the shadow world while in the mid air?

And why would ever undead forces willingly help the human? Remember what it took to make oathbreakers to co-operate. And they didn't possessed such powerful force.

It looked like he didn't just became aware of it - orcs didn't seen him while he was in the spirit world. He constantly vanishes while jumping for the kill from the high place. Why would he need to be aware of the shadow world while in the mid air?

And why would ever undead forces willingly help the human? Remember what it took to make oathbreakers to co-operate. And they didn't possessed such powerful force.

Well, having it occur as he jumps through the air is almost certainly artistic (rule of cool). From a consistency stand point he should probably be aware of it all the time.

As for what he did to make a wraith help him, that I don't know. I suspect the reason in game will be insufficiently convincing for the rarity of if (as is usually the case with spin-off novels/games/stories).

It strikes me that either the people working the concept stage of the game loved the films but don't read the books (since the game looks very much like the films).

Or, it was not made as a Lotr game, and then was changed after the core concepts were in place because using an original ip would have been more work. Even though I think the game looks like an original IP would have been a lot better than the Lord of the Rings theme they went with for what they have.

Basically: a big (primarily film) studio has shoe horned something they already own instead of spending the time on a new world - probably because they want the "oh lord of the rings" sales instead of making a truly good product.

It does stretch the lore (mainly from interpretation and the special snowflake thing), but I don't think it's outside the realm of what could have been.

I've been watching this one on the horizon for a while and I'm not thrilled. A man who struggles with a 'wraith' inside him and goes into Mordor for justice/revenge? Nope. Not buying it. The action looks okay, but it is directly ripped from Assassin's Creed.

This is sort of the J.J. Abrams version of Middle-Earth. It just needs a bunch of anxty tweens cast in all the lead roles, remove all dramatic scenes to add more twisty cavern chases, and replace the Eye of Sauron with a giant red ball. Then make the whole War of the Ring a dream so the real story can go off in a completely different direction. Yes, I'm bitter.

Except from the layout of the spirit-world theme, as was brought up by Psycho.

Oh nerdmeister don't get me wrong I totally know that the whole "spirit realm" is canon but the way they are using it (possession, teleport attacks, a mere mortal having access to this realm without use of the one ring) is most certainly not!

I almost thought this was Assassin's Creed with a LotR mod. I was excited about Shadows of Mordor, but now I'm not so sure. The gameplay looks cool, but this total disregard to the lore... the spirit view seems to work almost exactly as Eagle Vision does in AC.

Because it's Middle-earth related, it's pretty much a certainty that I'll play it. On the other hand, I agree that there are some substantial deviations from lore here. It looks like the wraith thing was put in to have a substitution for the Eagle vision in Assassin's Creed and to have some "ultra cool" powers that video gamers who don't care about lore will love. Personally, I don't know why every video game character has to be overpowered. It would be much more interesting and challenging to me to have to be just an ordinary ranger who has to infiltrate Mordor with nothing but his normal human powers. If anything, Tolkien's heroes are marked by not being as over the top in power as most fantasy heroes.

I almost thought this was Assassin's Creed with a LotR mod. I was excited about Shadows of Mordor, but now I'm not so sure. The gameplay looks cool, but this total disregard to the lore... the spirit view seems to work almost exactly as Eagle Vision does in AC.

This I feel is ultimately what's happened, they wanted to incorporate Eagle vision and tried to think of what would fit from the lore and what would look cool. They opted for the ring-wraith style vision as show cased in some of the films - which does look cool.

Personally I would have opted for the unrepresented Light of Valinor that the Noldor are said to experience - which wouldn't have granted the ability to mind control orcs but which may have allowed for other cool super powers (and the eagle vision itself would certaintly fit). They could have made him half-noldor to explain the discrepancy in not having it all the time.

I agree with all of you that it will probably be a travesty of the lore - because most of these things are (including the films). However it may be that it doesn't deviate that much - depending on how tastefully it's done.

We also have to have deviations to have new stories (see: any of the original quests in this game, plus anything original to do with the RPG, the rabbits in the Hobbit films) The fact is if we always get 100% canonical lore in our new media then actually, we're just reading the books over and over because everything else involves deviation.

I expect it will be cringe-worthy and poorly done, but I don't think it 'has' to be the case. (Also we don't know how he gets his wraith powers, it might be artifacts rather than super powers, or something like that which is in keeping with the lore).

The other really important aspect is the fact that the theme of using the shadow powers is inherently falling to the shadow - for the story to work it will be necessary for the main character to be ultimately irremediable if the wraith powers have any links to the shadow.

I still think as others do, that it will be a travesty - but I don't think it necessarily has to be. Outside of the lotr lore it looks like it will be good - which is why I think an original ip would have been better.

Game looks like it could be fun. Not too sold on the plot.

excited for it. sue me

At this rate it'll probably come out before dunland trap!!!!!

excited for it. sue me

Don't get me wrong, like I said, despite my hating on the theme, I'm going to buy and play it for sure. I'm pretty tolerant of deviation if it's fun. Maybe I'd draw the line at Gandalf machine gunning down a horde of zombies.

Looks like LotR meets Assassin's Creed. I really like the mechanics of the nemesis system (although I do feel it might be too ambitious in design), and the crazy powers the player can employ that adds some spice the "Assassin's Creed" style of gameplay (which got boring quick IMO). And it also appears to be open world. And the bit about the lore? eh, whatever. I'm more a mechanics guy anyhow. Game actually looks to have some promise (although wish the QTE's would die off). I'm intrigued.

I read some impressions of this game on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, and the writer stated that Shadows of Mordor made him want to play Assassin's Creed.

This one is simply not worth the money even if the combat is tight. I think that certain properties such as LOTR do not need changing or rebooting. Perhaps when it plummets to 10 USD on a Steam sale I might pick it up provided there are no APs being released.