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. Elkay_Gaming
    Mar 19, 2019
    7
    This game is great.

    Not the deepest, not the hardest and not the longest. But still enjoyable.

    You can get this for under $10 in a sale and it will sate your hunger for Orc blood.
  2. PortalToH3LL
    Mar 17, 2019
    8
    Умеренно долгий и довольно неплохой openworld в средиземье. Приличный графон, бетменовская боевка, сбор секреток, хреноватое управление, стелс, опять же, бетменовский.
  3. AlirezASlayeR
    Feb 10, 2019
    3
    Mindless and boring copy of Assassins' Creed and Arkham City.
    The game was just too uninteresting to finish! And the EXTREMELY familiar controls to Arkham City made me feel like Rocksteady could actually SUE them!
  4. Frasoric
    Feb 8, 2019
    9
    Shadow of Mordor offers a unique take on the past games based on the Lord of the Rings franchise. The game has a similar combat systems used in the Batman Arkham Knight series with stealth take downs and combat finishers to defeat enemies.

    Instead of Riddler Riddles the game offers a varied amount of collectables and progression within the open world. Wither it's collecting artifacts to    Shadow of Mordor offers a unique take on the past games based on the Lord of the Rings franchise. The game has a similar combat systems used in the Batman Arkham Knight series with stealth take downs and combat finishers to defeat enemies.

    Instead of Riddler Riddles the game offers a varied amount of collectables and progression within the open world. Wither it's collecting artifacts to empower your weapons or going on a hunt for rare creatures and herbs for new abilities.

    What makes Shadow of Mordor different from other games in the action genre is the use of the nemesis system which allows the user to manipulate the world around them through ordered assassinations and forcing orcs to provide information on captains weaknesses.

    The system provides challenges with captains gaining power and new resistances, which the player needs to overcome to defeat them in combat. There is a Vendetta system used in the game allowing friends to attempt the captains that were difficult throughout your experience in Mordor.

    The campaign isn't canon to the Lord of the Rings lore, but does provide some interesting twists and challenges to drive the player throughout their playthrough of the game. In comparison to the open world the campaign feels short, but is better than expected from previous Lord of the Rings games.

    The game is great overall with little to complain about. Shadow of Mordor is a must have for fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise and action games.    … Expand
  5. 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
  6. Ted_Tris
    Oct 12, 2018
    0
    Unplayable, button mash gameplay, boring garbage.
    Game pad control is bad, keyboard-mouse control is too complicated.
    The fighting system is terrible.
    The number of enemies is infinite.
    Ugly
    V-sync not working on win 10.
    The sounds is weak
  7. RagingPoet
    Aug 6, 2018
    7
    Shadow of Mordor got fluid combat animations, killing orcs never felt more satisfying (even though player only asked to press 2 buttons and the execution is done automatically). Enemy captains commenting on your playstyle and previous combat encounters is a very nice touch too.

    On the other side, main missions are extremely dull, most of them are just tutorials for different game    Shadow of Mordor got fluid combat animations, killing orcs never felt more satisfying (even though player only asked to press 2 buttons and the execution is done automatically). Enemy captains commenting on your playstyle and previous combat encounters is a very nice touch too.

    On the other side, main missions are extremely dull, most of them are just tutorials for different game mechanics. And missions overall are boring, it's more fun to just roam the land, pick an enemy officer and kill it the way you want it without any mission limitations.    … Expand
  8. kevinbrown
    Jul 15, 2018
    4
    The entire game is disappointing. Basically it's a melt of every game out there but badly done. Nothing makes sense, whether it is the gameplay, game mechanics, level design, overall progression, story...

    So Mordor really is 'that' big? Actually it is one of the smallest open world maps ever and I haven't mentioned the cheap level design; repetitive and empty, but first and foremost it    The entire game is disappointing. Basically it's a melt of every game out there but badly done. Nothing makes sense, whether it is the gameplay, game mechanics, level design, overall progression, story...

    So Mordor really is 'that' big? Actually it is one of the smallest open world maps ever and I haven't mentioned the cheap level design; repetitive and empty, but first and foremost it is pointless again.

