Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2369 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,686 out of 2369
  2. Mixed: 489 out of 2369
  3. Negative: 194 out of 2369
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  1. Feroxz
    Sep 30, 2014
    5
    This game is not bad, it's just not as great as most people claim it to be. The story is generic and doesn't really fit into LotR universe; combat is taken from Arkham games; most of other mechanics (freerunning, stealth, detection system) is taken from AC series. And the only truly original feature, Nemesis system, is far too simple and repetitive to keep you playing this game longer thanThis game is not bad, it's just not as great as most people claim it to be. The story is generic and doesn't really fit into LotR universe; combat is taken from Arkham games; most of other mechanics (freerunning, stealth, detection system) is taken from AC series. And the only truly original feature, Nemesis system, is far too simple and repetitive to keep you playing this game longer than 10 hours. The longer you play this game the more flows you start to see: unpolished gaps in combat system, repetitiveness of missions, dumb (even for orcs) AI. I do not recommend buying this game at full price, wait for sale and only then consider a purchase.… Expand
  2. Sawt00th
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    This game is like a water-slide. Fun, no choice of direction and you forget about it when you move onto the next one. Combat physics is hard to apply to games, as would planning for a myriad of styles, they forgo these issues by implementing an Arkham Batman style of combat, which is lovely in small doses and for 1080 vids to showcase the game, but after killing the zillionth Ork you beginThis game is like a water-slide. Fun, no choice of direction and you forget about it when you move onto the next one. Combat physics is hard to apply to games, as would planning for a myriad of styles, they forgo these issues by implementing an Arkham Batman style of combat, which is lovely in small doses and for 1080 vids to showcase the game, but after killing the zillionth Ork you begin to get bored. Free-running needs to die, it needs to leave games right now, Assassin's Creed has been a cancer of the video game market. The basic formulae has been set by Arkham and AC they just needed to re-skin it and force through a story. Not a game that will capture you for very long should you be an adult that has developed a brain capable of logical and free thought. I gave it a 5 purely for the fact that it's well optimised. But let's be really honest if you have that many people at the top of their game creating a product you'd bloody well hope it was optimised.… Expand
  3. ALB13
    Sep 30, 2014
    7
    Did you enjoy Assassin's Creed but wish there were more Orcs, Elves, and Rings involved? If so, this is your game. As someone who enjoys the mixture stealth/parkor/brawling the AC series brings to the table, I have been heartily enjoying Shadow of Mordor.

    Pro: Hundreds of orcs to slaughter in fun, careful, or frenetic ways. Game looks good. The Nemesis system creates numerous    Did you enjoy Assassin's Creed but wish there were more Orcs, Elves, and Rings involved? If so, this is your game. As someone who enjoys the mixture stealth/parkor/brawling the AC series brings to the table, I have been heartily enjoying Shadow of Mordor.

    Pro:
    Hundreds of orcs to slaughter in fun, careful, or frenetic ways.
    Game looks good.
    The Nemesis system creates numerous engaging enemies, some of whom show up at the absolute worst times (this remains a Pro since it keeps the game interesting).

    Con:
    If you don't like Assassin's Creed style game play, just avoid this one.
    Will probably drive Tolkien purists insane for some reason.
    Melee combat has a shallow learning curve, very few encounters require more thought than "bash bash bash counter bash bash bash counter bash bash KILL bash bash counter etc."

    Big Con:
    The Nemesis system isn't as deep as it could have been; preview materials would have had us believe that defeated foes could be turned to your cause and used to your advantage. This is not the case. There is a single orc that can be turned to your side, and his activities are pre-planned. Other enemies can be interrogated for useful information prior to execution, but any suggestion that you can use one defeated foe to sow chaos in the camp of another is, at least six hours into the game, untrue.    … Expand
  4. papisotoromek
    Oct 2, 2014
    3
    How's this possible, that so repetitive and frustrating game is so high-ranked and praised by both critics and gamers.
    Story is simply boring and cliche, moreover it's not within the spirit of LOTR books or movies. It has revenge driven hero who's absolutely dull and says nothing interesting through the whole game.
    Nemesis system at first glance is very interesting, but in short time    How's this possible, that so repetitive and frustrating game is so high-ranked and praised by both critics and gamers.
    Story is simply boring and cliche, moreover it's not within the spirit of LOTR books or movies. It has revenge driven hero who's absolutely dull and says nothing interesting through the whole game.
    Nemesis system at first glance is very interesting, but in short time becomes a great problem. Yes, the orcs are different, promote when they kill you and it's more or less engaging, but when you realize that it never ends it's no fun anymore. New orcs replace dead ones and you can fight with them whole eternity. The same problem is about wandering through the map. Mordor is very small and cramped and overcrowded with opponents who's respawning all the time. It's no pleasure when you cannot find peace anywhere on the map and you are forced to fight or run straight and try to escape from next and next hordes of enemies.
    Fight is simply mashing buttons but when it's taking to long, orcs are gathering quickly and you're outnumbered and powerless. Then you die and some random orc is promoting forthwith. As I said it's very frustrating and repetitive.
    Next great problem is camera which is uneasy to operate and during the fights is to close to our hero. Because of this we cannot see all enemies and sometimes we don't even now that we could block some attack from behind.
    Graphics are mediocre and it's the same with the sound.
    If this game would provide compelling story and develop Nemesis system into something bigger than never-ending orcs replacement and rotation, it could be just good one, but it's not satisfying at all and essentially is a very small game with no interesting content.    … Expand
  5. Jezath
    Sep 30, 2014
    10
    Its good to see that studios like this still feel the need to take a risk and innovate.. What we all figured would be some sort of gimmick is actually an incredible system that works behind the scenes even when you think it isn't.. Follow the in game story yes, but make your own story using the nemesis system and your suddenly in a whole new world!! Graphics are what you expect nowadaysIts good to see that studios like this still feel the need to take a risk and innovate.. What we all figured would be some sort of gimmick is actually an incredible system that works behind the scenes even when you think it isn't.. Follow the in game story yes, but make your own story using the nemesis system and your suddenly in a whole new world!! Graphics are what you expect nowadays from a AAA title along with the sound.. The gameplay has the best elements with almost assassins creed style assassination manoeuvres..… Expand
  6. Xyzpl_29
    Sep 30, 2014
    5
    Very disappointing game. Nemesis is good. Unfortunately it is all what this game 's got to ofert. Other features are taken from other games [sorry for my poor English]
  7. newbiee
    Sep 30, 2014
    9
    At first glance this game seems like Batman meets Assassin's Creed with Witcher elements mixed in. I wasn't really sold on it until I realized how robust the Nemesis system is. I was messing around fighting a Graug and my health was down to about 1/4. Then out of nowhere a Captain that I identified in the Army of Sauron as being in the next zone over appears. He says "OH IS NOW A BADAt first glance this game seems like Batman meets Assassin's Creed with Witcher elements mixed in. I wasn't really sold on it until I realized how robust the Nemesis system is. I was messing around fighting a Graug and my health was down to about 1/4. Then out of nowhere a Captain that I identified in the Army of Sauron as being in the next zone over appears. He says "OH IS NOW A BAD TIME?!" I'm like 'damn right it is' and I barely escape. The Captain is ballsy enough to go toe-to-toe with the Graug and gets wasted. This Captain had the tracker trait and came after me. There is so much going on under the hood with the Nemesis system and it is awesome.

    Only potenial problem I see is this great system becoming stale, but by that point players should have got their money's worth out of the game.    … Expand
  8. Garfoodle
    Sep 30, 2014
    5
    WWhile it's not a bad game,per say,it is a dull one. It relies too much no the now overused Batman style combat,and too little on LoTR universe and story. The new "make your own army" thing is cool, but.much like the Ass Creed mission type of the same nature, it falls flat. And then there is the small map. And the lack of a real,loot system. And the mediocre graphics. Anyway, now I'm justWWhile it's not a bad game,per say,it is a dull one. It relies too much no the now overused Batman style combat,and too little on LoTR universe and story. The new "make your own army" thing is cool, but.much like the Ass Creed mission type of the same nature, it falls flat. And then there is the small map. And the lack of a real,loot system. And the mediocre graphics. Anyway, now I'm just rambling. The game is Ok. Not bad, not good,not worth $50. Stick to Skyrim with mods if you're looking for a solid LoTR experience… Expand
  9. navlasop
    Oct 7, 2014
    0
    Consolised.
    Linear Gameplay.
    Linear Power progression.
    WB's PR company trying to get it more shiney by any means they can. (Just google Shadow of Mordor Review Pressure Allegations)
  10. ar1ur
    Sep 30, 2014
    10
    Absolutely fenomenal !! Benn playing for 10 hours straight - haven't found a thing that would turn me off. Very happy i pre ordered it. After playing it i went straight and bought the Season Pass DLC boundle.

    I play using the Logitech F710 gamepad and i would advise any PC gamer getting this to also play using a gamepad.

    To sum up worth getting - hope they make a franchise out of it !
  11. velvetmeds
    Oct 12, 2014
    0
    This game is incredibly overrated, wtf are reviewers and users thinking? The game has good fighting/combat, though even that is entirely ripped off of Batman Arkham (which still does it better than this game), everything else is a yawn fest. Bland, empty, lifeless open world which is a chore to travel through, boring story, lots of useless padding of the kind that you find in many UbisoftThis game is incredibly overrated, wtf are reviewers and users thinking? The game has good fighting/combat, though even that is entirely ripped off of Batman Arkham (which still does it better than this game), everything else is a yawn fest. Bland, empty, lifeless open world which is a chore to travel through, boring story, lots of useless padding of the kind that you find in many Ubisoft games... damn. This game would have been a lot better with a more tight, focused experience instead of trying to do many things and artificially increasing play time. But i guess this is what gamers want nowadays, doesn't matter if it's boring or not, they just want it to take hours to play through. Quantity over quality mentality...which i disagree with.… Expand
  12. Putin2000
    Sep 30, 2014
    1
    If you take the gameplay of Assassins creed and mix it with the combat system of Batman arkam asylum you will have Shadow of Mordor. Its a hack and slash with some funny stuff thrown in (the enemy system) but in the end it all comes down to grinding through hordes of generic orcs while spamming attack (left click) and deflect (right click).

    On top of that, add in uninteresting story,    If you take the gameplay of Assassins creed and mix it with the combat system of Batman arkam asylum you will have Shadow of Mordor. Its a hack and slash with some funny stuff thrown in (the enemy system) but in the end it all comes down to grinding through hordes of generic orcs while spamming attack (left click) and deflect (right click).

    On top of that, add in uninteresting story, booring characters, small map, BONUSES AND COLLECTABLES and mediocre graphics and you have a 4 out of 10.    … Expand
  13. ekolet
    Oct 13, 2014
    0
    Classic AAA moneygrabber.
    Exteremely repetitive gameplay gets old after 1 hours, crappy storytelling. Horrible and boring combat. Doesnt worth more than 10 bucks.
  14. Veber
    Oct 5, 2014
    5
    Shadow of Mordor's main problem is that it tries to copy other games (Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham Asylum) without understanding what makes those games worth playing - it's not climbing. sticky running and fighting f*ckton of enemies at once that makes AC likable; and beat-up system of Batman doesn't really work as good with actual swords.

    Overall we have an openworld game with    Shadow of Mordor's main problem is that it tries to copy other games (Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham Asylum) without understanding what makes those games worth playing - it's not climbing. sticky running and fighting f*ckton of enemies at once that makes AC likable; and beat-up system of Batman doesn't really work as good with actual swords.

    Overall we have an openworld game with tiny world, inane captain system, endless slashing through always respawning hordes, tacked-on stealth and no hubs, short campaign and annoying cutscenes    … Expand
  15. Cuchulane
    Dec 29, 2014
    5
    There is a lot of smoke and mirrors going on in this overrated game. This game embodies the very essence of "lather, rinse, repeat", and tries hard to hide that. It's a well made game, and the nemesis system was a novel idea, but even that starts to reveal it's repetitiveness and pointlessness over time. Here's how the game works. Steal three fight mechanics from Batman and make themThere is a lot of smoke and mirrors going on in this overrated game. This game embodies the very essence of "lather, rinse, repeat", and tries hard to hide that. It's a well made game, and the nemesis system was a novel idea, but even that starts to reveal it's repetitiveness and pointlessness over time. Here's how the game works. Steal three fight mechanics from Batman and make them sword, stealth, and bow. Create an orc generator with a fixed number of strengths and weaknesses (of which only about 4 really matter), randomly generate new orcs with random name, armor skins (cosmetic only which starts to repeat itself with frequency), and a few attack styles. Generate a mission map with a small amount of mission types repeating. Then add Assassin's Creed running, jumping, and climbing (which sometimes works and often leaves you rolling against a wall) mechanics and random stuff to collect. Repeat all of the above layered on a very thin storyline. I'm about 80% done with the story line and am really struggling to force myself to finish it.… Expand
  16. Cordova
    Mar 9, 2015
    7
    Shadow of Mordor is good, but simultaneously disappoints because of the potential you can see in it. It's perpetually on the cusp of greatness, but whether due to time, money, or design decisions (or some combination of the above) it feels like they made it decent enough and then said, "Yeah, pretty good, done." So it has a bittersweet aftertaste. Let's look at some of what makes it andShadow of Mordor is good, but simultaneously disappoints because of the potential you can see in it. It's perpetually on the cusp of greatness, but whether due to time, money, or design decisions (or some combination of the above) it feels like they made it decent enough and then said, "Yeah, pretty good, done." So it has a bittersweet aftertaste. Let's look at some of what makes it and where it falls a touch short:

    Characters - Talion (our main protagonist) is really cliche and unlikeable. A piece of cardboard from which we're supposed to experience the world around us. His ghostly sidekick (no spoilers) is much more interesting. I will say that the voice acting is actually quite superb.

