He was immune to poison, immune to curses and had a trait called “immense strength,” which let him do a massive amount of melee damage. He was a “legendary” overlord, with no known weaknesses. My guide, one of the game’s producers, warned me that Kuga was one tough cookie. I had even snuck three of my own men into his service, who would fight for me once the battle began.

I had a thick dossier on the overlord, an Orc named Kuga the Berserker Master, and his whole retinue of captains and compatriots. In the save file that I was given to play, much of that work had already been done for me. In the lead-up to the assault, players will roam the open world uncovering the identity of a fortress’ ruler and his allies. Interactive Entertainment Ride out with me While there were many times fewer combatants on the map compared to the movie franchise’s signature battle, the combat itself easily rivaled Helm’s Deep.īattle begins with the blowing of horns, the beating of drums and the thunder of running feet. The goal last week was for us to experience one of the game’s marquee fortress assaults, action-packed sieges of the enemy-controlled castles that dominate each of the game’s regions. There’s an extra dimension to everything.”ĭeveloper Monolith already told us how Shadow of War leverages the best parts of the “nemesis system,” creating dynamic storylines within every battle. So, it kind of ends up being Shadow of Mordor cubed. The scale of the world the depth of the world the variety of the world the content even the nemesis system itself. “But it's three to four times bigger in every dimension. “It's three to four times bigger,” said Monolith Production’s vice president of creative, Michael de Plater.

Myself and a select group of journalists were invited to play through an entire 20-minute fortress assault, creating an army and testing out the newly expanded “nemesis system.” After even our short playthrough of the game, it’s clear the sequel to 2014’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has been expanded in almost every way. Interactive Entertainment in advance of this year’s E3, Polygon had hands-on time with the upcoming Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. During a private event hosted by Warner Bros.

Shadow of war fortress upgrades