Full Circle Magazine FR

One game to rule them all! Tolkien's Middle Earth is a vast insatiable world of fantasy and adventure. Most people today are familiar with The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but, somewhere in between, there is a new adventure that has recently been released as a video game. Best described as a single-player, third-person, open-world, action-adventure RPG, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor takes place in the time period after Tolkien's The Hobbit, but before The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In September 2014, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor was first released for PC, PS4 & Xbox One. Subsequently, it was also released for PS3 & Xbox 360 later that year. Most recently, in July 2015, Shadow of Mordor was released for Linux. Immediately following its Linux release, word began to spread around the Linux community that this game was a must-have. Shadow of Mordor began to appear in just about every list of top-ten must-have new releases with many publications & websites nominating and/or electing it as Game of the Year. The list of accolades includes GDC Game of the Year, Gamespot's Game of the Year, and gamesradar Game of the Year – to name just a few. Gaming on Linux claimed that it was a “rare (Linux)… high-quality open-world game… which had delivered something special.”

Un jeu pour les gouverner tous ! La Terre du Milieu de Tolkien est un vaste monde insatiable de fantaisie et d'aventure. La plupart des gens aujourd'hui connaissent Le Hobbit et la trilogie du Seigneur des anneaux, mais, quelque part entre les deux, une nouvelle aventure est récemment sortie comme jeu vidéo. Pour le décrire avec justesse, ce serait un jeu de rôle d'action et d'aventure, en mode solo, à la troisième personne, et à monde ouvert. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor se passe après Le Hobbit, de Tolkien, mais avant la trilogie du Seigneur des anneaux.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor est sortie d'abord pour PC, PS4 & Xbox One, en septembre 2014. Plus tard, la même année, il est sortie pour PS3 & Xbox 360. Dernièrement, en juillet 2015, Shadow of Mordor fut publié pour Linux. Tout de suite après sa sortie Linux, les gens de la communauté Linux se sont passé le mot : ce jeu est un « must ». Dès lors, on pouvait trouver Shadow of Mordor dans presque toutes les listes top-ten nouvelles sorties à avoir sans daute. En outre, beaucoup de publications et sites Web le nominaient et/ou l'élisaient Game of the Year (Jeu de l'année), notamment GDC Game of the Year, Gamespot's Game of the Year et gamesradar Game of the Year (pour ne citer que quelques-unes des distinctions. Gaming on Linux le prétendait « rare (sous Linux)… un jeu de grande qualité, à monde ouvert… qui nous avait livré quelque chose de très spécial. »

After reading so many rave reviews, I couldn't help but buy it so I could decide for myself whether this game was worth everything critics claimed it was. I was not the least bit disappointed. Developed by Monolith Productions, published by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, and ported to Linux by Feral Interactive, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor gets my vote for Linux Game of the Year. It was rather difficult for me to put the game down in order to write this review; that's how good the game is. To play the game, you can download it from Steam or Humble Bundle for the current regular price of $49.99 unless you happen to catch a sale anytime in the near future which is not out of the question. Once installed, you're ready to play. Shadow of Mordor has been described as a cross between the Assassin's Creed and the Arkham Batman series of games. Having previously played games from both of those series, I can testify that such claims are accurate. Anyone who has played any of the Assassin's Creed or Arkham Batman games will feel right at home playing Shadow of Mordor. However, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor goes above & beyond anything else ever developed as it has been injected & infused with enough creativity & innovation to stand on its own as a uniquely phenomenal game that no gamer should do without.

Après en avoir lu tant de critiques plus qu'élogieuses, je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher de l'acheter, car je voulais décider par moi-même si le jeu valait tout ce que les critiques prétendaient. Et je n'était point déçu. Développé par Monolith Productions, publié par Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainement, et porté sous Linux par Feral Interactive, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor reçoit mon vote pour Linux Game of the Year. C'était plutôt difficile pour moi d'abandonner le jeu pour écrire cette critique - c'est dire son excellence.