    Atmosphere - The visuals and audio (soundtrack, ambient, and voice) are expertly crafted. And they make it easy to feel immersed in your surroundings.

    Combat/action - As you have likely seen in every review, SOM draws from Batman and Assassin's Creed, but honestly that doesn't matter, what does matter is how it's executed. The combat system is incredibly smooth and fluid and really let's you play with combinations between weapons. The downside is that you don't need to, you can just button mash 1-2 buttons and win in most cases. This brings me to the character progression system. Really really lack luster, they had a great foundation but the upgrades are more akin to God of War ability unlocks rather than creating a unique character. If they had put some more effort in this area, it could easily be a 9/10 game. So "action" the non-combat stuff like free running. It's shallow. It does everything for you, and I understand that makes it much much easier, but because it does it for you, it robs you of that feeling that you just pulled off a badass move or string of moves. This feeling is incredibly important in video games because they give the player a sense of ownership over the action. I feel more like a spectator than the Shadow of Mordor.

    Combat #2 More Kombat! Finish him! – Beyond the unexpected shallowness of the character development, the real pitfall is that combat is really inconsistent. Rather than create a cohesive system they slightly adjusted it for various enemies so that it doesn’t really work the same way throughout. For example, you have your standard parry warning which flashes a hotkey above an enemies head, you press it and you parry. Okay, makes sense! But then you have slightly tougher enemies captains/chiefs and beasts and sometimes they flash that hotkey or sometimes they flash a different hotkey, but if you press it when it shows up, it’s too late! It doesn’t function like the parry does. You need to know that they’re going to do that and be ready to press just before. Then there’s other creatures which don’t bring up the parry event and simply swarm you chipping away at your health. This is really bizarre as the entire combat system is built around you being able to handle all comers, so even if these enemies are 1-hit kills, you’ll find yourself low on HP just because that’s how it is.

    Combat #3 Wait it’s not over? – A deeper more interesting combat system would have solved this, but they opted for the “lots of enemies” approach. This is not as fun. There comes a point where you either just run away (because you’re bored of fighting), you just keep going despite being bored and slightly disliking the game because of it, or you eventually make a couple mistakes and find yourself dead because you’ve been fighting non-stop for an hour and you’re fingers are just done. I would have preferred fewer but smarter/better enemies that you interact with through a more robust combat system.

    Nemesis System – Ah the much vaunted nemesis system. To be honest it’s pretty cool, I’m really glad they made this and I hope to see it used to better effect in other games. It’s something that would make a great background system to a living dynamic world, but the way it’s implemented in SOM just leaves me wanting. The respawn mechanic is bad, again this is likely due to combat being shallow. A game in which death is more likely, like Dark Souls, a nemesis system would be amazing. But you really miss out on the bulk of the nemesis system if you’re “too good”. Part of the problem here is that the combat is too easy and their only solution was to throw dozens upon dozens upon dozens of mobs at you.

    Overall it’s a fun time despite its flaws, there’s lot to do in terms of side quests and collecting stuff, so if you’re a completionist you’ll have many many hours or orc slaying ahead of you. If you find it repetitive, then you’ll make your way through the game with relative ease but feeling a bit underwhelmed.    … Expand
  17. Gohax
    Oct 19, 2017
    8
    So i played this game first on the ps4 and i really enjoyed it so much that i bought it for the pc aswell this game is basically if Assassin's creed and Batman Arkham games had a baby this game is a joy to play and heres why:

    Story: you are a ranger watching the black gate ? i think ? while having some family issues the right hand of Sauron attacks you and sacrifices you to summon a    So i played this game first on the ps4 and i really enjoyed it so much that i bought it for the pc aswell this game is basically if Assassin's creed and Batman Arkham games had a baby this game is a joy to play and heres why:

    Story: you are a ranger watching the black gate ? i think ? while having some family issues the right hand of Sauron attacks you and sacrifices you to summon a spirit that died with the ring the spirit gets into you instead and revives you from the dead so you can have your revenge against the right hand of Sauron.
    In my opinion the story is the weak part in this game because you wont be caring about any characters they introduce to you

    Gameplay: so the gameplay is the fun part you will be slaying orcs or as they call them uruks a stronger version of orcs and their leaders the combat is a complete copy from batman but there is stealth like in assasins creed and parkour as well this game has a special system called the nemesis system in which the uruks will remember what you have done and if you kill someone and he survives that uruk will come back for revenge your main goal in this game is to win up the 5 warchiefs and make them your minions from the skills youll get as being a host of a spirit

    pros: great gameplay really brutal and satisfying
    the nemesis system works awesome
    of course it takes time in the lord of the rings universe so you nerds will enjoy it

    cons: poor story and characters
    THE STORY BOSSES NOT COUTING THE FIRST ONE WHICH IS THE ONLY ONE WHO IS AWESOME ARE AWFULL
    combat can get rapatative after 30 hours of gameplay XDD

    my final score for this game is
    8.5/10
    i really enjoyed this game and i hope you all will    … Expand
  18. NemesisBruh
    Feb 7, 2021
    0
    Imagine patenting the nemesis system, despite your game being an Assassin's Creed re-skin. Not to mention that nemesis system itself existed long before this game. The industry is built on innovating existing ideas. Everything is inspired by something that came before it. That's how games, art, music, writing, culture itself and everything else works. Patenting the nemesis system is likeImagine patenting the nemesis system, despite your game being an Assassin's Creed re-skin. Not to mention that nemesis system itself existed long before this game. The industry is built on innovating existing ideas. Everything is inspired by something that came before it. That's how games, art, music, writing, culture itself and everything else works. Patenting the nemesis system is like patenting a color blue, or like patenting an the idea of a powerful corrupting item in storytelling. WB Games needs to back down on this.… Expand
  19. gannicus
    Oct 21, 2014
    6
    Game is ok... nothing special... graphics reqs are way to high... story is ok but seems to contradict Tolkiens writing.. Combat was very good.. only strength of the game... Nemesis system was fine i guess give them points for innovation but execution was bad eg any time you die other orcs get promoted and theres a never ending list of orcs who will become captains and warchiefs etc..Game is ok... nothing special... graphics reqs are way to high... story is ok but seems to contradict Tolkiens writing.. Combat was very good.. only strength of the game... Nemesis system was fine i guess give them points for innovation but execution was bad eg any time you die other orcs get promoted and theres a never ending list of orcs who will become captains and warchiefs etc.. finally somehow the game doesnt seem to come together at the end... However the game wasnt a total waste , worth a play if you have a lot of excess time....… Expand
  20. Oleksandr_
    Feb 10, 2021
    0
    Patenting the nemesis system, despite your game being created base on others' ideas. The industry is built on innovating of existing ideas.
  21. Mascalzone
    Jul 8, 2017
    6
    A very normal "free roaming" game with just a great background and a huge budget. It's 20 hours/10$ MAX buy, nothing more 'cause it's just a well made game mechanic ("fight Sauron army") made over and over nce you got enough. 6/10.
  22. Gormph
    Nov 12, 2015
    7
    This game was good but gets boring at the end and has a rough start, starting tutorials are not needed and normally get you killed by interrupting you while you’re trying to do the things they tell you to do, but on the flipside doesn’t tell you how things like last stand work very well at all which should be simple and easy to explain. The game starts off dramatic and gets you invested inThis game was good but gets boring at the end and has a rough start, starting tutorials are not needed and normally get you killed by interrupting you while you’re trying to do the things they tell you to do, but on the flipside doesn’t tell you how things like last stand work very well at all which should be simple and easy to explain. The game starts off dramatic and gets you invested in the main character then just drops you in an open world with no drive other then orcs bad kill orcs…… combat is hard to get away from like all games where the character has an auto engaged combat mode when you want to leave combat the game fights you trying to make you fight more, need dedicated runaway button that disables combat mode, the game is fun to play once you get some powers however you have to go halfway through the game before getting the power central to the games mechanic, which makes the first half of the game seem pointless filler and you pretty much do the same thing all game which caused my interest to wane quite a bit latter in the game over all the main game play focus was fun but could have used more like tricking enemies to get alone so you could deal with them one on one which you almost never do, almost every target is a group fight, and more story or some other focus to keep me interested in the game besides kill orc, orc bad.… Expand
  23. BetaVersion
    Sep 5, 2015
    4
    One of the most boring and repetitive games i have played in a long time. Shadow of Mordor is an excellent example of degradation of AAA (or should i say "console") gaming.
  24. JJthis
    Sep 4, 2015
    5
    The game-play of Shadow of Mordor is incredible and great fun. The kill moves will keep you pushing for that next fight and that next battle. It looks sublime and feels (a bit) like you're really in Mordor.
    That said, it was too blatantly a re-skinned Batman. The movements of the protagonist, when put right next to a Batman game, is identical to it. The thugs/orcs are pretty much the same    The game-play of Shadow of Mordor is incredible and great fun. The kill moves will keep you pushing for that next fight and that next battle. It looks sublime and feels (a bit) like you're really in Mordor.
    That said, it was too blatantly a re-skinned Batman. The movements of the protagonist, when put right next to a Batman game, is identical to it. The thugs/orcs are pretty much the same thing, with different skins. Detective mode becomes Wraith mode. The marketing "large open world" is tiny.
    The worst of all is a QTE final battle.
    All in all it's a great game none the less, but it's not worth that "AAA" price.    … Expand
  25. waltari
    Dec 6, 2015
    5
    This game is basically the combination of all the clichés you can possibly imagine. Linear story, arcade style console-ish movement and combat system ala Batman / AC series. Lack of any challenge as its way too easy to kill basically everything that moves with 2 slashes of your sword. Crappy weapon selection, lame upgrade system. The abilities you gain while you progress you wont ever needThis game is basically the combination of all the clichés you can possibly imagine. Linear story, arcade style console-ish movement and combat system ala Batman / AC series. Lack of any challenge as its way too easy to kill basically everything that moves with 2 slashes of your sword. Crappy weapon selection, lame upgrade system. The abilities you gain while you progress you wont ever need anyway so there's actually no point to bother with it.
    TL;DR
    Nice shell with nothing worth inside. Another example of degradation of tripple A game titles.    … Expand
  26. GamesOverMind
    Oct 24, 2014
    5
    Definitely a decent gaming experience. Not all its cracked up to be though; honestly if i found as many problems within a Ubisoft game as I found in this, it would be unacceptable. With a big PR machine like WB you have to expect over compensation with just about everything but in this case they had to have rushed their testers on the release dates. Amazing story but lacking in all theDefinitely a decent gaming experience. Not all its cracked up to be though; honestly if i found as many problems within a Ubisoft game as I found in this, it would be unacceptable. With a big PR machine like WB you have to expect over compensation with just about everything but in this case they had to have rushed their testers on the release dates. Amazing story but lacking in all the areas that it counts. Personally I would never pay for this game. Bitter sweet disaster till the end.… Expand
  27. gostarkgo
    Dec 3, 2014
    7
    This game is a mixed bag for me. Most importantly the combat and gameplay are excellent. If I was rating this game strictly on gameplay it would get a 10. But I had a hard time sinking my teeth into the story line. As a result I find myself loving the combat for about 20 to 30 minutes and then being left with the sense that my time should be spent elsewhere. The story just doesn'tThis game is a mixed bag for me. Most importantly the combat and gameplay are excellent. If I was rating this game strictly on gameplay it would get a 10. But I had a hard time sinking my teeth into the story line. As a result I find myself loving the combat for about 20 to 30 minutes and then being left with the sense that my time should be spent elsewhere. The story just doesn't captivate me, which is a shame because the combat and the gameplay are incredible.

    Considering how bad the latest Assassins Creed is, this game was exactly what I needed. Perhaps the folly in this game lies not in the story but in my lukewarm interest toward the fantasy genre. Still though the game gets a solid 7/10, and I have no doubt that I will play the game out. Its just to much fun not to play, but not enough to get hooked on.    … Expand
  28. Ponchoarg
    Jan 13, 2015
    8
    The game is great! action-packed and compelling. Specially the nemesis system.
    The only bad things about it are 2:
    1- Very minor. Some button combinations are complicated to execute. Specially when most useful, like when you are surrounded by 20 uruks. TYou charge your powers and press R and L sticks and it doesnt respond. 2- The story. It's not that good. A lot of missions don't fit    The game is great! action-packed and compelling. Specially the nemesis system.
    The only bad things about it are 2:
    1- Very minor. Some button combinations are complicated to execute. Specially when most useful, like when you are surrounded by 20 uruks. TYou charge your powers and press R and L sticks and it doesnt respond.
    2- The story. It's not that good. A lot of missions don't fit well, specially the side stories like that of Torving, which I liked, but doing those made no sense at all with the story.    … Expand
  29. Namya
    Mar 27, 2015
    4
    Like someone said .. its like playing assasins creed but u kill orcs...it took me 20 hours to finish it... if u are a "GAMER" its a short game!! It was harder to kill the warchiefs than the epic enemies... it took 2 hits of e and a spacebar to kill sauron...wtf??????
  30. elevensword
    Apr 9, 2015
    7
    You cant play this game and look for true LOTR backstory since its mostly made up for this game and isn't faithful at all. This game is very fun though when you get down to it and worth a play. Took 3 days to beat. Score lowered based on shortness of game, disappointing end bosses and how easy it is.
  31. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    5
    Plenty of awesome moments, but pretty bland overall. The Nemesis system is great, making encounters with Orc generals more epic and personal. But, the game=play does get a bit repetitive from the way the missions are structured. Plus the open world feels empty and generic.
  32. Amsheagar
    Mar 27, 2017
    7
    This game is very simple. You need to slaughtering orcs. The combat system is very good and the executions are cool. The story is weak and forgetable. The graphics and the view is amazing. This is a good game, howewer i started to boring after i have played 15 hours. Fortunately this game is short, about 20hours with every collectives and side missions. i recommend one walkthrough, not more.
  33. Valera612
    Feb 25, 2018
    10
    this game is very good. big open world. interesting game-play and very good story
  34. GoodMorningAss
    Jan 12, 2020
    7
    Perfectly implemented product. Graphics, plot, music and other sounds convey the atmosphere very well. After completing the plot, he went through all the additions, was satisfied.
  35. nw2010
    May 23, 2020
    7
    I enjoyed this game. The story is very good and the nemesis system is interesting. The graphics hold up very well for the age of the game.

