MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR
Take control of the armies of darkness in order to defeat them? Now you’re orcing…
You can, it turns out, have too much of a good thing. I’m in the middle of a territorial struggle with dozens of orcs, several trolls, swarms of insects, and even a dragon gobbing jets of flame to make it a heated battle in a very literal sense. It all looks incredible. And yet, as this titanic scrap ticks into its 20th minute, my eyes begin to glaze over. So what gives?
Shadow Of War’s problem is that it subscribes to that all-too-common sequel maxim: bigger is better. It’s probably Peter Jackson’s fault. The Rings cinematic trilogy equated epic scope with an epic runtime, but he got away with it because the films were great. By the third Hobbit movie, however, even the most ardent Tolkienite would have a hard time arguing that the length was warranted. Monolith’s sequel has similar trouble justifying its bloated size.
PALANTIR VS. ZOMBIE
Beginning in promising – if safe – fashion, the opening act sticks closely to the original’s formula. You’re ranger Talion again, still bound to the spirit of elf lord Celebrimbor. They have forged a new ring of power to take on Sauron, who’s back to get his hands on a new MacGuffin, the Palantir, putting the citizens of Minis Ithil under siege. Then there’s Shelob, recast as a shape-shifting femme fatale. It’s a controversial change, but it works, driving a wedge between the two leads: Celebrimbor distrusts her motives,