Pour jouer au jeu, vous pouvez le télécharger de Steam ou de Humble Bundle pour le prix actuel, standard, de 49,99 $ US, à moins de pouvoir bénéficier de soldes dans un proche avenir, ce qui n'est pas totalement impossible. Une fois que vous l'aurez installé, vous êtes prêt à jouer. On a décrit Shadow of Mordor comme étant un hybride d'Assassin's Creed et la série d'Arkham Batman. Ayant déjà joué à des jeux des deux séries, je peux attester de la validité de telles affirmations. Quiconque a joué à n'importe quel jeu d'Assassin's Creed ou d'Arkham Batman, se sentira tout à fait à l'aise lorsqu'il jouera à Shadow of Mordor. Cela étant dit, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor se dresse au-dessus et au-delà de n'importe quel autre jeu jamais développé, car on lui a injecté et infusé assez de créativité et innovation pour qu'il soit unique ; c'est un jeu phénoménal et exceptionnel à ne pas manquer.

As the game begins, Talion (the main character), witnesses his family being murdered by cold-blooded Orc warriors fighting for the Black Hand of Sauron. As the opening sequence plays out, Talion himself is murdered by these savage Orcs but his soul is unable to join his family in the afterlife. As he is savagely murdered, Talion somehow merges with an Elf Wraith who is also out for revenge against the Black Hand of Sauron. Having been magically united, Talion and the Wraith embark on a dark journey that will take them through Mordor as they kill Orcs, Uruks, chiefs, captains and all sorts of beasts, animals & monsters on their quest to exterminate the Black Hand of Sauron and anyone who gets in their way. Along the way, Talion also co-operates with other characters such as Ratbag, the Uruk who Talion helps become war-chief, and we even work alongside Gollum who is dying to obtain his “precious ring.” Talion can engage in melee, ranged & stealth combat at the outset of the game. As the story unfolds, Talion acquires other combat skills that enhance his three primary fighting styles via the use of runes and learned abilities. When you kill enemies, especially chiefs & captains, Talion earns points and runes, but it is up to you to decide which abilities will be mastered – which is what gives the game its RPG element. There are two sides to Talion, the regular human side and the wraith-like side – which are both upgradeable depending on your playing style. You control Talion either through mouse/keyboard or a game controller, both of which work very well on this game; the choice is yours. What really sets this game apart from anything that has ever gone before, is what's been referred to as the Nemesis system. Basically, when an opposing enemy kills you in this game, not only do you die and have to re-spawn at a predetermined forge tower, but the character who killed you, and any other allies who might have been with him when you died, will level up (ie, increase their level number) and use your death to their advantage. The way in which the developers incorporated this concept into the game is truly fascinating. The Nemesis system is dynamically creating a living Mordor which breathes and pulsates according to your actions – thus presenting you a soon-to-be wasteland tailor made for you…. by you.

Au début du jeu, Talion (le protagoniste) est le témoin du massacre de sa famille par des guerriers Orc sans cœur aucun qui combattent pour la Main noire de Sauron. Alors que la séquence d'ouverture s'approche de sa fin, Talion lui-même est tué par ces Orcs sauvages, mais son âme n'arrive pas à rejoindre sa famille dans l'au-delà. Pendant cet assassinat, Talion fusion de façon mystérieuse avec un Spectre elfe (Elf Wraith) qui, lui aussi, voudrait se venger de la Main noir de Sauron. Une fois unis par magie, Talion et le Spectre commencent un sombre voyage à travers Mordor en tuant des Orcs, des Uruks, des chefs, des capitaines et toute sortes de bêtes, animaux, et monstres rencontrés pendant leur quête d'extermination de la Main noire de Sauront et quiconque se met au milieu de leur chemin. Pendant ce voyage, Talion coopère avec d'autres personnages aussi, notamment Ratbag, l'Uruk que Talion aide à devenir un chef de guerre et nous travaillons même aux côtés de Gollum qui meurt d'envie de récupérer son « précieux anneau ».