    I did have slight frustrations with: the mouse/keyboard controls until I managed to set the sensitivity high enough on my mouse (with software outside the game, unplayable slow without it), a bit too much grinding at times (although the 2nd part    I enjoyed this game. The story is very good and the nemesis system is interesting. The graphics hold up very well for the age of the game.

    I did have slight frustrations with: the mouse/keyboard controls until I managed to set the sensitivity high enough on my mouse (with software outside the game, unplayable slow without it), a bit too much grinding at times (although the 2nd part adds a new dynamic that keeps it interesting) and the interaction with the environment is not always up to what it should be (doesn't react to the buttons you're pressing in the right way for the moment).    … Expand
  36. Lordgrey
    Oct 2, 2014
    5
    Assassins Creed in Mordor. This all what you need to know about this game before you play it. Nothing novice. The same old song with cool final strikes but without interesting storyline, atmosphere and gameplay.
  37. Inq
    Oct 2, 2014
    6
    I see a lot of overwhelmingly negative reviews simply because this game doesn't reinvent the wheel - this is obviously **** behaviour. I also see lots of 10s because "OH MY GOD IT'S SO AWESOME" - grow up, your opinion is also crap.

    Please bear with me for a well-explained statement on why this game isn't terrible, but also not as good as most of you make it out to be. Firstly, the    I see a lot of overwhelmingly negative reviews simply because this game doesn't reinvent the wheel - this is obviously **** behaviour. I also see lots of 10s because "OH MY GOD IT'S SO AWESOME" - grow up, your opinion is also crap.

    Please bear with me for a well-explained statement on why this game isn't terrible, but also not as good as most of you make it out to be.

    Firstly, the core movement and combat mechanics are taken from the Assassin's Creed and the Arkham series. Games have been copying off other games for decades and if it works, who am I to judge, no real problem here. However, the Arkham combat is very simplistic. It looks guttural and feels satisfying to kill enemies - for about 10 minutes. Afterwards you will realize that you have very little impact on the combat and one press of a button will initiate finishing moves of several seconds. Combat is akin to a visual novel, not a video game.

    More ways to go about combat open up with rising level - some even change the way you go about combat slightly, but none of them truly stand out and in the end it's more of the "very low effort - high (visual) reward"-bullcrap that AC and Arkham have been pushing. This is a game for casual gamers. Whether you take that statement as an insult is up to you.

    What's more - the Story, apart from being ridiculously slow (you could easily finish the main campaign and most of the side quests in less than 15 hours) is bland, boring and forgettable. You don't care about any of the characters because they have onedimensional personalities at best. "I lust for revenge" "I am the comic relief" "I am a woman and in need of help" "I am evil" ... blergh.

    What's worse than the story? The way it is presented. Most Main Quests require of you to follow a friendly NPC around and GOD FORBID you move more than 5 meters away from him even though it's perfectly clear to you what to do next. No, no you filthy peasant, you better **** wait until the game allows you to pursue your next objective. Call of Duty-esque messages like "YOU ARE LEAVING THE MISSION AREA" will haunt you. Additionally,

    [VERY MILD SPOILER]
    the final boss fight is one of the most laughable encounters of the last decade, seriously. I have never felt so unsatisfied in my life. [/spoiler] Now, what does that leave us with? Weapon challenges, surely. The missions itself are very welldone and even mildly (really, MILDLY) challenging - after all this is a casual modern game for casual modern gamers. But what's the reward for doing all 10 missions for a weapon? Uh, 10 glowy bits on it. Really, that's it. No awesome additional elemental effects, no new moves, **** nothing. Great.

    There are several other types of side quests which are tolerable, I suppose. I couldn't really be arsed to do the slave-freeing missions myself after the first two, but that might just be my personal taste.

    Now, one feature I actually do like. The "Sauron's Army" system. You can identify captains, dominate them, pitch them against each other, protect your branded ones against ambushes and ensure they're victorious in challenges to help them advance and eventually become bodyguards and assassinate their warchiefs. Nice little system. Too bad you can't access the fun part of it (branding and dominating captains) until around 70% of the campaign have passed.

    Oh, fun fact: That team of war chiefs you've been training and improving? Yeah, they're gone after the final mission.

    Get this game when it's on a budget or if you know about ways to acquire it without paying. It is not worth the full price if you've got half a brain.

    If you, however, enjoy intense action that you have little to no impact on and are otherwise above actually contributing to a video gaming experience, get it. Also feel free to think about your life.    … Expand
  38. kasmar45
    Oct 14, 2014
    3
    I have never completely figured out all the controls for this game on the PC. Usually I am used to learning all of that in the tutorial. This game that did not happen. The tutorials' main function should be to teach you how to play the game. SoM does not do that. You die too quickly in the tutorial to learn anything. So, I give SoM a big zero for the tutorial.

    Since I never learned    I have never completely figured out all the controls for this game on the PC. Usually I am used to learning all of that in the tutorial. This game that did not happen. The tutorials' main function should be to teach you how to play the game. SoM does not do that. You die too quickly in the tutorial to learn anything. So, I give SoM a big zero for the tutorial.

    Since I never learned anything in the tutorial about the game play, I was unable to do anything except roam about in stealth and kill single orcs that I could find. Anything more than that, I died almost immediately. I never figured out how to handle the massive orc attacks that happen when you attack an orc captain. I gave this game a two for newbie playability.

    Exploring the land is fair. It is not spectacular, but just okay. Mainly it is a lot of towers, ballistas , and orc camps. Nothing too exciting or pleasing to look at. I gave the graphics a four.    … Expand
  39. vargolocke
    Oct 11, 2014
    4
    While i was playing Shadow of Mordor i was constantly thinking about Watch Dogs and their similar gameplay.
    They both are sandbox action adventures but that constant itch was too big for me.
    I like the saurons army hate and fear sistem but the tower forges and side misions are a pure W_D copy.
  40. StanleyC
    Oct 15, 2014
    3
    Perhaps I went into this game with too high expectations. I was probably stupid: I expected an open world, sandbox type game where I could experiment with different playing styles - something like Skyrim. Instead I found a game which quickly became a dull and repetitious exercise in button pushing. The controls are somewhat unpredictable and inconsistent. At first the visuals arePerhaps I went into this game with too high expectations. I was probably stupid: I expected an open world, sandbox type game where I could experiment with different playing styles - something like Skyrim. Instead I found a game which quickly became a dull and repetitious exercise in button pushing. The controls are somewhat unpredictable and inconsistent. At first the visuals are impressive but after a couple of hours staring at ruined towers and devastated landscapes the whole thing becomes too monotonous. The Nemesis system is a good idea and one I hope to see in future, better games but its inclusion here doesn't redeem this game from its status as an interesting failure - to me at least. I have a bad case of buyers remorse.… Expand
  41. slinge
    Oct 16, 2014
    4
    I dont get the hype about this game. Sure it is fun to slay some orchs but that is about it. Rpg elements is zero, you don't get any new weapons only new abilitys like more arrows.. I can't even finish the story because of a bug with no warcheif available to brand. No story at all. Fun game if you wanna hack and slash though
  42. AngryRoach
    Oct 6, 2014
    6
    Overrated. Story was 7 hours long and it was far from amazing. Your typical cheesy love story based on the tolkien world. You can 100% the game in 20 hours. Combat is Left click, Right Click and F to win. The game looks good and the graphics are good thought, altough some ground textures look like trash.
  43. Perigorn
    Oct 17, 2014
    3
    This game is highly overated. The controls are horrible and you are forced to play on a gamepad to get any kind of accuracy. The storyline is boring and has nothing to do with Middle earth really. It's a grind of a game. And did I really need to see his kid and wife getting their throats cut in the intro, I mean really?
  44. mpelley92
    Oct 24, 2014
    2
    Terribly linear, hack and slash, boring gameplay. If you want to have even more pleasure (and spend the same amount of time) go to an amusement park. Avoid this game. The story is very very short. They want you to shell out your money for "DLCs" which should have been included in the game in the first place. Total game cost? $100. For 20 hours of measly, boring, run-of-the-mill gameplay.Terribly linear, hack and slash, boring gameplay. If you want to have even more pleasure (and spend the same amount of time) go to an amusement park. Avoid this game. The story is very very short. They want you to shell out your money for "DLCs" which should have been included in the game in the first place. Total game cost? $100. For 20 hours of measly, boring, run-of-the-mill gameplay. Only plus about this game? It actually has decent graphics and special effects. Played it only for that.… Expand
  45. Lolbbqcabbage
    Oct 13, 2014
    7
    They had to pay off youtubers and various websites just to get good reviews and more sales and nothing was disclosed.

    Nemesis system was cool and unique but no way as indepth as it was made out to be, its quite shallow. All Urks share very similar traits + or - 1. All dialog is not that unique, after playing the game for several hours you here the same lines thrown out over and over.    They had to pay off youtubers and various websites just to get good reviews and more sales and nothing was disclosed.

    Nemesis system was cool and unique but no way as indepth as it was made out to be, its quite shallow. All Urks share very similar traits + or - 1. All dialog is not that unique, after playing the game for several hours you here the same lines thrown out over and over.

    Gameplay is okay, combat has problems when it comes to trying to focus and take down an Urk captain. You have to bounce around trial and error and hope that your character swings at the thing you want. It has a few control problems interms of the climbing mechanics, there are so many problems with it, like branding being the same bind as dropping down. Also there are so many restrictions on where and how you can climb or maneuver around objects.

    The ending of the game is a total **** fest, where the devs got lazy and needed something to fill and finish the game. Lack luster story near the end, lack luster boss fights that were rushed and unexciting, filled with QTEs. The boss fights are not boss fights, press a button at the right time, wait for cut scene, press another button. Game over. Why not have a proper fight like the first Black Captain? that was something that was more exciting and engaging. The game was rushed towards it's end and needed more thought.    … Expand
  46. ElNova
    Oct 19, 2015
    0
    this is a game made for the new gamers, these gamers that like button smashing, repetitive gameplay, cliche and stupid story, all of this packed with great graphics, animation and gameplay.
    if ur an olds school gamer, this might not be for you, if you are from the new generation of gamers you probably love this game.

    hope this helps.
  47. Dethstar
    Oct 4, 2014
    5
    It has been a bad year for console ports. With games like DR3 & Dark Souls II suddenly reversing earlier builds and actually removing features on launch day deceiving PC gamers one could not blame us for being cynical. Against this backdrop one would have to try hard not to shine even with minimal effort.

    I have a love/hate relationship with this game. First I am a massive Tolkien    It has been a bad year for console ports. With games like DR3 & Dark Souls II suddenly reversing earlier builds and actually removing features on launch day deceiving PC gamers one could not blame us for being cynical. Against this backdrop one would have to try hard not to shine even with minimal effort.

    I have a love/hate relationship with this game. First I am a massive Tolkien fan. (thought I better disclose that as it colours my review of this game) I also like open world games.

    SOM is very open and free roaming. Not a huge environment but there is a lot you can do and the atmosphere does go a long way towards meeting expectations.

    The story is very good and the characters compelling with none of the odd choices of accent or corny lines which often ruin the atmosphere in console centric light weight RPGs. Great voice acting and dramatic music completes the package.

    The combat is not particularly immersive favouring a flashy looking cinematic style which is essentially a click fest which is equally usable by anyone from 5-50. Character development gives you flashy finishing moves and skills and this does exactly what it is mean to do, give the illusion of depth. It is fun, but don't expect any real immersive combat here in console land. Having said that, it is the most fun combat I have experienced from one of these console clones. Far better than similar styles of game such as the Arkham series etc.

    Graphics have been upgraded with some PC specific enhancements and these are welcome but not by any means state of the art. One feels like someone was ticking a box on an excel spread sheet.... AAAdded Tick. Ambient Occulssion Tick. Not how well it was done or to what depth.

    It is very poorly optimised with no SLI support. Owners of even relatively powerful GPU are likely to be left wondering at their 30 or less frame rate. The frame rate issues can make it seem as though the controls are glitching as the performance is highly irregular.

    I have played on 2 machines. One has 2 Superclocked Titans and the other 2 x Superclocked 980s. I bench these machines and often sit at the top of Benching tables for quite a while each time. It still runs poorly on either. Of course, SLI has to be disabled as it ultimately does nothing. ]

    The gameplay itself is absolutely excellent and while there are a few bugs, they are rare (such as getting stuck in some scenery) and not often.

