Hands-on: Middle Earth: Shadow of War gets more creative with Tolkien's universe

A lot of time and effort will be spent discussing Middle Earth: Shadow of War's improved Nemesis System between now and probably about a month after release. And for good reason--the Nemesis System was the only thing that elevated predecessor Shadow of Mordor from another me-too Assassin's Creed clone into a technical wunderkind. Leaning into that aspect for the sequel is probably a good call, especially since we've failed to see similar tech make its way through the industry. The dynamic characters that made Shadow of Mordor such a joy are still, three years on, a novelty. But I had 20 to 30 minutes of hands-on time with Shadow of War during E3 and to be honest, the Nemesis System was the least of my concerns.