Developer : Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Release date : October 10, 2017
Synopsis :
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an action role-playing video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the sequel to 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 10, 2017.
Shadow of War continues the previous game’s narrative, which is based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium and set in between the events of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film trilogies, from which the game takes inspiration. The player continues the story of the ranger Talion and the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor, who shares Talion’s body, as they forge a new Ring of Power to amass an army to fight against Sauron. The game builds upon the “Nemesis System” introduced in Shadow of Mordor, allowing Talion to gain followers from several races of Middle-earth, including Uruks and Ologs, and plan out complex strategies using these to complete missions.
Shadow of War had a generally favorable reception from critics, albeit more mixed than its predecessor; praise was aimed towards the gameplay and an improved nemesis system, although story elements and changes made to established characters received some negative reactions, as well as the inclusion of microtransactions and loot boxes.
Shadow of War continues the narrative from Shadow of Mordor, following Talion (Troy Baker) who is still infused with the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor (Alastair Duncan). Talion and Celebrimbor travel to Mount Doom, where they forge a new Ring of Power, free of Sauron’s corruption. However, once the Ring is complete, Celebrimbor is abducted and held hostage by Shelob (Pollyanna McIntosh), who asks Talion to hand over the Ring in exchange for Celebrimbor. Talion reluctantly agrees and gives the Ring to Shelob, who claims they have a common enemy in Sauron. She uses the Ring to see into the future and directs Talion to the last Gondorian stronghold near Mordor, Minas Ithil, which is under siege by Sauron’s forces due to the city’s possession of a valuable Palantír. The Palantir allows whoever possesses it to see anything they wish, making it a valuable tool for Celebrimbor and a dangerous weapon for Sauron.
Talion travels to Minas Ithil and comes to odds with Celebrimbor. Talion wants to help his fellow Gondorians, while Celebrimbor believes the city is already lost and the retrieval of the Palantír must take priority. Talion reasons that protecting Minas Ithil will protect the Palantír and he meets up with the city’s defenders: General Castamir (Travis Willingham), his daughter Idril (Nicole Tompkins), and his lieutenant Baranor (Ike Amadi). Together, they sabotage any efforts to break into the city until Castamir betrays them, allowing the Orcs to breach the gates and handing over the Palantír to the Witch-king of Angmar (Matt Mercer) in return for sparing Idril. Castamir is killed by the Witch-king and Talion is barely able to escape thanks to the help of Eltariel (Laura Bailey), an Elven assassin working on Galadriel’s (Jennifer Hale) behalf. The Witch-king seizes Minas Ithil, renaming it Minas Morgul. With the Palantír, Sauron realizes that Shelob is holding Celebrimbor’s Ring and sends the Nazgûl to attack her. Talion is able to save Shelob, who returns the Ring to him and tells him that the fate of Middle-earth is in his hands.
With the Ring back in his possession, Talion begins to use its power to dominate Orcs and build his army. During this time, he assists Idril and Baranor in rescuing Gondorian survivors, helps the nature spirit Carnan (Toks Olagundoye) defeat the Balrog Tar Goroth and the necromancer Zog (Nolan North), is betrayed by one of his followers, and hunts the Nazgûl alongside Eltariel. Talion builds up enough strength to assault Sauron’s fortress directly. During the battle, Talion faces Isildur (Nolan North), corrupted into a Nazgûl. Talion manages to defeat Isildur, but upon seeing his memories of how he was corrupted by the One Ring, decides to destroy Isildur and release his spirit rather than dominate him. Celebrimbor remarks angrily that Isildur would have been a valuable asset to their cause, leading Talion to realize that Celebrimbor wishes to replace Sauron by dominating him rather than destroying him. Talion refuses to follow Celebrimbor’s orders any more, causing the wraith to abandon him and possess Eltariel instead.
Without Celebrimbor or the ring, Talion begins to die, but is visited by Shelob in a vision. Shelob informs him that if Talion had gone on to fight Sauron, they would have succeeded and Celebrimbor would have enslaved Sauron and marched on the rest of Middle-earth. She implores Talion to continue to fight to contain the darkness within Mordor. Deciding to put his fate in his own hands, Talion picks up the ring Isildur was wearing to preserve his own life. He uses the power of Isildur’s Ring to assault and seize Minas Morgul, defeating the Witch-king in the process. Talion takes possession of the Palantír and observes Celebrimbor and Eltariel making their assault on Sauron. The two manage to gain the upper hand and Celebrimbor attempts to dominate Sauron, only for Sauron to cut off two of Eltariel’s fingers, one of which is adorned with the Ring of Power, and merge himself with Celebrimbor. As a result, Sauron and Celebrimbor remain trapped in Sauron’s tower in the form of a flaming eye as their spirits continue to battle for dominance. Knowing he will not be able to resist the Ring, Talion decides to use Minas Morgul as a fortress to keep Sauron’s forces contained in Mordor as long as he can.
Decades later, Talion succumbs to the corruption of Isildur’s Ring, and joins Sauron’s forces as a Nazgûl, where he goes with the others to hunt Frodo and the One Ring. However, with the destruction of Sauron and the One Ring, Talion dies with the rest of the Nazgûl, and his spirit is freed. He is last seen on the shores of Valinor discarding his weapons and armor as he walks off into the west.
Source : Wikipedia