    In fact, this could have been one of the best games this year for the PC in my opinion.

    So why isn't it? Well, setting aside the terrible optimisation for a moment as hopefully, NVidia and AMD will rectify this in driver released, like most console ports they missed the critical measure of why people often refer to something as a "terrible port".

    It has the awful console limited field of view. Something like 65 degrees and squashed so it is like watching the action in someones house, by peering through the mailbox. Compare this with games designed for the PC like Battlefield 4 and most others which available field of view up to 120 Degrees. These limitations are caused by limitations in the capability of console hardware and the fact that there is only much you can show on old TVs. So called "Next Gen" consoles were actually out of date the day they were released catering only to 720p and occasionally 1080. Simply offering a FOV slider means repackaging all the textures with the upgraded perspective and quality needed to support monitor resolutions.

    Personally, I game at between 2560x1440 and 4k resolutions so this just looks ridiculous. It also creates nausea and disorientation in a percentage of the population (between 10 -20% depending on who you believe) which is why we game on PCs (among just wanting the best experience possible).

    So the field of view made it much harder to enjoy the game. Much of the game is about stealth and awareness of your surroundings, pretty hard when you can only see as if you have blinkers on. Console folks probably don't mind this as they do not know any different but moving from more natural field of view ranges to this are crippling. No wonder so many people that purchased new consoles ended up using them as media centres etc and not gaming on them.

    A (10) fantastic game killed off for lack of a proper port to allow for an appropriate field of view.    … Expand
  48. Nightrist
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Middle-Earth is a good game. Not exactly an excellent game, let alone a masterpiece, but a good game. While it is good to see a decent book/film franchise game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor stands to me as just a slightly above average game.

    Story: 7/10 The story take place before the original trilogy (LoTR) but after the Hobbit. You are Talion, a ranger of Gondor cursed with immortality seeking revenge. The story seems forced throughout the story, with a lot of seemingly random characters you find hard to care about (except MAYBE the dwarf, but even then his story was meh). The end seems really rushed, with 2 almost back to back bossfights with little buildup whatsoever. Even with a 7/10 I'm feeling a bit biased because I am a fan of Tolkien's universe.

    Graphics: In terms of a AAA game, the graphics are pretty average (which means pretty good looking relative to most games). All the scenery except maybe 1 or 2 places seem a bit bland. There's two main areas of the story: a slightly barren plain with scattered ruins with 1 or 2 fortresses, and a slightly more fertile 'hilly' area with scattered ruins and 1 or 2 memorable fortresses. Overall none of the areas are that memorable, the area seems pretty bland even (even if it is Mordor). As others have said, the PC version is a pretty good port, no lag with my 660 GTX, frame rate was consistent with a few stutters here and there (probably due to my tower overheating).

    Gameplay: 8/10 Here's where the game shines. Combat is fluid from gut wrenching executions to bone shattering take downs. Combat feels basically like the Batman Arkham games except with a lot more blood and gore (yay!). The game feels pretty hard at the beginning (I died a bunch) but as you become more experienced at dealing with mobs (damn beserkers!) and leveling up your weapon/skill tree, you become more confident in taking greater challenges. At some point I went from "O man 3 captains better run" to "A warchief and 3 captains? Come at me bro."

    Replayability: 6/10 And here's where the game gets stale. Basically SoM holds the same problem the AC games hold: other than the main storyline (which even then feels like glorified side quests) there arent a large variety of side quests to keep you interested. You got your free the prisoners quest, your combat (stealth, archery, sword play) quests, your tracking quests, and maybe 1 or 2 that I forgot to mention. "But wait! what about that neat rivalry system I keep hearing about?!" you might ask. Well while it was cool for the first few hours, once I found out that each Captain or warchief is essentially just a slightly more difficult mob character (with little truly unique game play attributes), it quickly got stale. Captains show up basically every other fight, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, and soon you just categorize them as the 'slightly harder mob enemy' in a fight. Chieftains are the same basically they are just slightly harder captains you can fight once you do some prerequisite (like stealth kill 5 guys) side mission. Bottomline is that while the system may seem cool at the start, a few hours in it quickly becomes stale.

    Overall, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a good game to sink maybe a month or two while you wait for the next anticipated 'good' game (but by now, everything seems to be a letdown to me, maybe its cause I'm spoiled and hard to impress :P ) My suggestion is to buy it on a steam sale down the line (even if its only 25% off) full price at the moment, however, may not seem worth it.    … Expand
  49. Pengwin
    Oct 10, 2014
    5
    Opening a box of cereals is more challenging than this game. If you look for some dull entertainment and are confused with hitting more than one button, this is what you want to get.

    If you, on the other hand, enjoy a well-told story, deep characters, engaging atmosphere, challenging gameplay (like The Witcher 2, Portal 2 and other masterpieces), DON'T touch this game. I am a big    Opening a box of cereals is more challenging than this game. If you look for some dull entertainment and are confused with hitting more than one button, this is what you want to get.

    If you, on the other hand, enjoy a well-told story, deep characters, engaging atmosphere, challenging gameplay (like The Witcher 2, Portal 2 and other masterpieces), DON'T touch this game.

    I am a big LOTR fan and concerning the feeling of middle-earth this game does a good job. I desperately wanted to play this when I heard that the story was written by the same guy who wrote Red Dead Redemption, my all-time favorite game. But that was very misleading. The story is waaaay too short, super simple and unoriginal and the characters don't have ANY depth at all. Not even the 2 main characters get enough time to speak.

    The climbing is nothing special anymore, but still fun.

    The combat is incredibly boring, but the execution effects are nice.

    The orcs are plain awesome, but even five bosses at once are down in less than five minutes thanks to the easiest combat system since....i can't find any comparison. I don't know any game as simple as this.

    Pros:
    Massacring tons of well-looking Orcs

    Cons:
    Easist combat system ever
    Worst story I have ever played
    No character depth (except for the randomly generated Orc Captains)
    The land of Mordor got no atmosphere at all, everything looks the same.
    Even riding Caragors is boring.

    Good ideas, worst execution possible, unfortunately.

    Cheers from Austria.    … Expand
  50. Ceridwen8
    Oct 5, 2014
    6
    If this is the 'game of the year,' it must have been a really weak year. I know this has received great reviews, is supposedly 'authentic to Tolkien,' and reputes to be challenging & involving. I haven't found it worthy of those high reviews.

    In theory, if there are no major bugs or technical problems, a game deserves, say, a 7 of 10. And if it were titled 'Medieval-ish guy in Bad Guy    If this is the 'game of the year,' it must have been a really weak year. I know this has received great reviews, is supposedly 'authentic to Tolkien,' and reputes to be challenging & involving. I haven't found it worthy of those high reviews.

    In theory, if there are no major bugs or technical problems, a game deserves, say, a 7 of 10. And if it were titled 'Medieval-ish guy in Bad Guy Land,' I'd probably go with 7. But this sells itself on Tolkien, so the best I can do is 6.

    If you're not a Tolkien purist, some of my complaints won't matter. So I'll start with game play. I found it difficult at first, until I realized I was substantially over-thinking it. Once I accepted that this is left button, right button, pick a finish, then it dwindled into the 'painfully easy' game play that I should like, being casual, but don't, because it's boring. There was NO fight I couldn't escape if necessary. (Apparently, orcs have very short attention spans.) It's a style I don't care for, but maybe it works, as it seems to be a copy of Arkham Asylum, with something like AC movement. Personally, I don't like the movement at all. I don't feel connected to it - you climb sheer walls easily, but can't climb a simple rock pile. There's no balancing involved - your guy just stays automatically in place. Holding down the shift key to stealth, constantly, got painful after awhile. Targeting was strange - I very often kill the wrong person. But it rarely matters. Climb up, wait, then hop down again. Orcs don't remember well, either. Oh, & don't fight near a wall, or you'll lose sight of your attackers. (more annoying than dangerous)

    In any game, LOTR related or not, I expect some story. This has to be the most generic, tedious, 'I don't care what happens' story I've come across in a long time. It feels completely unrelated to Tolkien's world, except for tossing in 'facts & figures,' and some Tolkien words/names. I cannot imagine calling this game 'innovative,' as I've seen in other reviews. It just screams cut & paste to me, with nothing new. Maybe the orcs vying for power? But I found that completely uninteresting. Worse, your elf-ghost Celebrimbor (I'd call this a spoiler, except it was in the trailers) seems set on you using the weapons of the enemy against him. When I got to that part, I'd essentially lost interest entirely, especiaily when I MCed orcs, & gave them blue eyes. The dwarf was generic-annoying, too. The women, cliched. The comic relief orc wasn't funny.

    There is no exploration, no world to investigate. No loot, no chests, no surprises. No choices at all, no character development. The fan-fic named Talion is stunningly dull and screams, again, "Generic Video Game Hero,' to the point that he's essentially on a revenge quest. I would have preferred to play as the elf, though he came closer to a Warcraft elf than anything Tolkien.

    In other LOTR-related games, there's some story, some exploration. (that's the best part of LOTRO, at least - you feel like you're in a scaled-down Middle Earth - aka, it takes a few minutes to ride from Bree to Weathertop, as opposed to weeks.) But in this - nothing. Warcraft is closer in spirit, & this one lacks Warcraft's whimsy. If you're not going to be remotely true to Tolkien, then make up your own game! Elder Scrolls has their own world, as do Warcraft, Guild Wars, Dragon Age... Granted, they take a lot from Tolkien, but that's true of all fantasy, including Star Wars. But this is based on Middle Earth, & other than tossing in Tolkien words, I'm not feeling it. Yet I've read tons of reviews insisting that it's 'so accurate!' This takes place just after Gollum is leaving Mordor, I guess, yet a lot of Mordor is green & growing (with Lorien flowers...) and for some reason, Gollum recognizes Celebrimbor as a ring maker... No clue why that relates to the One Ring, but apparently to Warner Bros Gollum, it does. I don't remember him coveting Gandalf's ring, after all.

    Anyway - I deeply dislike this game. Not like ESO, which was an utter failure in pretty much every way, but in its laziness, & in its ability to rack up great reviews for nothing. Either there are a lot of 'interested parties' posting, or the gaming world really needs to get higher standards.    … Expand
  51. Phallex
    Jan 6, 2015
    3
    Can't say I enjoy this game much. Not sure what all the hype is about. It's just the combat/interaction system from Assassin's Creed games (which I also find really dull, so hey-ho maybe it's just me) in a LoTR (sort of) setting. With a bit of a story...

    I'm already bored of the combat system, though I think it might be more rewarding with a controller. It can be a bit tricky to hit all    Can't say I enjoy this game much. Not sure what all the hype is about. It's just the combat/interaction system from Assassin's Creed games (which I also find really dull, so hey-ho maybe it's just me) in a LoTR (sort of) setting. With a bit of a story...

    I'm already bored of the combat system, though I think it might be more rewarding with a controller. It can be a bit tricky to hit all the timings right on a keyboard and keep the camera at the right angle with a mouse. I keep blocking off my own view with buildings and objects when I perform 'specials'.

    Looking at other's reviews I'd have to agree with them on the cons - it's the same thing over and over and over and over and over....very grindy, with a levelling system that rewards you with slightly more interesting/easier ways to grind. The nemesis thing...is an interesting idea, but who really cares what level the orc you're fighting is? Or how much he's climbed the ranks of the army? He still just hits you and you hit him until one of you is dead...    … Expand
  52. Ahzeem
    Oct 3, 2014
    6
    This game is an average hack n' slash set in Mordor. If you're actually using the 10-point rating system correctly, this game does nothing to earn a score above 6. It's not terrible. In fact, it's rather fun. But aside from the mindless and boring combat and almost unbelievably small map, this game is a gigantic "meh". It's certainly a must try on consoles, but PC users should take noteThis game is an average hack n' slash set in Mordor. If you're actually using the 10-point rating system correctly, this game does nothing to earn a score above 6. It's not terrible. In fact, it's rather fun. But aside from the mindless and boring combat and almost unbelievably small map, this game is a gigantic "meh". It's certainly a must try on consoles, but PC users should take note that this game is almost assuredly not worth full price. Seriously, the game offers a maximum 12 hours of main story line, and the filler material is hardly worth mention. Over-hyped. Overrated. Same old crap you've seen a million times before. If you've run out of games to play, this is a solid next pick. But if you have a backlog like most people do, just wait for this game to go on sale and play something else while you wait. It's seriously not worth full price if you have literally any other decent game you've been meaning to play.… Expand
  53. sealjo
    Oct 12, 2014
    2
    I fell for the hype and got this game. Big mistake. When you get into combat you often have to dispose enemies quickly, otherwise you'll get swarmed and can't win. I'm a casual gamer and as such I tend not to get into trouble power gamers avoid, this results in another and yet another death.
    There is also no difficulty settings in this game. So if you are just average (or worse) you are    I fell for the hype and got this game. Big mistake. When you get into combat you often have to dispose enemies quickly, otherwise you'll get swarmed and can't win. I'm a casual gamer and as such I tend not to get into trouble power gamers avoid, this results in another and yet another death.
    There is also no difficulty settings in this game. So if you are just average (or worse) you are supposed to sneak all the time, avoid right out confrontation and generally act from the shadows. A more aggressive playing style is forbidden and punished by the Nemesis system. So in short, if you are very good at these kind of games you can play it as you want, if not this is a stealth game so you better LOVE sneaking or you will get punished by nemesis's getting stronger and stronger.. .    … Expand
  54. Ananisapta
    Oct 28, 2014
    1
    Be warned that the initial release of this game does not reliably save your progress and makes no backup files. It is possible to put forty or more hours into the game and then find that all your progress has been lost. Manual backup of gamedata.sav is highly recommended!
  55. Sedgie121
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    For me the PC version is practically broken, I literally just downloaded it, the game feels horrible with a 360 controller, there are random frame drops, bear in mind I had my settings on medium/low with a fairly good graphics card and i7 processor, also scenes weren't showing, I was really looking forward to playing this game being as it came out on PC first, I then noticed it was £30 onFor me the PC version is practically broken, I literally just downloaded it, the game feels horrible with a 360 controller, there are random frame drops, bear in mind I had my settings on medium/low with a fairly good graphics card and i7 processor, also scenes weren't showing, I was really looking forward to playing this game being as it came out on PC first, I then noticed it was £30 on steam...now I know why, I like a lot of features of the game like the nemesis system and the combat is nice fairly satisfying, but the PC version? na, I'm going to get the PS4 version as I know I'm going to enjoy it a lot more, £30 might seem like a bargain, but not for the PC version, but being as I'm giving this game a chance on PS4 with all the promising features, I'm gonna give it a 5… Expand
  56. LoganTM17
    Oct 10, 2014
    3
    This game, while with excellent mechanics, fun gameplay, and interesting story, managed to be the most incredibly disappointing game I have played in years. After playing for 3 days, I had the game break so badly that i had to close it through task manager and try again. When I opened it back up, my 12 gameplay hours had been reverted to 5 even though I had saved and quit every coupleThis game, while with excellent mechanics, fun gameplay, and interesting story, managed to be the most incredibly disappointing game I have played in years. After playing for 3 days, I had the game break so badly that i had to close it through task manager and try again. When I opened it back up, my 12 gameplay hours had been reverted to 5 even though I had saved and quit every couple hours. I went back and played the game again and got my progress back, and overall, I was extremely happy with the game, until 3 days later, it happened again. Except this time, the entirety of my play-through disappeared. I am done with this bugged game. This level of frustration is unacceptable for any AAA title. I'm better off saving the 34 GB of disk space this monstrosity hogs.… Expand
  57. Zuthilios
    Oct 6, 2014
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. SPOILERS