    The gameplay itself look like it was rushed by developpers. Every mechanic introduced lacks a missing part. The system behind the gameplay is useless (eg: Sauron's army). You can just kill everyone on your path the same way and repeat it until the end of times. The powers, upgrades or anything else are useless.

    Don't waste your time, this is not the ultimate Lord of the Rings video game that you have been dreaming of for the past 15 years. Someday perhaps.    … Expand
  9. Diegochocho
    Jul 5, 2018
    8
    Se nota que el sistema de combate esta sacado de los Batman, pero aun así logra adaptar perfectamente al mundo del Señor de los Anillos.
  10. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    5
    In essence, this is Assassin’s Creed.
    And I don’t like Assassins’ Creed.
    But if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed – give yourself (and this game) a Thumbs Up! Is Shadow of Mordor an RPG? Definitely No. There are no dialogue trees, no character selection, and all side “quests” or more properly – missions, degrade into assassinating an urk, or whatever. Is it Open World? Not    In essence, this is Assassin’s Creed.
    And I don’t like Assassins’ Creed.
    But if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed – give yourself (and this game) a Thumbs Up!

    Is Shadow of Mordor an RPG?
    Definitely No.
    There are no dialogue trees, no character selection, and all side “quests” or more properly – missions, degrade into assassinating an urk, or whatever.

    Is it Open World?
    Not really. While the scale of the map is extensive, there is no element of exploring (think Fallout 3 / New Vegas), and all the locations you discover are by no means locales (like villages with interesting NPC’s) but rather places where the aforementioned target for your assassination is awaiting his doom by your hand.

    Is there Character Development? (Potential spoilers)
    Eh . . . There are skill points you spend to “develop” your character, but all the progress concentrates on combat skills and weapons (obviously, since we already established that this is not an RPG, and skill point cannot be sunk into trade skill, or speech, ect). I see this more in the same venue as weapon upgrading, not character “development.”

    Having said all of this, here’s where I see Computer Gaming.
    When I want a story – I read a book. When I seek atmosphere – I listen to music. When I require a mental challenge – I play board games with friends. A Computer Game is unique in that it is able to unite all of those things together. A good computer game can, at least.
    Middle Earth – Shadow of Mordor is not that game.
    While having decent mechanics and a good story it simply does not have a good gameplay. You get the gist of what the entire playthrough will be like in the first 15 minutes or so – run, kill, run, kill, upgrade, run, kill more of the same – no rest for you, because you’re dead or something. Ahm, ok. I don’t find such a gameplay fun, which unfortunately I have to bear through to uncover the story.

    Speaking of which.
    The Story is not only the plot but also the telling. Shadow of Mordor’s pace is sheer madness – there is no pause, no place to take a break, the urks are constantly spawning, the bosses continually appearing if you’re killed, and so on. So, of course it is different for everybody, but I want my Tolkien story told by a gray-bearded Socrates looking grandpa, who is peacefully puffing on his cavendish cherry-wood pipe, while turning the burning coals in the fire and sipping his chamomile tea, NOT by a speed-junky, who yells out an extremely abridged “Hobbit” in 3 seconds while flying past me on a motorcycle. That’s Shadow of Mordor’s story-telling.

    So in short, i feel like the game is punishing me for wanting to uncover the plot of the story. I simply can't move through the main plot at my own speed - i need to do that by grinding through irrelevant, monotonous, repeatative assassination missions. And that is just not my idea of fun. Sounds more like work and a waste of time - unfortunately, to get through the story i am forced to those tedious things.

    To Devs / Publishers:
    When porting, please, start implementing FOV sliders for PC Gamers. Yes, we PC Gamers get it – Consoles are the future, and console owners are your target group. But here’s the thing – we, PC Gamers, still pay you money. Why not make us happy, and throw in a freebie in the form of the NORMAL, expanded FOV.

    Instead of this Game, try these for an RPG experience:
    Fallout 3 (+ New Vegas)
    Dragon Age Origins

    Games Similar to Shadow of Mordor, but which i think are better:
    Saints Row the Third
    Darksiders
    Red Faction: Guerrilla
    Red Faction: Armageddon
    Just Cause 2

    And of course i highly recommend reading Tolkien - BOOKS RULE!

