Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor Nemesis System:
You don't have to play a lot of games to find expendable enemies, in fact the first game you think of will have them in, these cannon fodder serve to delay you, distract you and to absorb whatever you throw at them, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is trying to change this method up by promoting the pawns.
The player takes on the role of Talion, one of the rangers of Gondor tasked with standing guard at the Black Gate of Mordor, set after the events of The Hobbit when Sauron and his black captains return to Mordor and kill everyone there. Talion is kept alive by a mysterious spirit which allows him to switch into a wraith being at will, much like Bilbo and Frodo could with the ring. Such a being is new to the world of Tolkien and such seems custom tailored to be a lead protagonist.
Mordor is a huge open world, think Arkham City crossed with Dishonoured, and so will have many different enemies, but as well all know Mordor is full of Orcs, so how has Monolith made the game to keep it fresh. With the new Nemesis System they look to change up how even the smallest of enemies can quickly change the outcome of the story.
During your adventure some enemies may flee, survive or even kill you, when this happens the Nemesis system kicks in, figures out what has happened and changes what that enemy is, the can rise through the ranks of the orcs and hold one serious grudge against you. Nemeses gain names, titles, new followers and maybe even new physical appearances deepening on how the outcome of the fight went the last time you met them.
Both the navigation of Mordor and the battle take advantage of Talions abilities, normal combat and climbing are done in the human form, while as a wraith you can fire your bow, distract enemies with sounds or even teleport instantly to an enemy. Teleporting is a great way to take down an archer atop a building where you can then plan your assassination from a vantage point, with these elements it's where the Batman Arkham games and Dishonoured styles show off, the teleporting is very reminiscent of the abilities in Dishonoured where as the normal combat is like something you would find in the Arkham games. And like both games traversing the environment and planning your attacks is much better than sprinting in to a pack of orcs with a death wish.
Talion is only one person, yet with his wraith abilities he is able to dominate and spread influence across Mordor's various lands, when he catches enemies he can use his abilities to turn them into his minion by turning all ethereal and scary he can take control of their minds and give them tasks, whether it be to go on a recon mission to spy on an orc leader or to attempt an assassination to give Talion that moment of surprise. Whats really interesting about the options is that it caters to all different play styles, you could just kill the captive and not have to deal with them again or send him on his way and never see him again.
Winning a fight though isn't always about positioning gathering intelligence can offer a huge advantage, some targets are specifically afraid of fire or troll, others are immune to ranged attacks or have several bodyguards, this new style of play give a strong incentive to the Nemesis System, do your research and save yourself from going into a battle tactically blind. Whats really interesting about this fights is that they can be done at any time so they wont bog you down between doing story quest.
Shadow's of Mordor is looking more and more impressive each time i see it, and now with this new system for tackling the same type of enemies should mix things up a bit, its still a wonder about Talion's origins and whether the story will be satisfactroy but as the game is still early in development I'm sure we will get some answers as time goes on.
For more on Middle Earth: Shadow's of Mordor keep checking back but for now here is the gameplay trailer showing off the Nemesis System.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl9J_ewx3Rg
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