    I'm sorry, but the ending is just incredibly awful.

    Not the story, but the gameplay. They built up the Tower to be one of the greatest characters I've ever seen out there, the build up to his fight, the suspense, his sheer presence was absolutely AMAZING. And then it took all but 3 minutes if not less to kill him, it was just, so... disappointing.

    Then you don't even get to fight the Black Hand and suddenly Sauron appears out of no where and then you kill him with... I can't even think of a way to capitalize on this point because it's just so weak... 3 quick time event buttons, the end.

    This game was brilliant, but the ending was just such an unbelievable let down, I'm sure it'll be finding its place pretty high up there on a top 10 worst endings list sometime.

    P.S. I also went around afterwards to find all the collectibles and that was also ridiculously disappointing, don't bother, nothing happens.    … Expand
  58. Beanbag
    Oct 7, 2014
    7
    Shadow of Mordor is a mildly disappointing game, very happy I did not preorder. For the most part, it is a "good" game, being functional and pretty. The story is old hat, with our Hero seeking revenge for the murder of his family. It of course is set against the backdrop of Middle Earth from LOTR/The Hobbit, and features some appearances from major characters. It also features a "Nemesis"Shadow of Mordor is a mildly disappointing game, very happy I did not preorder. For the most part, it is a "good" game, being functional and pretty. The story is old hat, with our Hero seeking revenge for the murder of his family. It of course is set against the backdrop of Middle Earth from LOTR/The Hobbit, and features some appearances from major characters. It also features a "Nemesis" system, which is where the disappointment comes in. The system is not bad, it simply does not live up to the hype or perhaps to the expectations laid upon it. The Nemesis enemies are rarely much of a challenge and make little difference or impact on the game world. Defeating them is typically simple, only very rarely are they difficult and often that is only because they summon hordes of enemies to overwhelm you. Some iffy camera angles and half-baked "parkour" detract from the game, sometimes heavily.

    Much to the developers credit, I have not yet encountered a single major bug 20 hours into the game. All in all, Shadow of Mordor is worth playing, but not deserving of the hefty price tag of the collectors edition, nor is the season pass worth your money. Get it after the holidays when the prices go down.    … Expand
  59. Marshy
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    After playing this game on pc, I can easily say it is a great game but there is alot of bugs and stupid systems Like the controls it is just horrible, I find my self smashing the space bar to sprint but half of the time it dose not work,

    The story is just above par, It didn't really make me feel any connection to the Tolkien at all and i didn't want to know what was going to happen    After playing this game on pc, I can easily say it is a great game but there is alot of bugs and stupid systems Like the controls it is just horrible, I find my self smashing the space bar to sprint but half of the time it dose not work,

    The story is just above par, It didn't really make me feel any connection to the Tolkien at all and i didn't want to know what was going to happen next, I just kept at it cause it is part of the lord of the rings universe.

    The game-play is great. Combat is smooth and fluid the whole open world is stunning and run great on my system for a PC port the game runs perfect could not ask for a better job, Now and then the textures get messed up but still nothing too bad to complain and make a big fuss about.

    If your looking for a open world game with great combat and not too arsed about story middle-earth is the game for you, You will have hours of fun taking Orcs body parts off    … Expand
  60. Muuvinki
    Oct 9, 2014
    6
    Is this game worth 50$ price tag, you might ask? No not quite.
    While the game's combat system is good and rewards you for gaining experience and doing missions around the world killing the enemy is almost every time way too easy. There seems also to be little variety in missions and after you have killed war-chiefs around 4 - 6 times this killing starts to feel very repetitive and boring.    Is this game worth 50$ price tag, you might ask? No not quite.
    While the game's combat system is good and rewards you for gaining experience and doing missions around the world killing the enemy is almost every time way too easy. There seems also to be little variety in missions and after you have killed war-chiefs around 4 - 6 times this killing starts to feel very repetitive and boring. It's an average open world action game but you might want to wait out the sales before you buy this one.    … Expand
  61. TimTeamTebow
    Oct 5, 2014
    5
    It was a decent port, so I guess it has that going for it.

    The combat was essentially from Batman arkam but worse. It added a ranged attack that can instantly kill people, more slowmo so countering was extremely easy, and just less satisfying hits.

    The nemesis system was barely noticeable.
  62. daphnis26
    Nov 13, 2014
    3
    I loved The Lord of the Rings as a teen. I read the books over and over and over again. Back then the internet barely existed and I certainly didn't have access to it so I'd sift through bookstores and libraries hunting down every scrap of information I could find on Middle Earth. I'd secretely tear out pages when no one was looking and bring them home to my archive.

    It was also around    I loved The Lord of the Rings as a teen. I read the books over and over and over again. Back then the internet barely existed and I certainly didn't have access to it so I'd sift through bookstores and libraries hunting down every scrap of information I could find on Middle Earth. I'd secretely tear out pages when no one was looking and bring them home to my archive.

    It was also around this time that I discovered PC gaming, and one of my first games was a fantasy adventure game called Drakan, a vast and beautifully rendered world of endless mountains and seas, dark twisted places and hordes of goblins to kill and dismember. The worlds of Middle Earth and Drakan had one thing in common: they were immersive, I wanted to explore and learn everything about them. The developers of Drakan were later absorbed by Monolith to work on Shadow of Morder.

    Shadow of Morder is as impressive and hollow as a Hollywood movie.

    As soon as I step into the game I'm informed that I must kill spiders. Why? Why should I kill spiders? I haven't been convinced to kill them and I don't want to... but the UI informs me I must. So I kill a few spider... MISSION COMPLETE! Now the UI updates and tells me to kill flying creatures. Why should I? I really don't care, and I don't want to. Screw this, I'm going to explore. The UI pops up to inform me I must find and kill a slaver orc. I immediately begin scouring the horizon, excitedly plotting my kill. Then a dull UI prompt pops up to inform me the orc is located in "the next mission".

    The Next Mission? It feels like the programmers are speaking directly to me now. Why not use language from the lore, such as "Find him within the gates of Girith Gordor".

    On my way I encounter a band of orcs persuing an escaped slave. I hide and watch. 20 seconds later the slave escapes and the orcs stop their pursuit. One exclaims, "OH WELLLLL MUST HAVE BEEN RATS".
    So I run in and kill one, then climb up a tower to escape from the others. 20 seconds later "OH WELL, MUST HAVE BEEN RATS". I descend and kill the rest. Then more orcs spawn and begin to chase me so I ascend once again into my safe place. "OH WELL I GUESS IT WAS NOTHING"

    After repeating the orc killing-and-retreating-to-safetey process a few more times I decide to tackle the story mission. I am informed of the exact distance to the mission by the UI. I get there and am told to press "e" to enter the mission.

    I love being drawn into amazing fantasy worlds; to sink into rich atmosphere and lore, compelled to discover every hidden secret. Shadow of Morder does not provide this experience. Everything is force fed to you by UI messages and target markers. Maps tell you EXACTLY where to go and what to do. There is no discovery, no mystery, no higher narrative. It is pointless big budget action.

    I hope we get to explore Middle Earth again some day- without map markers and UI prompts.    … Expand
  63. TitaniumDragon
    Oct 21, 2014
    5
    Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a game with a great idea and very little else to it. A combination of watered-down Assassin’s Creed style stealth combined with watered-down Batman: Arkham Asylum style combat, the gameplay itself is very mediocre, with a large sandbox to play in but very few toys, with less than a dozen types of enemies despite a fantasy setting, poor, uninteresting bossMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a game with a great idea and very little else to it. A combination of watered-down Assassin’s Creed style stealth combined with watered-down Batman: Arkham Asylum style combat, the gameplay itself is very mediocre, with a large sandbox to play in but very few toys, with less than a dozen types of enemies despite a fantasy setting, poor, uninteresting boss fights, and highly repetitive gameplay. The highlight of the game is the nemesis system, a system by which randomly generated orcs gain names, attributes, and try and fight back against you, but it is crippled by the fact that by halfway through the game you will be cutting through them as so much wheat and all opposition effectively falls by the wayside.

    On the whole, the game is very mediocre. The levels are uninspired, the boss fights are more of the same or outright anticlimactic, the combat rapidly becomes rote, and all the side missions are extremely repetitive – even while the main missions present little variety. The game’s plot is lackluster, lacking interesting, engaging characters, and is very likely to be confusing to anyone who is not familiar with The Lord of the Rings. Even the nemesis system, the game’s great selling point, quickly becomes pointless as you gain the ability to rapidly kill enemies the first time you face them, completely removing any possibility of generating a nemesis.

    Some other game might be able to make great use of the nemesis system – or a nemesis-like system – in the future, but it did not work here.    … Expand
  64. steddye
    Oct 22, 2014
    5
    The game became boring very soon, no sense of adventure at all, the system to start a quest by clicking a button when you a reach a specific location goes against the spirit of RPG's. Please developers make a step forward ,less cutscene ,less graphic and less hand holding but a game that is not petitive and adventurous.

    to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new    The game became boring very soon, no sense of adventure at all, the system to start a quest by clicking a button when you a reach a specific location goes against the spirit of RPG's. Please developers make a step forward ,less cutscene ,less graphic and less hand holding but a game that is not petitive and adventurous.

    to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

    Thats the spirit    … Expand
  65. Sky-Moondrift
    Oct 14, 2014
    2
    How this even qualifies as a "Game" is beyond me.

    There is no challenge and no reward in this. You just press the W key until you run into enemies and mash the left mouse button. How can anyone feel a sense of reward from combat when it's the equivalent of holding a child at arms length. The enemies DON'T DO ANYTHING, they don't Block, they don't Parry, they Don't Dodge. The combat    How this even qualifies as a "Game" is beyond me.

    There is no challenge and no reward in this. You just press the W key until you run into enemies and mash the left mouse button. How can anyone feel a sense of reward from combat when it's the equivalent of holding a child at arms length.

    The enemies DON'T DO ANYTHING, they don't Block, they don't Parry, they Don't Dodge. The combat is for retards - you can literally just win this whole game by mashing one button.

    I took on a boss Orc and he just stood there like a **** while I whaled on him over and over and over again. When I killed him I was like really ... *Turns game off"

    WTF is the point seriously. The game also runs like crap for the assets it has. I'm getting 40-50FPS at 1440p with 980 SLI - the game doesn't even have good graphics.

    Would have given it an 8 if the combat wasn't braindead.    … Expand
  66. whereupon
    Sep 30, 2014
    5
    Visually beautiful, interesting story, but the breaker for me is that the PC version is clearly a port from console based on the interface...W to go forward, while pushing SPACE to sprint, while also pushing L-CTRL to do something, something. The look and initial feel were akin to Skyrim, which had a very PC interface. I wish I'd know how it was designed prior to pre-order.
  67. EpicAdde
    Oct 7, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What can excite and disappoint gamers and make Tolkienists angry, at the same time? Shadow of Mordor, ladies and gents, Shadow of freakin' Mordor.
    First, we have a game that is the painfully obvious offspring of Batman Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed, both in gameplay and combat. I kid you not, gentle reader, if I say that this game by Monolith offers nothing new and original like its predecessors did.
    The combat is based on flashy moves (both swords and magic) and absolutely abusing the wraith arrow ("Elf Shot" or some drivel like that) and fighting the most stupid, slow and unchallenging AI we have seen since the GTA series. Only occasionally are you in any real danger, and that's when fighting bosses who either have an obscene amount of hit points or summons other NPCs to overhwelm you with numbers: but these can, in nine cases out of ten, be overcome by using stealth to assassinate them. I won't get too much into how they just let you go as well, 'cause that made no sense to me...
    The Nemesis system doesn't do it for me either, as it doesn't seem to make the game harder or deeper.