    P.S.
    Finally finished it. Really had to force myself to play at times - ok story, but the grindy gameplay just ruins the joy.    … Expand
  11. El_Manco
    May 20, 2018
    8
    Al igual que con "Mad Max", creo que a este juego le faltan una serie de virtudes para obtener más de un 8. Sin embargo, Shadow of Mordor me parece mejor juego que el anterior. Si ambos pueden hacerse repetitivos, Shadow of Mordor logra no hacer tan pesado obtener ciertos logros y realizar ciertas misiones. Las historias paralelas a la trama principal lo hacen algo más dinámico, y `por esoAl igual que con "Mad Max", creo que a este juego le faltan una serie de virtudes para obtener más de un 8. Sin embargo, Shadow of Mordor me parece mejor juego que el anterior. Si ambos pueden hacerse repetitivos, Shadow of Mordor logra no hacer tan pesado obtener ciertos logros y realizar ciertas misiones. Las historias paralelas a la trama principal lo hacen algo más dinámico, y `por eso le doy una nota más alta… Expand
  12. 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.
  13. muzmuz
    May 3, 2018
    5
    Shadow of Mordor has that entertaining cinematic combat gameplay that will leave you satisfied in every swing of the blade. But in all honesty, the eye-candy fighting, slashing and execution animations is the only thing this game can boast. It implemented a very repetitive formula in an empty, desolate open-world setting that most likely would shove you away from ever seeing the credits roll.
  14. Valera612
    Feb 25, 2018
    10
    this game is very good. big open world. interesting game-play and very good story
  15. Mitya64
    Jan 14, 2018
    8
    Шикарный геймплей. Система немезида интересная. Графон на высоте. орки выглядят уродские. Музыка и звуки отличные. Сюжет короткий и не интересный. Бегал убивал орков
  16. xRabia
    Dec 3, 2017
    7
    Podríamos definirlo como "Un juego entretenido", gran temática un sistema de juego que bien entretiene un poco pero tampoco es nada del otro mundo. Nada rejugable pero para disfrutar con la temática y disfrutar unas horitas.
  17. Poishawk
    Nov 26, 2017
    8
    Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™ боевик с элементами рпг. Игра разробатывалась WarnerBros., что сразу заметно по геймплею, чувствуется родство с играми серии Бэтман, особенно боевка. Сюжет рассказывает о жителях Мордора, до истории первой книго "Властелин колец". Хотя если вырвать игру из вселенной Толкина, разницы не сразу заметишь. Присутствуют некоторые персонажи из фильмов, что даетMiddle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™ боевик с элементами рпг. Игра разробатывалась WarnerBros., что сразу заметно по геймплею, чувствуется родство с играми серии Бэтман, особенно боевка. Сюжет рассказывает о жителях Мордора, до истории первой книго "Властелин колец". Хотя если вырвать игру из вселенной Толкина, разницы не сразу заметишь. Присутствуют некоторые персонажи из фильмов, что дает какую то ностальгию, захотелось даже пересмотреть трилогию. Немного не проработана система захвата командиров, не до конца понятно, зачем это, если геймплейно никак не влияет. Платное ДСЛ добавляет некоторые функции, которых не хватало в оригинале. Чувствуется, что эти фишки были вырезанны или не продуманы вначале. Сюжет прост и без всяких поворотов, в открытом мире есть чем заняться на несколько часов, уйдя от основной сюжетной линии. Прокачка очень проста, маши себе мечом да получай XP. Очень понравилось разнообразие приемов и добивания, что хоть как то разбовляет постоянный сражения. В общем игра получилась хорошая, на пару вечеров и не больше.
    7/10 Урук-хаев!    … Expand
  18. Jayme_lara
    Nov 23, 2017
    9
    Podri describir este juego como un Assasin´s Creed bien hecho el sistema nemesis te hace sentir la personalidad de algunos rivales y mas aun cuando aparecen varios a la vez. Muy recomendado y divertido
  19. steelcl
    Nov 22, 2017
    6
    I think the greatest quality of this game is that it doesn't try to be grand. It's quite a simple game in which you can mess around, kill some orcs, complete some events and progress with the main story. The story is short and tolerable.

