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Our demo closed with another cinema-rivaling performance from Gollum, who tried to convince Talion and Celebrimbor what a great guy Sauron was. While we imagine the skill would be perfect for unleashing surprise attacks on unsuspecting foes, the player exploited its power to essentially pinball from one baddie to another until he escaped the cave. The Shadow Strike ability allows Talion to warp to any enemies he targets with his bow. Discovering that bit of intel on Talion and Celebrimbor, however, imbued our antihero with a new Wraith power that could be used to flee the aggressor’s grip. Or, as de Plater called him, “One of the most important figures in the history of Middle-earth.”Īs we absorbed that meaty narrative nugget, the Graug showed up to crash the party. A lengthy cinematic revealed that the Ranger’s spirit Wraith counterpart, Celebrimbor, was a legendary elf and master smith of the Second Age, who actually forged the Rings of Power alongside franchise arch-baddie Sauron. In this case, the blade was accompanied by script that shed some light on Orc society.Īfter the mini Middle-earth history lesson, Talion continued to explore the depths of the lair, eventually uncovering what he came for. The item wasn’t Talion’s ultimate objective, but, as Design Director Michael de Plater explained, searching for such items results in players being rewarded with secrets, mysteries, and other narrative-enriching elements. Without the beast breathing down his neck, Talion took another peek into the Wraith world and discovered a relic dubbed the Serpentine Blade. With the gap rapidly closing between predator and prey, Talion hauled hide through some narrow caverns that his pursuer couldn’t cram its mountain-like frame through. His escape was short-lived, however, as the echoing roars and cavern-rumbling footfalls in his wake suggested that the lumbering monster was still hungry – and in hot pursuit. Soon enough, the hungry scavengers became an appetizing snack for the Graug with the troll-like titan distracted by his still-living lunch, Talion was able to sneak past the carnage and continue tailing Gollum. Instead, he attracted some lesser creatures, Ghuls, by shooting a baited arrow near their den. Upon getting a glimpse of the ugly giant in all its teeth-baring glory, Talion decided not to tango with the monster just yet.
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With this enhanced vision activated, he spotted Gollum’s tracks – represented by glowing blue footprints – which happened to lead right into the heart of a Graug’s lair. Utilizing one of his powers (earned when he was reluctantly resurrected by a spirit after being killed at the Black Gate), Talion was able to see into the Wraith world. With the setup complete, aforementioned Ranger/Wraith Talion set off to catch the corrupted little creep before he could get his greedy mitts on the goods. Thankfully, a recent gamescom 2014 presentation provided just that, showcasing a satisfying chunk of a story mission titled “The One Truth.”īeginning with a polished cinematic that wouldn’t look out of place among Peter Jackson’s Tolkien-based blockbusters, we learned that Gollum – with every ounce of his “ My precious ”-repeating charm – was after a pretty important artifact. And while the ability to mold and manipulate enemy encounters across the Lord of the Rings saga’s wide-open Mordor is reason enough to don the armor of the title’s Ranger/Wraith dual-protagonist, we’ve been as anxious as a One Ring-obsessed Gollum to take a peek down the game’s narrative path. Previous demonstrations of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor have focused on the dark fantasy action-adventure’s ambitious Nemesis system and stretching sandbox world.