    Graphically, it's not very impressive. It's on par with AC in environments, but the general colour scheme is brown and grey, with the complete invert of super white and grey whenever you go into your Wraith form. By no means does it look bad, but I wouldn't stop to look at it.

    So what makes Tolkienists angry about this? First and foremost, it is because Monolith came out and said that this game is *canon*. Yes, they said it. They said that what they have created is as valid as anything written by Tolkien himself. I'll go over some of the bullsh*t here (this is what I remember from playing).
    1) Talion's resurrection. When Men die, they die: they can't come back. There is only ONE exception to this and that was Beren, who was brought back because Lúthien, an Elf, chose to share his fate (i.e. she traded her immortality and bond to Arda for the One God, Eru, to give her a brief lifetime with her husband). This was the only time it happened, and it required the creator divinity to intercede.
    2) The Wraith of Celebrimbor. Wraiths, by definition, are spectral, malevolent beings that are transformed into this by a great, evil power (Morgoth, the Nine Rings) or by invoking a curse (say, breaking an oath to a certain deity): the spirit of Celebrimbor, being an Elf, would not have become this. Not even Fëanor, arguably one of the most horrible Elves to have lived, was turned into this and he died at the doorstep of the First Dark Lord. Celebrimbor would have gone to the Uttermost West, there awaiting reincarnation. So Talion being resurrected by a wraith of an Elven smith makes no sense.
    3) The wraith powers. Needless to say, but I will anyway, is that those are pure gameplay additions. While it may be hard to convey in a game, the true power of being in both realms of the Seen and Unseen (like High Elves did) is that the darkness of the Unseen (Ringwraiths) have no power over you. If Monolith truly wished to make Talion akin to the High Elves, then simply resisting the Ringwraiths and Sauron would be more than enough.
    4) Minor details like dates (the abandonment of the Watch), Elvish (naming incorrect herbs) and not knowing the difference between "uruk" and "snaga".
    5) Celebrimbor's back story. Yeah... so apparently, in this game, Celebrimbor stole the One Ring from Sauron (never happened) and proclaimed himself Lord of Mordor (never happened), raised an army of Orcs (ahahaha, who wrote this?) and then fell to Sauron because the Ring betrayed him (not true either). Sauron then killed Celebrimbor's family (which is quite the deed, seeing as he never married because he loved Galadriel). What actually happened was that Celebrimbor held Sauron off at Eregion, where the other Rings were forged, until he was killed and what few Rings were left were taken by Sauron.
    6) Talion raises another Orc army. Because that makes sense for a Ranger to do?
    7) The chicks from Nûrn use Elvish names, which makes no sense either.
    8) Talion defeats Sauron in one on one battle. Guess we didn't need to destroy the One Ring, afterall! Thanks, Monolith.
    9) Sauron, through some weird sh*t with the Black hand and Celebrimbor's spirit, regains his physical form until Talion destroys it. Talion then convinces Celebrimbor to help him forge a NEW Ring of Power. I don't even know what to say at this point: it's the darkest pits out of fanficton.net at work here, not anything Tolkien wrote.

    Apparently, Monolith worked with Tolkien Enterprises (who, we know, are halfwits and moneygrubbers) and Peter Jackson (because he's so good with lore?) to make sure the canon fit. I don't know how they define "fit", but it is not this abomination of a story that takes the world you love and shoves it into a meat grinder.

    Is there anything to like about it? Why, yes, there is. It's fast-paced, gory, and rewards quick fingers. Strange... AC is exactly the same    … Expand
  68. ShadowofZexa
    Oct 9, 2014
    7
    if you take game of assassins creed and mix it with the combat system of arkham you will have shadow of mordor its a really fun game its just really really linear its not like a open world game like it claims its a repetitious mess however its still a fun game the stealth mechanics are done very well however i feel this game is overpriced it should of been a arcade title for $19.99
  69. subdued_genius
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    At its current price its not worth the money and the hype. The reason why I bought this game was because of the Nemesis System and the game did not fully deliver in that regard.

    Pros: The game was fun. The combat was well polished. The voice acting was superb. The Orcs are funny/interesting. The cape looked very good (Dark Ranger skin). Meh: The Nemesis system wasn't impressive. I    At its current price its not worth the money and the hype. The reason why I bought this game was because of the Nemesis System and the game did not fully deliver in that regard.

    Pros:
    The game was fun. The combat was well polished. The voice acting was superb. The Orcs are funny/interesting. The cape looked very good (Dark Ranger skin).

    Meh:
    The Nemesis system wasn't impressive. I rarely saw it in play or making a factor in my playthrough.
    The graphics for the PC isn't impressive and is pretty standard for HD 1080p games with a high-end PC rig.

    The bad:
    The game is too easy and rewards you over-abundantly. You can literally kill any NPC you desire if you have some skill or familiarity with the combat mechanics. You can save up for the most powerful powerups without a skill-tree requirement or prerequisite. The result is you just need to save up for the unlimited executions skills (The sword first) and the game become mindnumbingly easy.
    The music was also bland and forgettable. Some of the best music in my opinion are from Skyrim and Mass Effect. The music in this game is neither ambient/environmentally supportive nor is it mood-inducing/pace-setting. It was boring and forgettable and you never really felt any real EPIC moments.
    The storyline and story-telling/writing was poor and very forgettable. I honestly played through the game not caring, which says a lot about the writing, pacing, and overall direction of the story. Furthermore, a lot of the storyline quests are basically gigantic tutorials...How to brand an orc, how to dominate an orc, how to stealth kill, how to do this or that. I feel that's probably why the game's story was so boring.

    The biggest fundamental flaw of this game is the lack of difficulty settings. Basically the lack of customizability for the game's difficulty level means that the game was far too easy and rewarding in my playthrough. The game ranks probably a solid 3 out of 10 for difficulty in playthrough. The result is because it is so easy, I never/rarely die. Because I rarely ever die or fail to kill an orc I want to kill. I never really get to see the full effects of the Nemesis System. So what was the PRIMARY SALES POINT of this game became at most a secondary characteristic.

    TL;DR version
    These are the questions I asked when I bought this game (If these apply to you then you and I probably will come to the same conclusions).
    1) Why is this game attractive or interesting? The Nemesis System seems innovative and interactive.
    2) Is the game fun? Yes.
    3) Should I play this game? Probably.
    4) Is it worth the hype and money (currently $50 dollars/$75 dollars for premium)? No.
    5) Is the Nemesis System great or impressive? I don't honestly know. The game's difficulty level (or lack thereof) made it pretty much a non-existent factor in my playthrough.

    Statistics:
    100% Progression completion.
    44 hours in game (I left the game on a lot of the time, I think I spent at most about 20-30 hours playing though).
    69% of the steam achievements unlocked.

    My personal rating probably a 70% or a 3.5 out of 5.    … Expand
  70. pazmacats
    Oct 5, 2014
    2
    Why make an open world game if the world is deleted every 5 minutes and starting a mission resets the entire world? It doesn't matter if you killed 0, 100, or 1 million orcs. When you start a mission the "start mission situation" is loaded. As soon as the mission ends, the "standard world" is loaded.
    So, the "open world" serves no purpose, it's a glorified tutorial/XP grind stage.
    What    Why make an open world game if the world is deleted every 5 minutes and starting a mission resets the entire world? It doesn't matter if you killed 0, 100, or 1 million orcs. When you start a mission the "start mission situation" is loaded. As soon as the mission ends, the "standard world" is loaded.
    So, the "open world" serves no purpose, it's a glorified tutorial/XP grind stage.

    What the player is left with is the combat and the missions.

    The game might be nice if you never played a button masher action game. But after playing for 1 hour I realized that I've already played this game 10 years ago. It was called The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and it had better mission, better combat, nice characters, humor, style, story and it was immersive, varied, and straight to the point.

    In comparison, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor feels bloated, generic, poorly thought out, unimaginative, repetitive, monotonous and needlessly long-winded/pointless.

    ---

    Oh, and WHO thought it would be fun to play as a UNDEAD NOBODY slaughtering 1000s of orc clones again and again and again?    … Expand
  71. mithren
    Oct 10, 2014
    7
    So over all a good game. That said it does have some issues I can't overlook.

    Pros: Awesome graphics Fun new bad guy leveling system where if they kill you they'll be promoted and gain followers Combat can be varied (to an extent) and is heaps of fun at first. Cons: As mentioned above combat can get a little repetitive and is with a Batman Arkam Asylum. Though you can choose to    So over all a good game. That said it does have some issues I can't overlook.

    Pros:
    Awesome graphics
    Fun new bad guy leveling system where if they kill you they'll be promoted and gain followers
    Combat can be varied (to an extent) and is heaps of fun at first.

    Cons:
    As mentioned above combat can get a little repetitive and is with a Batman Arkam Asylum. Though you can choose to go all sneaky but this rarely works on bosses so you end up spending some time just charging in. Also you can kill an orc captain with a great looking finishing move only to discover him ALIVE again in another area of the map (I distinctly remember beheading him!)
    The story line was a bit cliche and not very gripping.

    Overall it was nice to see a game pushing the graphics, the game had an innovative bad guy system but lacked a solid story line which really was a shame which only left a lot of combat which started to get repetitive after only 1 day of playing.    … Expand
  72. ClamTime
    Nov 6, 2014
    7
    I naver rally licked Lard of Rangs but Maddle Earth: Shadoow of Moldor is just sooooooo fan I can;t stoops playing the gramme I mean oamg I luv this gam I play it lik al tim al daye I havn't plaeid oather laord of oinian range I can't waite for anothe r lard og ranks soooooooon (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
  73. kache
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    Good game, some very good ideas that I hope will be taken by other games in the future. DLC politic is ridiculous. Not worth buying now, wait for GOTY.
  74. Skulb
    Mar 6, 2015
    7
    Certainly the best Middle Earth video game to date, although this sadly isn`t saying a whole lot. And it is very impressive in many ways, particularly visually. The combat is fun too, if FP swashbuckling/stealth is your thing. And even if it isn`t there are plenty of side quests, an engaging combat system, lots of lore, some nice characters and above all an interactive Mordor for you toCertainly the best Middle Earth video game to date, although this sadly isn`t saying a whole lot. And it is very impressive in many ways, particularly visually. The combat is fun too, if FP swashbuckling/stealth is your thing. And even if it isn`t there are plenty of side quests, an engaging combat system, lots of lore, some nice characters and above all an interactive Mordor for you to run around in which should give many hours of good entertainment.
    The most interesting bit is how the Uruk enemies have been done. Each one can grow in power if they defeat you, survive a fight with you, win a duel against a rival, go on a hunt and many other things. A repeat offender who has killed you over and over again can become quite formidable. Best of all the Uruk hierarchy fills up again, usually with random orcs and occasionally by regular grunts who luck out and get a killing blow on you. It`ll repeat itself at some point I guess, but the variation produced by this system is pretty impressive. And so is watching an archer scout who blew your head off five minutes into the game grow in stature and power until you kill him off late. The game is an orc generator at its core, which I honestly never thought I`d see.
    My only problems with the game come almost exclusively from the genre it represents, which is one I honestly detest energetically. There are constant respawns of basically everything, which makes the otherwise interesting fights feel a bit pointless at times. Unless I had a quest objective somewhere I tried my best to stay out of the way of enemies altogether because of this. But because of all the respawn it is rarely possible to go where you need to be without at least some tedium in the form of fights you`d rather skip, forcing you into the drudgery of wading through exactly the same orcs you`ve already killed about 15 times. It gets unbelievably repetitive. Playing the game with a keyboard is also a real wear on one`s fingers because you`re constantly using the LCTRL and LShift buttons to toggle running, sneaking and interactions of all kinds. Pressing these buttons I can not help doing with my pinky, which was totally worn out after a few hours of play. Best get a controller I suppose.
    Finally the story, while well told and with a lot of lore and details underpinning it, feels a bit simplistic. Brave ranger loses family and gets killed, then comes back as a wratih. Wants revenge. The only real twist is that he also has an elvish ghost living inside him, which I guess is sort of interesting. Other than that it`s straightforward: Kill lots of orcs. The end. If you want more than this you must dig up artifacts, do side quests, fill out the lore tab etc which is scattered all over the place in copious amounts. And all of those mean more fights with still more, slightly samey, basic orcs. So it comes down to how much time you want to blow just on getting one piece of Elvish writing on an inexplicable wall you have in your menus or just one more sword ability you may or may not need. I could feel my stamina with the game running lower and lower for each one of these Easter egg detours.

