10 Genius Gameplay Tricks That Made Video Games WAY Better

Without the Nemesis system, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor would've been a competent if not particularly memorable open-world take on the Lord of the Rings franchise, but its fresh enemy-tracking system ensured few would ever forget it.

Nemesis was a means through which the game remembered players' interactions with procedurally generated A.I. enemies: an Uruk that either kills the player or survives a fight with them will be promoted through the Uruk hierarchy, in turn becoming more powerful.

If you encounter the same Uruk again, they will remember you and perhaps even comment on an injury you gave them last time. Also, in the event an Uruk kills you, other players on your friends list will be notified, allowing them the opportunity to avenge you.

This is all a fantastic way to make otherwise garden variety enemy encounters feel meaningful. Further complexities include the ability to generate rifts and infighting between Uruk soldiers, effectively helping destabilise their army.

All in all the Nemesis system was far more interesting than Shadow of Mordor's actual cinematic story, so it's surprising that we haven't seen countless open world games rip it off.

That is, until you learn that Warner Bros. was recently granted a patent for Nemesis which would seemingly prevent other games from employing a similar system. Boo.