Home Gaming Shadow of Mordor on old-gen is plain ugly

Shadow of Mordor on old-gen is plain ugly

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Lessdor

Shadow of Mordor is easily one of my favourite games from this year. Derivative it may be, but its blend of fantasy role-playing, stealth gameplay and Batman-inspired combat is fantastic.  The best thing about the whole game though, was the rather clever Nemesis system, whereby lowly orcs have the chance to become big players in Sauron’s quest for domination of Middle Earth. The game’s old-gen version was delayed and will be out locally this week. If you’re sporting the old systems though, you may actually want to give this one a pass.

Some footage of the Ps3 version is out, and the game looks a little bit on the awful side – with muddy textures, an awful frame rate, poor animation, texture pop-in, screen tearing, unbearably long load times  and just about all of the nasty stuff we don’t want in our games. That would be okay if the core game was identical, but it isn’t. The vaunted Nemesis system is incredibly limited. It really is just a mere shadow  – and isn’t really the same game.  It’s not just ugly on a technical level, as a result of its limited systems, it’s objectively less fun. If you were planning on picking Shadow of Mordor up for your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, you may want to reconsider.

While it’s still a good game, it’s missing the soul of what made Shadow of Mordor a compelling experience. You may also want to consider picking up a new console or upgrading your PC, because I think the old systems are well on their way to obsolescence. This sort of thing is set to continue, and cross gen games will continue to become worse, all while hobbling their new gen counterparts.

It’s out on Friday for the old systems.

Last Updated: November 19, 2014

50 Comments

  1. Rock789

    November 19, 2014 at 11:05

    Now that is a pity, coz this really is a great game on new-gen. Having a blast with it so far!

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      November 19, 2014 at 11:43

      OvG came over a few weeks back, damn it is an awesome looking game. Will has it on his PC but using keyboard and mouse doesn’t seem as much fun.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the valiant

        November 19, 2014 at 11:53

        I play it only with my Xbox controller on my pc. Just works so well with it.

        Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    November 19, 2014 at 11:09

    Header alt text is brilliant, seriously don’t buy it on old gen, rather wait for till you own a PS4 or XBOX One or get it on PC. I wish the game had some more battle royal fights with you and your orcs versus another team of orcs. It was over way to quickly and left me hungry for more.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 19, 2014 at 11:13

      PC. Of course. Is there even a debate?

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 19, 2014 at 11:19

        Oh you, maybe if new consoles sales can’t break 10 000 000 then there wont be a debate. Convenience is convenient

        Reply

  3. Admiral Chief Wang

    November 19, 2014 at 11:11

    Wow, that sure is uggo

    Reply

  4. cortez

    November 19, 2014 at 11:14

    Don’t mistake poor optimisation and poor developer (behavior interactive) choice by WB games for console obsolescence. bigger multiplatform games like far cry 4, dragon age inquisition, black flag and watch dog have shown that optimisation with skilled developers is key. Warner Games being too much of a cheapstake hired Naughty bear and WET developers whose resume is full of terrible Nickelodeon, CN and Disney games to develop the last gen versions and their last gen optimisation is so bad that the consoles are practically allergic to it.

    Reply

  5. HairyEwok

    November 19, 2014 at 11:14

    Wait what…. This game is actually on the previous gen of consoles. Who’s the smart ass that thought that would be a good idea. Sigh damn companies trying to milk any and all ports, whats next the Shadow of Mordor on WiiU?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 19, 2014 at 11:16

      Still a lot of people that needs to go next gen.

      Reply

      • HairyEwok

        November 19, 2014 at 11:18

        I don’t even own a Xbone or PS4, I have this on PC but surely some things are just not meant to be ported to previous gen right.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          November 19, 2014 at 11:21

          Console games are inferior graphics wise to begin with compared to PC. Why disallow someone who doesn’t have a new console yet the opportunity to play the game. But I cant believe this is the best they could do. Look at GTAV or The Last of Us on PS3.

          Reply

          • HairyEwok

            November 19, 2014 at 11:27

            To each their own opinion on things, but honestly I do feel sorry for the people who have/want to play this on prev gen consoles. The loading times are long, the textures are up to sh!t and with that they still load and glitch a bit when hopping into a in-game cinematic.

    • Med

      December 2, 2014 at 04:46

      Don’t tell me shadow of mordor can not be on the previous gen consoles. Look at assassin’s creed rogue and far cry 4 that works perfectly on previous gen with amazing graghics and good frame rate. It is not a console problem.

      Reply

      • HairyEwok

        December 2, 2014 at 08:23

        Amazing graphics on last gen consoles…. buddy I don’t want to burst your bubble of hope but holy sh!t have you seriously not seen the graphics comparisons of those games between the different consoles. If you say last gen’s graphics is amazing (which is low) then this gens graphics will make you jizz in your pants most definitely. And because I care I’ll linky you to a site with imagery comparisons. http://gearnuke.com/far-cry-4-ps3-vs-ps4-vs-pc-image-comparison-shows-solid-effort-platforms/

        Reply

  6. CAE9872

    November 19, 2014 at 11:29

    And we all surprised? At least it does seem to indicate what next-gen can do older consoles cannot i.e. Nemesis system.