    Combat isn't complex, but it isn't complicated to learn. The orc army hierarchy system is original and fun. The strenghts and weaknesses of the    I think the greatest quality of this game is that it doesn't try to be grand. It's quite a simple game in which you can mess around, kill some orcs, complete some events and progress with the main story. The story is short and tolerable.

    Combat isn't complex, but it isn't complicated to learn.

    The orc army hierarchy system is original and fun. The strenghts and weaknesses of the captains gives it an interesting flavor and that combined to those orc leader events, can lead to some random and funny moments, for example: my nemesis was fleeing from battle, then he walks into fire, gets killed by some monster in the way, and suddenly appears back later to haunt me while I was at other event.

    Although it can be a fun experience, I can't imagine this game remaining interesting after much more than 1 play through.    … Expand
  20. jelikey
    Nov 19, 2017
    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 BAD…
  21. Billydju
    Nov 16, 2017
    8
    The gameplay is really nice, its really fun to make those orcs working for us. Sadly this game has 1 of the shortest story in any AAA-tier game.

    Overall its worth and only cost $5 on sales.
  22. 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
  23. JJRambo
    Oct 18, 2017
    4
    the game looks fun, but it's a repetitive bottom smashing fest. Climbing walls it's so frustrating. The fighting is just smash one button with the occasional use of other buttons, you can fell satisfied for what you see on screen but the game tricks you while you smash that one button till your hands get numb.
    And then there's the micro transaction that don't even lets you play the game    the game looks fun, but it's a repetitive bottom smashing fest. Climbing walls it's so frustrating. The fighting is just smash one button with the occasional use of other buttons, you can fell satisfied for what you see on screen but the game tricks you while you smash that one button till your hands get numb.
    And then there's the micro transaction that don't even lets you play the game as it's intended, and day one DLC. So this game just sucks.    … Expand
  24. noirfx
    Oct 15, 2017
    0
    The game is ok, just remove microtransaction and everybody will be happy. Gamers are not stupid, you can't put loot crates into 60$ single player game.
  25. Clapper
    Oct 13, 2017
    9
    Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor Review:
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor was released in 2014, and despite its innovations and publicity work, it fell under the radar as one of the multitude of games accompanying the arrival of next generation consoles. However, what developer Monolith Productions had created was a contender for game of the year 2014, a game that received critical appraise    Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor Review:
    Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor was released in 2014, and despite its innovations and publicity work, it fell under the radar as one of the multitude of games accompanying the arrival of next generation consoles. However, what developer Monolith Productions had created was a contender for game of the year 2014, a game that received critical appraise and a vast amounts of awards and nominations. But no game is without its flaws.
    Without a doubt, the most controversial aspect of Shadow Of Mordor was the story. Generally, an offline single player game would be expected to be quite story-driven, however in this case the story felt more like a series of side quests, enjoyable but lacking a huge amount of depth or creativity. However, the setting was a good decision by the writers as the games story occurs between the events of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings, and with the convoluted and magical lore of middle earth it removes the issue of a ‘doomed by cannon’ scenario (in which the inevitable outcome is evident from the beginning and inhibits any sort of emotional attachment to the characters or cause). Also, the voice acting ranged from brilliant to downright boring. Main characters varied in quality, causing there to be a feeling of distance between them, lacking chemistry between partnering roles in the story. Overall, the story is worth playing through, but it will not be the highlight and will act more as just a means of progression into later game areas and powers.
    Yes, powers. The games main character, Talion, is joined with the spirit of Celibrimbor, which grants him special abilities that you can unlock as you progress through the game. These range from elven swiftness - which allows you to gain a speed boost while traversing the terrain, to draining and dominating orcs to fight for you (this makes up the bulk of the gameplay). The powers granted to you are excellently animated, and are deftly woven into the fluid combat system to create a great – though potentially a bit too easy – combat experience. The system used for combat is a tried and tested formula featuring most notably in the Batman: Arkham series, and the control scheme this system utilises is efficient and effective on both keyboard and controller. As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty is lacking, and while this does allow the player to enjoy other aspects of the game, it also means that the lack of challenge will bore some gamers. The idea seems to be to launch a large amount of easy enemies, than make the individuals enemies stronger, which can work in certain situations and pairs wonderfully with the combo-based combat system, but if you find yourself fighting an orc captain 1 on 1, it becomes a very mundane task and can dampen immersion.