    If this is your kind of game then you`ll probably love Shadow of Mordor. Me I wish it had been almost any other sort of game, perhaps except a sports simulator or an anime dating game, rather than an FP-hack n`slash. They exhaust me and I hate playing them even when they are good. And Shadow of Mordor certainly is good. I`ll give it that. It`s just that it`s a FP action game. I wish it would stop being a FP action game and become an RPG, tactical turn based or even RTS game. I would even settle for a tower defense game. Just anything but FP action. Oh well, just thirty more years until the next good Middle Earth video game, if the past is anything to go by. Maybe I`ll have more luck with that one.    … Expand
  75. garlor
    Oct 3, 2014
    7
    asassins creed got lost into mordor and decided to take a stroll, direct sword combat is dull and boring,

    attacking the warchiefs is more interesting, you move around recover hit points and spirit arrows by draining orcs, kill the body guards and run away before the mass of orcs gets to you, it took me around 30 minutes to kill one of the warchiefs, wandering around camp then killing    asassins creed got lost into mordor and decided to take a stroll, direct sword combat is dull and boring,

    attacking the warchiefs is more interesting, you move around recover hit points and spirit arrows by draining orcs, kill the body guards and run away before the mass of orcs gets to you, it took me around 30 minutes to kill one of the warchiefs, wandering around camp then killing one bodyguard at a time, then recovering, releasing animals etc

    it's a decent game, world map is a little small, control is weak, it is hard to choose which of the 50 orcs around you to attack and do a finisher    … Expand
  76. Celtish
    Oct 18, 2014
    7
    I've only played for a few hours and I can already tell this game could be slightly repetitive.
    Having said that, the combat is fun, and gets better as you progress (By this I mean you gain more abilities, making combat more interesting), and the way the storyline is integrated with the questing is great.
    Graphically, this game is quite demanding, and I had to turn down a few settings    I've only played for a few hours and I can already tell this game could be slightly repetitive.
    Having said that, the combat is fun, and gets better as you progress (By this I mean you gain more abilities, making combat more interesting), and the way the storyline is integrated with the questing is great.
    Graphically, this game is quite demanding, and I had to turn down a few settings for my rig to cope but it's still quite good looking.
    A few other reviewers have mentioned that the combat is incredibly similar to Assassin's creed and Batman: Arkham asylum, and they are correct. However in this case, I feel it works because how else would you tear through hundreds of orcs?
    It's incredibly difficult to make combat feel fresh all the time when the entire game is based on cleaving through hordes of enemies.    … Expand
  77. The_Magnificent
    Oct 9, 2014
    5
    -Combat is fun | Abilities too powerful later
    He is god like from the start killing mass orcs as a "Ranger" and later on it is ridiculous since the enemies stay the same weak orcs. Where is the challenge?
    -The story is average at best | Side characters appear out of nowhere for a few missions You would think that the side characters have some sort of background. Every time one was    -Combat is fun | Abilities too powerful later
    He is god like from the start killing mass orcs as a "Ranger" and later on it is ridiculous since the enemies stay the same weak orcs. Where is the challenge?

    -The story is average at best | Side characters appear out of nowhere for a few missions
    You would think that the side characters have some sort of background. Every time one was introduced I was like... the hell are you and how did you come here through all the orcs.
    You can get some information about the dwarf and Hirgon/his wife by collecting artifacts but really. Their only purpose is it to unlock abilities and then they are gone. I thought I can recruit them or summon them for hard fights, the last mission at least but nothing.

    -The Boss fights are quicktime events, short and lazy-

    -Generic and repetitive missions-

    The mission design is always kill, kill, kill follow or collect some herbs/artifacts from the past.
    Almost forgot the boring slave missions which are always the same in its core.

    -Nemesis System nothing happens if you are good | The game is too easy-

    I never used the option advance time, my goal as a fighter of the evil is to destroy them and not sitting on a tower waiting for them to respawn. I expected a real time system to some degree or between missions at least in their greatly announced Nemesis System.

    There is nothing decent to do in the open world, everything is a setup for grinding power / Mirian by solving the same generic missions expect for the Gollum quests.

    There are no different difficulties, the replayability due to that is zero.

    Overrated average game. Stole everything from other games and still **** up. People praising it with 10/10 best game they played…. come on people have some dignity.    … Expand
  78. Bmastr
    Oct 29, 2014
    8
    As most of the people before me already has stated, it's a mix of Assassins Creed and the new Batman-games. I have enjoyed most of the Assassins Creed-games, and really liked both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, so there was no real surprise that I also really enjoyed this game. Sure, a couple of hours into the game, the constant orc-murdering gets a tad bit repetitive, but never boring.As most of the people before me already has stated, it's a mix of Assassins Creed and the new Batman-games. I have enjoyed most of the Assassins Creed-games, and really liked both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, so there was no real surprise that I also really enjoyed this game. Sure, a couple of hours into the game, the constant orc-murdering gets a tad bit repetitive, but never boring. Throughout my playthrough, I was never bored, which is a testament to how great the combat-system really is. The story is somewhat decent, but what keeps the game interesting is the enemy-system. I had a really persistent orc coming back several times, each time with a new patched-up wound or a piece of the face missing, and when I finally finished him off for the last time, I almost started to miss him. It brings a whole new aspect to the game, which I really hope to see in different renditions in future games.

    The game starts off quite challenging, and it was in the beginning I had most fun. In the later stages of the game, with all the upgrades available, you start to become pretty much invincible, and not even the most powerful warchiefs really pose a threat.

    There really isn't much to say that other people already have said. If you enjoyed the Batman-games and/or the Assassins Creed-games, chances are you really will enjoy this game. If you also have the least bit of interest in the Lord of the Rings-mythos, chances are you will like it even more. If you don't have any interest in any of the above, I would still recommend you to try it :>    … Expand
  79. TomasLacerda
    Nov 7, 2014
    3
    I can really respect whoever likes this game, but for me aint it. The combat is too basic, and utterly boring, seriously. The history is quite interesting, but the roaming, the combat, the clunky combat and animations really turned me off. I felt that this game was rushed, not polished at all.
  80. Horrux
    Jul 30, 2015
    3
    The graphis are good, but the game itself is a pure grind. You do the same thing over and over and over again, you don't acquire new skills or abilities, the game doesn't change. You kill Uruks. That's it.

    I don't know why people are rating this game so high, it is a pure borefest after the first hour or two. 3/10 for the good graphics and smooth gameplay. 0/10 for creativity,    The graphis are good, but the game itself is a pure grind. You do the same thing over and over and over again, you don't acquire new skills or abilities, the game doesn't change. You kill Uruks. That's it.

    I don't know why people are rating this game so high, it is a pure borefest after the first hour or two.

    3/10 for the good graphics and smooth gameplay. 0/10 for creativity, gameplay, progression, story, etc.    … Expand
  81. Not_Casual
    Dec 28, 2014
    4
    This game blends the playstyles of Assassin's Creed and the Batman games. And the core combat is harder, more fun than either of these games. However, the bland environment and lackluster storytelling make it a grind fest that quickly becomes boring. This game did not even need to have The Lord of the Rings in the title. They could've called it 'Orc Ganker' and the game would still haveThis game blends the playstyles of Assassin's Creed and the Batman games. And the core combat is harder, more fun than either of these games. However, the bland environment and lackluster storytelling make it a grind fest that quickly becomes boring. This game did not even need to have The Lord of the Rings in the title. They could've called it 'Orc Ganker' and the game would still have the same feel. Aside from orcs, you don't very often encounter creatures from the LOTR Universe outside the story mode. The combat is excellent at first, but rapidly degrades as enemies cannot compete with your powers later in the game. If this game had even half the story the batman games had, the improvement would be extreme, however the current story mode and environment is abysmal.… Expand
  82. sweet
    Oct 22, 2018
    0
    To call this game mediocre would be giving it too much credit. It had some nice combat animations, and that's all. The story is forgettable. The combat is unchallenging and as much fun as cow clicker. The graphics are average. The world is small, uninteresting and full of all that boring junk marketing teams demand be in modern games, like climbable towers and endless worthlessTo call this game mediocre would be giving it too much credit. It had some nice combat animations, and that's all. The story is forgettable. The combat is unchallenging and as much fun as cow clicker. The graphics are average. The world is small, uninteresting and full of all that boring junk marketing teams demand be in modern games, like climbable towers and endless worthless collectables. Nearly all the "missions" are the same thing over and over. The nemesis system talked about so much quickly becomes an annoyance.… Expand
  83. Fishersam
    Dec 3, 2014
    8
    This is one of the few times that the random 10's and 0's actually average out to create the proper score on this site.

    Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is what Assassin's Creed should be. There is nothing like going through an army of Orcs and taking control of their general. The combat is fluent and never gets old. The game was a bundle of fun!!!! Until the last 30 minutes. The final    This is one of the few times that the random 10's and 0's actually average out to create the proper score on this site.

    Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is what Assassin's Creed should be. There is nothing like going through an army of Orcs and taking control of their general. The combat is fluent and never gets old. The game was a bundle of fun!!!! Until the last 30 minutes.

    The final few missions combine to create the worst ending of any finite game i've ever played. The "boss fights" were awful and the game's obvious goal was to set up for a sequel. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling it but this game's bread and butter was the meat of the game. The combat and the engine. Its almost as if the developers were 2 months away from completing the game and their project manager told them they had to complete the rest of the game in 43 minutes. Shame on them for that ending.    … Expand
  84. PessimisticMan
    Mar 20, 2015
    3
    For an incredibly hyped game that I had heard nothing but positive things about, I am unfortunately having to say that this game is not good (in my opinion). I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and the gameplay looked cool; but than I got the game and was welcomed with an incredibly frustrating experience.
    PROS:
    + The game looks gorgeous, very good graphics. + The combat actually flows    For an incredibly hyped game that I had heard nothing but positive things about, I am unfortunately having to say that this game is not good (in my opinion). I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and the gameplay looked cool; but than I got the game and was welcomed with an incredibly frustrating experience.
    PROS:
    + The game looks gorgeous, very good graphics.
    + The combat actually flows very nice! It's basically a direct copy of Batman, but that isn't a bad thing; games should learn from each other.
    + The Nemesis System is very unique and cool.
    CONS:
    - The story is boring - not interesting in the slightest. Missions are tedious and irritating.
    - While I did appreciate the Nemesis System, it functions in one of the stupidest most irritating ways ever: I do like the fact that when a captain kills you he gains power, that's cool - what isn't cool is that even if no one kills (for example, a caragor kills you) every fricken person gets a power-up even though they had nothing to do with your death - and yes, sometimes it is literally EVERYBODY!
    - The game is littered with poopy-designed enemies: caragors, shield-soldiers, hunters, etc.), and when you first encounter these enemies, from that point on they will pop-up EVERYWHERE, and trust me, that is NOT a hyperbole.
    - This game is not a fan of fair fights. This sucks because the Nemesis System had so much potential, but a lot of the time it is impossible to get a 1-on-1 fight with these captains (especially the warchiefs). You're usually confronted with not only the captain (or multiple captains), you get the bonus of fighting a dozen spear-throwing hunters, a half-dozen shield-soldiers, about 20 normal enemies, and sometimes, if you're really lucky, a caragor (literally out of nowhere) comes - ignores all the other enemies - tackles and instakills you! Brilliant game design, whatever type of monkey made this needs a raise.
    If you think I "don't like a challenge," you're wrong: Dark Souls is my favorite game, I love Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, Shadow of the Colossus, and Hotline Miami are some of my other favorites. But this game has extreme artificial difficulty, and other mechanics designed to be unfair (like captain's regenerating health) and this frustrating pile of dung has amassed millions of dollars and critical acclaim, great. Don't buy it if you like being a calm person.    … Expand
  85. Fidiuss
    Jan 29, 2015
    8
    Most of the negative reviews come from minecraft gamers and the like who have absolutely no idea what there talking about.....ignore these and you will have a great game with a great story and great graphics , i cant stand the batman type games so i was dubious about buying this i got it cheap and but in all honesty its nothing like batman as some say otherwise i would have binned it byMost of the negative reviews come from minecraft gamers and the like who have absolutely no idea what there talking about.....ignore these and you will have a great game with a great story and great graphics , i cant stand the batman type games so i was dubious about buying this i got it cheap and but in all honesty its nothing like batman as some say otherwise i would have binned it by now...its entertaining enough said :)… Expand
  86. jamiemgr
    Jun 23, 2017
    4
    This game is ruined by it's terrible combat system. I got so bored with it that I lasted half an hour before uninstalling it. I hope the combat system has been changed for shadow of war or I will not be playing it. Shame because the story in Shadow of mordor looks good but I can't bring myself to play it with this atrocious combat system.
  87. gloriouspotato
    Jan 23, 2016
    7
    Take the combat from the Batman Arkham games, and a lot of the gameplay and world building elements of Assassin's Creed, and you've pretty much got Shadow of Mordor. In the same realm of Batman, the combat is fluid and offers some flashy animations. Just like Assassin's Creed, all the side missions are more or less the same thing, with only slight variations in their objective. TheseTake the combat from the Batman Arkham games, and a lot of the gameplay and world building elements of Assassin's Creed, and you've pretty much got Shadow of Mordor. In the same realm of Batman, the combat is fluid and offers some flashy animations. Just like Assassin's Creed, all the side missions are more or less the same thing, with only slight variations in their objective. These missions offer useful incentives in the form of in-game currency, XP or power, but provides little in the way of character depth or storytelling. There comes a point where the only reason to do anything besides the main quest is if you have a compulsive urge to achieve 100% completion.

    In addition, the overarching narrative wasn't particularly impressive and the characters lacked complexity and were largely unremarkable. At least the graphics look quite decent, and I must appraise how well the game runs on PC. Although there are a few more tweaks Monolith could've done to expand upon the graphics options, they did a pretty good job with optimisation overall.