Dès le départ, Talion peut se combattre de diverses façons : au corps à corps, à distance ou furtivement. Au cours de l'histoire, Talion acquiert d'autre capacités de combat qui améliorent ses trois styles primaires grâce à l'utilisation de runes et à des compétences apprises. Quand vous tuez des ennemis, surtout des chefs et des capitaines, Talion gagne des points et des runes, mais c'est à vous de décider quelles compétences il doit maîtriser - ce qui donne au jeu son élément de jeu de rôle. Talion a deux côtés, le côté humain normal et le côté spectral ; les deux sont évolutifs, selon le style de votre jeu. Vous contrôlez Talion avec soit la souris et le clavier, soit un contrôleur de jeu - les deux fonctionnent très bien ; c'est à vous de choisir. Ce qui fait la particularité de ce jeu par rapport à tous les autres, est ce qui s'appelle le système Némésis. Quand un ennemi vous tue au cours du jeu, vous mourez, oui, et vous vous retrouvez à une tour forge prédéterminée pour renaître, mais, en plus, le personnage qui vous a tué et tous ses alliés qui se trouvaient avec lui lors de votre mort, monteront d'au moins un niveau et utiliseront votre mort à leur avantage. La manière dont les développeurs ont incorporé ce concept au jeu est vraiment passionnant. Le système Némésis crée de façon dynamique un Mordor vivant qui respire et palpite selon vos actions. Ainsi, on vous présente un désert en devenir fait sur mesure pour vous… par vous.

For example, there was a captain in the first half of the game who I couldn't defeat – no matter how hard I tried. When I first encountered him, he was a level 13 at a time when I was just getting comfortable at fighting against level 8 enemies. With each death I suffered against him, not only would he level up, but also his strengths would increase while his weaknesses decreased. Eventually, he was so powerful (lvl 18) that I opted to avoid him at all cost until I felt I was powerful enough to bring him to his knees. When I finally chopped off his head, he had risen to level 20 and just before my sword sliced through his neck he even said something like “at long last you've defeated me.” I couldn't help but laugh at his comment and marvel with a dropped jaw at how this particular captain who I had helped turn into an unbeatable foe, even remembered my playing style and how many times he'd killed me, among other things. If I call the Nemesis system genius, I'm still short of giving it the credit it deserves. I wouldn't doubt to find influences of the Nemesis system in future games still to come. On my system, Shadow of Mordor had very few glitches, if any at all. A couple of times I had to re-start the game with lower default settings, but I'll be the first to admit that these were not so much bugs, but rather me trying to push my system beyond its limits. The game isn't to blame. The graphics on the game are not next generation but the fluidity with which the visuals move in & out of battle, especially during combat-finishing moves, are very pleasing to the eye. The voice acting is another in a long list of strengths. Shadow of Mordor also comes with a benchmark which you can run to test your system. If you are interested in taking screenshots of the game, there's even a feature that can be enabled/disabled which can potentially turn you into a real visionary screenshot publishing artist.

If enabled, the game can be paused at will and a wide array of tools appear before you to alter the paused screenshot and turn it into a visual masterpiece. You can completely change the angle, add a border, focus in/out of it, get up close or far back, change the “canvas” as it were, make it black & white, sepia, etc. It's a feature I found quite useful. Rather than continue talking about all of the things I've enjoyed about this game, it's best I say that I've seriously been thinking about any negative aspects of the game and cannot come up with anything I dislike about it. Although I'm not affected by it, I must unfortunately report that Intel & AMD graphics are not yet supported, but I understand that the game should still work fairly well on very low settings. It would be a shame if support for AMD & Intel didn't come soon. I had to contact Feral Interactive regarding compatibility problems I had while playing this game with Valve's new Steam Controller, and they promptly replied and gave me some valuable advice. Feral Interactive has done a superb job in bringing this title to Linux and I cannot think of a better way to thank them other than buying Shadow of Mordor. I give the game a solid rating and strongly recommend it to everyone…. or rather to all Mature Audiences who are age 18+ since that's the game's well deserved rating as it is rather graphically violent.

Minimum Requirements: OS: Ubuntu 14.04.2 64-bit / SteamOS Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.4 GHz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 1GB NVIDIA 640 or better with driver version 352.21 or later Network: Broadband Internet connection Hard Drive: 47 GB available space Additional Notes: AMD and Intel cards are NOT supported.