    This games crown jewel is its innovative ‘Nemesis System’. This system allows orc captains and War Chiefs to remember you and your past fights with them, and can adapt their traits or strategies to counter your play style or tactics previously used against them. Some orcs can also cheat death, and come back to find you after you ‘kill’ them, this creates a story and relationship with each and every randomly generated orc captain, and is what gives the game its almost infinite replay value. For players looking for a fun and immersive gameplay experience, this system is the best one in the games industry to date, and will not disappoint players that can look past the flaws of the story.
    The game is quite well optimised as well, and for players on pc it doesn’t demand too much from your rig, especially as the game was released a few years ago now, 60fps shouldn’t be a struggle for even budget rigs, and of course the consoles will play at a smooth 30fps as well.
    Overall, Monolith’s Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor is a masterpiece in terms of gameplay and depth, but its lacking story will leave some players disappointed, and definitely has wasted potential. My Rating for Shadow Of Mordor would be a 9/10.    … Expand
  26. KittyWhisky
    Aug 19, 2017
    6
    This game is just about killing orcs. In Shadow of Mordor has good graphics, nice combat system, but the dull open world does not encourage the passing game. Heath is very sad, besides annoying endless respawns of orcs. The game has a nice feature - system Nemesis. It is working out great. The plot of the game completely dull. Please only nice video (especially Gollum). The orcs are veryThis game is just about killing orcs. In Shadow of Mordor has good graphics, nice combat system, but the dull open world does not encourage the passing game. Heath is very sad, besides annoying endless respawns of orcs. The game has a nice feature - system Nemesis. It is working out great. The plot of the game completely dull. Please only nice video (especially Gollum). The orcs are very cool looking and well voiced. They are nice to destroy. But in addition to Stripping the card and the endless destruction of the orcs in the game do nothing.
    This game is bare mechanics. Waiting for the second part and good gameplay, advanced system Nemesis and PLOT.    … Expand
  27. birdman3
    Aug 6, 2017
    8
    I've got mixed feelings about this game- on the one hand, it's got a lot of very similar stealth and combat moves from the Arkham series, which I love in the LOTR setting. I like the story, and a few of the characters even stood out to me (I really loved the dwarf, even if the rest of the 2nd act characters were forgettable). I liked the interplay between Talion and the wraith, which madeI've got mixed feelings about this game- on the one hand, it's got a lot of very similar stealth and combat moves from the Arkham series, which I love in the LOTR setting. I like the story, and a few of the characters even stood out to me (I really loved the dwarf, even if the rest of the 2nd act characters were forgettable). I liked the interplay between Talion and the wraith, which made for some interesting contrasting sequences. I liked that the game started off challenging (although, a bit too challenging- I died a lot very quickly and some of the captains got really powerful, and I found myself running from many, many battles early on). I dlisked that the game got too easy once you gained the ability to Brand the orcs- every battle from that point on became a war of attrition, where I simply attacked until I could Brand, then I Branded over and over again until my orcs overwhelmed the enemy. In the last half of the game, I died only once, compared to the 20+ times in the 1st act. I additionally disliked some of the tedium of the side quests, fetching, and challenges- I felt like they added very little to the game overall, so their scope should have been reduced.

    As has probably been mentioned, the best part of the game is the Nemesis system wherein orcs fight each other and develop, thereby becoming stronger and adapting. While I thought that controlling orcs in individual skirmishes made the game too easy, controlling captains made the game into a fun pokemon-style level-up system wherein you babysit your pet captains, making them grow stronger and have achievements and rank advances. That was fun.

    Overall, the game achieves more successes than failures, and I appreciate the use of the license. Makes me want to re-watch some of the movies.    … Expand
  28. 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
  29. auditbadger
    Jul 30, 2017
    9
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  30. veedub
    Jul 14, 2017
    9
    This game manages to take a bunch of things I hate from other games and somehow make them awesome.