    Reply

  7. Kromas, Guardian of Cenarius

    November 19, 2014 at 11:32

    PC gen FTW!

    Also (refresh)

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 19, 2014 at 11:36

      Fake! There are CDs, which obviously means it’s a console game. :/

      Reply

  8. Azazel

    November 19, 2014 at 11:33

    I played it on the ps4 and thoroughly enjoyed but I’m curious as to how the nemesis system will come into play on the old-gen systems. I see a few sites saying that is gimped but nobody is saying how

    Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      November 19, 2014 at 11:56

      repeated dialogue, same orcs with different names, that sort of thing. No real character to them, so it’s very rinse and repeat.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        November 19, 2014 at 12:00

        And there’s nothing worse than a repetitive Rince. Le sigh. 😉

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the valiant

          November 19, 2014 at 12:01

          Though he at least has some character, to be fair.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 19, 2014 at 12:02

            Why do I have to be fair? :/

          • Captain JJ the valiant

            November 19, 2014 at 12:12

            I suppose that’s why I’m here.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 19, 2014 at 12:33

            My fair JJ?

      • Azazel

        November 19, 2014 at 13:52

        Ah I see. I could deal with shitty graphics but the as you said, the game really shines with the nemesis system at full strength. Disappointing for those still on old gen.

        Reply

  9. RinceThis

    November 19, 2014 at 11:36

    “Is just a mere shadow” I see what you did there!

    Reply

  10. Captain JJ the valiant

    November 19, 2014 at 11:37

    It’s not heavy on my pc at all and I don’t have the greatest rig. It looks beautiful though, no doubt about that. I’ve posted so many pics on my Steam activity page from that game.

    It’s one of the great games I’ve played this year, but not one of the best.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 19, 2014 at 11:37

      Almost as many pics as Admiral has posted of his Wang.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the valiant

        November 19, 2014 at 11:40

        He’s goes on about that Wang like it’s the best thing since arrows to the knee.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          November 19, 2014 at 11:42

          Someone should give him a cookie.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the valiant

            November 19, 2014 at 11:52

            I’ve got a DRM cookie he can have. hehehe

        • RinceThis

          November 19, 2014 at 11:44

          Indeed.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 19, 2014 at 11:46

            See, even Rince knows – and he’s not even ON Steam.

  11. TehBrad

    November 19, 2014 at 12:08

    Looks worse than the lowest settings I’m running the game on with my laptop.

    Reply

  12. Jonah Cash

    November 19, 2014 at 12:28

    I am about 4 hours in and I can’t get myself to play this anymore… The story is not as engaging to me, the controls is not good!! There is just something that doesn’t work for me… Am I going crazy???

    Reply

    • Willem Swanepoel

      November 19, 2014 at 13:02

      jip

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 20, 2014 at 10:39

      Stick with it, the more your character upgrades the better it gets. Shadow Strike ability is awesome and when you brand other Orcs to fight for you it really picks up. Also you can later mount those huge trolls by Pressing L1 and X. Then you can eat other orcs or jsut stomp their asses.

      Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        November 20, 2014 at 12:06

        I will make time over the next few months to play this… Just don’t like it so far!! But have to finish the story, my OCD makes it impossible to just leave it!!

        Reply

  13. FoxOneZA

    November 19, 2014 at 13:28

    Looks like a PS3 launch title 😛

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 20, 2014 at 10:40

      Weak cell processor is weak. The PS4 is apparently better with grass 😛

      Reply

  14. David

    November 20, 2014 at 10:32

    I must be the only person on the planet that was underwhelmed – it was a fun game, I just finished it, but it felt a bit insubstantial. I suspect (because I’m not even sure why I feel this way for sure) it was the size of the sandbox, 2 not so big maps and that’s it. 20 story missions, only a handful requiring any sort of skill.

    It was also pretty easy, I only died twice (both because the Orc captain had crazy strengths and I got sloppy).

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 20, 2014 at 10:37

      I loved the battle near the end where you had your five Orc chiefs versus their five Orc chiefs, but the final boss battles were lame.

      Reply

      • David

        November 20, 2014 at 10:40

        Haha, when I got to that part my orcs killed 3 of those captains before I had a chance. 😐 Also, pressing K when you have 5 Warchiefs under your command is so fulfilling.

        But yeah, SPOILER:::::

        Final boss “battle” being a QTE was an actual WTF moment. :/

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          November 20, 2014 at 10:43

          Devs get lazy near the end 🙁

          Reply

  15. Alex Filipowski

    November 20, 2014 at 23:12

    Wow that looks ugly, it behaves and looks more like a PS2 game 😮

    Reply

  16. RedPlumpTomato

    November 22, 2014 at 00:25

    I just requested a refund for SOM from PSN and no questions asked! Very happy with the service. They simply gave me store credit instead of a full refund, but, that’s better than nothing!

    Reply

  17. Gol D Bogart

    November 22, 2014 at 06:37

    my reaction when I play it on PS3 #tableflip

    Reply

  18. JohnPS3

    December 18, 2014 at 22:08

    these are the guys that did this porting.

    https://www.facebook.com/behaviourinteractive

    Please let’s give us our feedback!

    Reply

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