    Overall rating - 6.8/10    … Expand
  88. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 6, 2017
    8
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor
    When Batman meets Assassins Creed
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor is an action adventure game where you play as Talion, going after the black hand after he does something in the beginning of the game that I wont spoil… But part of that something is killing you.. That’s right.. youre dead… sort of… Youre stuck in limbo and seeking revenge.. but you soon find    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor
    When Batman meets Assassins Creed
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor is an action adventure game where you play as Talion, going after the black hand after he does something in the beginning of the game that I wont spoil…
    But part of that something is killing you..
    That’s right.. youre dead… sort of…
    Youre stuck in limbo and seeking revenge.. but you soon find out youre attached to Elf Lord Celebrimbor who is also after the black hand… and with his power you turn into an assassins creed fans dream…
    You can hop from these towers and really any location without taking damage leap of faith style..
    The game is set in an open world takes place on 2 maps
    and you can unlock fast travel points on the maps by climbing towers like assassins creed..
    Climbing in this game is automatic, done by just holding down a button which can make for some frustrating getaway moments during combat as expected..
    not as smoth as the later installments of assassins creed has become..
    but these maps are crawling with side missions power struggles and collectables…
    And there is actual incentive to star aside from the main story thanks to the different skill trees and leveling system in this game..
    You of course aqquire skills by leveling up from killing orcs and completing quests… this lets you unlock new skilsl in your skill tree..
    But to unlock more tiers in your skill tree you need more power..
    power is acquired by taking out orcs in saurans army..
    The first half of the game is all about climbing your way through the orc ranks and taking out the 5 warchiefs..
    you do this by grabbing orcs, enetering their brains,, and getting intel on your target..
    this intel will tell you their location, their strengths, power and their weaknesses…
    And once you feel youre prepared to take them down you can go into a power struggle to eliminate them..
    But you have to be sure youre ready because of the games nemesis system…
    the combat here is fairly simple and plays like the batman arkham games and the ps3 assassins creed games…
    you can stealth kill enemies from bushes, ledges, behind, or from above.. use your bow to head shot or zip through thin air for a devastating blow.. ride in on the back of an animal or monster you’ve taimed in the wild..
    or you can go in batman style countering attacks and going for annoying finishers that take 20 years to pull off and are nearly impossible to pull off outside of a main mission…
    This is my biggest complaint with the entire game…
    These missions to dethrone orcs are extremely frustrating because the game expects you to be able to take on 30 at a time while in the story they only ask you to deal with like 5 or 6 at a time..
    The variety here is a lot like the arkham games where you eventually have to stun enemies or jump over their shields just to make things more frustrating…
    but every time you go to do a ground finisher itss get broken up because it takes so long to pull off, thankfully you are eventually able to pull of moves like executions once you get a hit streak going of 8 and later 5, but this doesn’t help these encounters from feeling cheap…
    if you do get knocked down,. You will.. a lot.. you have the opportunity to do a quick time event to get up again 2 or 3 times.. but eventually you will just die or if you mess up youll just die,,
    And dying makes things even worse as the orc that kills you will remember you, they get promoted in the ranks, and their power ioncreases making them even harder to take care of the next time…
    And then there are the collectibles and sidemissions that increase your attribvutes like health as well as open rune slots for your sword, bow, and dagger, these runes are picked up off of warchiefs and captains…
    Who also act as bodyguards…
    so its important to take out a targets bodyguards before you attack them to make your encounter easier…
    during the 2nd half of this 12 hours game.. you have to go through the same system..
    this time however youre tasked with making your own army out of these orcs so you can challenge the black hand.. and you do this by your new ability to brand them..
    Your goal is to now find a target and get them on your side..
    you can either go right to a bodybuard or help your newly owed orc captain prove himself and become a bodybuard..    … Expand
  89. antagonistx
    Nov 1, 2014
    9
    In this age of terrible botched day one releases, this game was something of a dark horse to me. I was absolutely sure that it would be bad. Combat based on other games. Check. An overly hyped new game mechanic. Check. Absurd system requirements. Check. A story from a licensed universe that has little to do with its license. Check. It has all the elements of a truly terrible gameIn this age of terrible botched day one releases, this game was something of a dark horse to me. I was absolutely sure that it would be bad. Combat based on other games. Check. An overly hyped new game mechanic. Check. Absurd system requirements. Check. A story from a licensed universe that has little to do with its license. Check. It has all the elements of a truly terrible game in the making. However, I actually found myself loving this game.

    If you do not like arkham style fighters with assassin's creed stealth mechanics than yes, this may not be the game for you. But if you do enjoy these game elements, you will surely find that the combat is satisfying, and the enemy chieftain system will make you actually interested in the hordes of enemies that you will inevitably destroy throughout the course of the game. In fact, the nemesis system is not a gimmick, but a well though out mechanic that will likely be "borrowed" for years to come. Your enemies level up with you, so each death feels important. You will begin to remember the names of your enemies and become legitimately nervous as they selectively attack you at the worst possible times, making the game-play constantly engaging. At one point I became frustrated that my enemies were immune to nearly all forms of conventional assault due to how they had leveled. However, this only make victory more sweet when I was able to painstakingly plan and execute an exploitation of their only weakness.

    As far as graphics go, people will likely complain that it is not quite as good as Skyrim with 4k textures, ENB mods, etc, but to me this game looks beautiful and runs at a constant 60 fps on the highest settings (no ultra texture pack though.) In an era of poor game optimization, this game runs flawlessly.

    The game is not perfect, as the end game content is sorely lacking, and the story could have been more fleshed out. However, I still have nothing but praise for monolith productions, who took legitimate risks making this game (which payed off tremendously) and took the time to make sure that their game was actually working on day one unlike so many competitors in the market today.    … Expand
  90. dermaniac
    Jan 7, 2015
    7
    Nice game, but could use some more meat on its bones. I really enjoyed what is here, but unfortunately it suffers from the "open-world-game-disease", where only about 7 hours worth of content (20 missions) are part of the main storyline, while the rest is padded out with side missions, challenges and.. well, the whole ork power struggle thing. If you enjoy hunting down every little POI andNice game, but could use some more meat on its bones. I really enjoyed what is here, but unfortunately it suffers from the "open-world-game-disease", where only about 7 hours worth of content (20 missions) are part of the main storyline, while the rest is padded out with side missions, challenges and.. well, the whole ork power struggle thing. If you enjoy hunting down every little POI and finish all the (mostly pointless) sideactivities, then this is for you. If you are more like me, and would rather prefer more well crafted missions, then the game will feel a little short.

    The whole ork hunting and managing thing was very fun, although I do think it was a little underutilized. Having an (let alone all) warchiefs under your control should come with some mighty perks, but unfortunately it didn't matter to the gameplay at all. So in the end, it didn't feel very rewarding. But I guess in here the journey is its own reward. Overall I loved it very much and it didn't overstay its welcome either.

    I would have appreciated a difficulty switch. There is no difficulty setting, and while the game felt challenging enough at first, once you get the hang of it (after 2-3 hours) it gets very easy and you feel very overpowered. I died about 10 times in the first 3 hours of playing and about 3 times in the last 10 hours.

    Another minor gripe: The sound track is often a little mismatched. I had to enable subtitles because very often the music was so loud I couldn't make out what they said in a cutscene. And sometimes action music from the gameplay got stuck and played over the cutscene music, which made it even worse.

    Oh, and the ending is a little anticlimactic. There are 3 main bosses in the game. The first boss is an awesome epic battle that I really enjoyed. The second boss is a game of whack-a-mole (go to 3 or 4 locations and press a button), and the last boss fight is a very short Quick-Time-Event. That made me a little sad.

    Still, the gameplay was enough fun to make me look past most of these flaws and I do recommend the game. I enjoyed it very much.    … Expand
  91. Fuini
    Nov 11, 2015
    2
    Batman gameplay but with all the cons and none of the pros : too much slow motions, too much pauses in fights.
    Smash buttons, a new enemy appears, wait 30s , smash, eat some flower to recover HP, repeat.

    The story made no sense in Tolkien universe.... What do I have still to add ? Buy another game or the books, your money will be far better invested
  92. DreamDays
    Jun 14, 2022
    10
    The story, combat and everything about this game just kept me playing.
    One of the few games ive ever completed.
  93. Jonhuggs
    Sep 30, 2014
    10
    This is one of the better AAA games in some time. The graphics are very good and seems to be very well optimized on pc with no lag what so ever on my HD 7870 video card. The combat is batman Arkhamish, and my wife was like I didn't think the new Assassin's Creed was out yet, although I was wearing the dark ranger suit. I've been playing with an Xbox 360 controller and it works flawlessly.This is one of the better AAA games in some time. The graphics are very good and seems to be very well optimized on pc with no lag what so ever on my HD 7870 video card. The combat is batman Arkhamish, and my wife was like I didn't think the new Assassin's Creed was out yet, although I was wearing the dark ranger suit. I've been playing with an Xbox 360 controller and it works flawlessly. All in all very good game and worth it for action RPG fans and LoTR fans alike.… Expand
  94. Shuamd
    Sep 30, 2014
    9
    Even allowing the fact that this product mechanics is clearly partly based on the Assassin’s creed game series (and in somewhere The Witcher), it is an absolutely original and entertaining game. IMHO, the system NEMESIS in combination with the “open world”’s freedom and perfectly embodied in graphics Middleearth - is a kind of so to speak active RPG, where the player, within the frameworkEven allowing the fact that this product mechanics is clearly partly based on the Assassin’s creed game series (and in somewhere The Witcher), it is an absolutely original and entertaining game. IMHO, the system NEMESIS in combination with the “open world”’s freedom and perfectly embodied in graphics Middleearth - is a kind of so to speak active RPG, where the player, within the framework of the worldsetting of course, creates its own story of vengeance and confrontation.… Expand
  95. EUPOLEMOS
    Dec 3, 2014
    10
    This game is insanely good much,much better than I thought it would be.The graphics are the best I have ever seen.The feeling you get when you kill an orc at this game is pure ecstasy.I believe that Shadow of Mordor is the clear winner for the title of 2014 best game.If you dont play it I pity you mortals.
  96. SpawnCap
    Nov 12, 2014
    10
    This is by far the most fun game I have bought in about 10 years and I've bought about 200. I'm not like some reviewers on here that don't own game and never played it (you can tell that when they give same review on all systems it was put out on). Has great graphics and animations. World seems more alive than any other game. Uruks and caragors have real life in them. I have over 120This is by far the most fun game I have bought in about 10 years and I've bought about 200. I'm not like some reviewers on here that don't own game and never played it (you can tell that when they give same review on all systems it was put out on). Has great graphics and animations. World seems more alive than any other game. Uruks and caragors have real life in them. I have over 120 hours into this game and I still enjoy playing it. I play on system with i5 2500 HD 5850 8GB Ram. At 1080p everything set to high except textures it runs at constant 70 FPS. Most fun melee combat ever.… Expand
  97. SpiRo
    Oct 3, 2014
    2
    Story is bad and boring, basic revenge plot that actually contradicts book facts. Gameplay is also boring and repetitive, you are doing same thing over and over. Nemesis system is interesting at first but after few times you realize it is pointless and brings nothing. Overall i would not recommend it to anyone, specially not for the money they are asking. If you really want to play thisStory is bad and boring, basic revenge plot that actually contradicts book facts. Gameplay is also boring and repetitive, you are doing same thing over and over. Nemesis system is interesting at first but after few times you realize it is pointless and brings nothing. Overall i would not recommend it to anyone, specially not for the money they are asking. If you really want to play this game wait for big sale discount.… Expand
  98. Chomag
    Sep 30, 2014
    7
    The game looks very good and there is quite some fluff content but it becomes pretty dull and repetitive rather fast.
    The control is annoying with kb and mouse as the game suffers from retardum consolitis and this is very clear.

    There is really not a lot to do in the game.
  99. Bryjoered
    Sep 30, 2014
    8
    @Garfoodle Get off your high horse man. Not good graphics? Please, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, the graphics are amazing. "Overused batman style of combat" WHAT????! You mean one of the best combat systems in any 3rd person action game ever. Did you want to hate this game? Have you even really played it before. What is one of your favorite game? I bet it's some@Garfoodle Get off your high horse man. Not good graphics? Please, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, the graphics are amazing. "Overused batman style of combat" WHAT????! You mean one of the best combat systems in any 3rd person action game ever. Did you want to hate this game? Have you even really played it before. What is one of your favorite game? I bet it's some low budget indie title isn't it. You're a video game hipster douche aren't you? God, you annoy me.… Expand
  100. dreadnought
    Sep 30, 2014
    9
    I was suprised, i thought it was another generic grind fest, but shadow of mordor has some really cool mechanics and gameplay that make it...surprisingly very good!
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Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best PC Game of 2014
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
10
#10 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Nov 1, 2014
    90
    Solid action wrapped in a fascinating simulated Orc society. [Nov 2014, p.52]
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 25, 2014
    72
    After you get used to the world of Shadow of Mordor understanding comes: there is nothing to do in it. Chieftains – pretty serious opponents at first – in the end due to the lame balance become the whipping boys. Storyline is buried under muddy reasoning about rings, elves and dark lord. As a result you like the Shadow of Mordor gameplay but you do not want to go to the finish. [Nov 2014, p.64]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Oct 19, 2014
    70
    Only thanks to the Nemesis system stinky orcs from Peter Jackson’s movies rise above being cannon fodder and turn into actual characters. If this cool system weren’t here, no one would have looked twice at this hybrid clone of Batman: Arkham City and Assassin’s Creed.
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