    Open world generally sucks. It's a stupid way to shove a bunch of filler in between missions and story, by making you have to walk across a bunch of stuff before you can get to the mission. Boring, long, repetitive, unnecessary. But Shadow of Mordor manages to make it not only *not    This game manages to take a bunch of things I hate from other games and somehow make them awesome.

    Open world generally sucks. It's a stupid way to shove a bunch of filler in between missions and story, by making you have to walk across a bunch of stuff before you can get to the mission. Boring, long, repetitive, unnecessary. But Shadow of Mordor manages to make it not only *not boring filler* but actually fun and interesting, perhaps because the meat of the game is *about* the world instead of just sort of crammed on to the game to check off a box. There's a system to the world that's constantly happening and evolving all around you, and you're dropped into it for the sole purpose of screwing with that system. That makes it better than just about any other open world game out there.

    I generally hate the brawler-style combat where you mash the attack button to win, as featured in Assassin's Creed and Batman. But this one somehow manages to be fun and satisfying in a way that the others never achieved. A lot of it comes from balancing the rhythm and combo scoring against some deliberate choices -- for example, in Batman and AC enemies only die by just hitting them enough times, but in SoM you are given abilities to make it feel more deliberate -- knock-down ground executions, executions from charging up combos, draining enemies to recover ammo, stun + flurry attack, etc. -- in short, it feels like things are happening because of *your* decisions, not the results of mashing the same button over and over.

    Another review on my screen as I type this up complains that the game has no choice of direction. That's absolutely untrue. It's largely nonlinear, and I was never "told" where to go next. Yeah, there's a "main mission" thing but it's not begging you to complete the main mission and trying to make you feel bad for screwing around -- and it also doesn't make you feel like you're doing something other than what you're supposed to be doing when you decide you just want to go screw around. A big problem with Assassin's Creed is that it's trying to be open world but it's mission-based, and the way it's all structured it feels like everything besides the main mission is a waste of time. That's not a problem in Shadow of Mordor -- you have *real* choices on where to go and what to approach next, and it doesn't feel like it's "in between" what you're supposed to be doing.

    Another thing I hate about a lot of modern games is quick time events. While they're still not the ideal mechanism, Shadow of Mordor manages to make them a frantic but fair struggle, and limits them only to appropriate places of gameplay instead of shoving them into things that should be watch-only cinematics.

    My only real complaint about the game is that in the process of making everything work as perfectly smooth motion-captured animations to look like a LotR movie, the controls aren't as responsive and precise as I'd prefer. I have very brief moments of frustration where Talion does something other than what I precisely intended to do, but it's minor enough to knock only one point off.

    Oh, then there are reviews that complain about the story . . . I don't play games to pretend that they're interactive movies. Movies are better at that a lot of the time. The only way I dock points for story is if the story is so bad that it actively interferes with the game -- i.e. I can no longer like the character I'm playing as, or the way the character plays is at complete odds with how the character is portrayed in the story. And Shadow of Mordor's story is fine. It's not the greatest and I don't think it would make a compelling movie, but it's fine. No cringey moments, no poorly written dialog, etc., so no points lost.

    Last point: The Nemesis system. Fantastic. Yeah, the randomly-generated strengths and weaknesses don't make everything magically whatever, but the way your enemies remember your past interactions makes it *sooo* much more satisfying when you kill them than if they were standard video game bosses. It's not just something the game tells you to do, it's personal. YOU KILLED ME! NOW **YOU** DIE! But it's not *just* the Nemesis system -- it's how the entire game pays attention to the way you play and is frequently making references to it. Hearing the orcs ramble about how they want to ride a Caragor because they saw the Ranger do it. Hearing them make fun of you if you've died a lot. Hearing them whine about some chief you just killed, or celebrate because they hated that chief, or say how they wish their chief (by name!) would get killed. Etc. The game is aware of your decisions and lets you know that it's aware. It's an incredible touch that makes the whole thing feel *alive*.    … Expand
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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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