Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2699 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,017 out of 2699
  2. Mixed: 474 out of 2699
  3. Negative: 208 out of 2699
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. ShortReviews
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    A creative Nemesis system along with a Batman-ish style combat system which will entertain you for a few hours. However, soon the enjoyment dies down and becomes a repetitive button smasher. Try before buy.
  2. goodOctor
    Oct 1, 2014
    6
    VERY REPETITIVE ! Go there, kill enemies, win experience and repeat. Go there, kill enemies win experience and repeat ...

    Combat system stealed from Batman videogame, parkour system stealed form Assasins Creed. Nothing really exiting about nemesis system. The game is ok, wait and buy it for 30 € or less.
  3. ToFewViews
    Nov 26, 2014
    7
    Lord of the Rings hasn't released a game in awhile so, We have "Middle-Earth:Shadow Of Mordor" to keep it all going. Shadow of Mordor has the same game engine as the Batman Arkham series so it will feel very familiar to some people. The game throws tons of enemas at you at once and gives you some fun and flashy moves to use in slaughtering your foes. The story is alright, It's nothingLord of the Rings hasn't released a game in awhile so, We have "Middle-Earth:Shadow Of Mordor" to keep it all going. Shadow of Mordor has the same game engine as the Batman Arkham series so it will feel very familiar to some people. The game throws tons of enemas at you at once and gives you some fun and flashy moves to use in slaughtering your foes. The story is alright, It's nothing amazing but keeps you interested.There was a very interesting system of Generals/Warchief you assassinate and progress through. On PS4 the game looks quite nice, big open spaces with tons of destruction and up close things don't lose there beauty. The addition of a Photo Mode in game is also nice,It give's people the ability to capture amazing kills.
    At launch the game had a few bugs but with a couple updates released it's smoothed out the game-play a lot. If you enjoyed the Batman games or the Lord of the Rings Universe you'll find this game quite enjoyable with it's fast paced and brutal combat.    … Expand
  4. Glenaldo
    Sep 8, 2015
    6
    Something's missing. This game is all about combat and it's very repetitive. It's not bad but I got tired really quick (didn't finish). Also, reading other reviews made me think graphics were incredible. They are not.
  5. DMD
    Mar 10, 2015
    5
    I wonder if all the positive reviews played the same game I did. I don't deny it has its fun moments, and it has wonderful graphics and sound, but there are so many negatives that I only play the game now in short bursts.

    -Bow is underpowered, designed mostly to shoot down the middle-earth equivalent of exploding barrels. -Talion's default walk is very slow, so you're constantly    I wonder if all the positive reviews played the same game I did. I don't deny it has its fun moments, and it has wonderful graphics and sound, but there are so many negatives that I only play the game now in short bursts.

    -Bow is underpowered, designed mostly to shoot down the middle-earth equivalent of exploding barrels.
    -Talion's default walk is very slow, so you're constantly holding X down to dash. If in stealth, r2 and X.
    -Pointless grinding for upgrades that aren't all that useful.
    -bad combat. hit o to stun, x x x x, hit triangle to counter. If there are more than two bosses, run away.
    -TOO MANY ENEMIES. 20-30 normal orcs, and up to 5 bosses weren't all that uncommon. You can sometimes use stealth to thin the odds, but that's only for some missions; in the open world, it felt like most of the time you'd race to kill the boss before more linked.

    There were more issues, but the game felt grindy and unfun. The cool little Gollum missions and moments like riding a catagor seemed few and far between, as opposed to walking from point a to point B trying to kill an endless supply of respawning orcs who taunt you if they kill you. And those boss orcs are either randomly easy (die to a single headshot, can be stealth killed) or resist everything (can't be stunned, can't be flipped over, invulnerable to ranged attacks...) It's a gorgeous game, but not one I can play in long spurts without getting annoyed at.    … Expand
  6. Gamedetector
    May 11, 2015
    7
    Nemesis system is great, the graphics are nice, they do not bother at all, tasks, war is fun, but the scenario is boring. The game does not have a decent boss battle. Especially the last boss is a complete disgrace.
  7. HenriqueV
    May 17, 2015
    6
    2014 was a quite year for video gaming. You realize that when Shadow of Mordor get many game of the year awards.

    Its only a okay game. Combat is fun, but the game is really repetitive. Some missions is only about collecting herbs and following a specific character to point 1 to point 2. Story is really weak. As a Tolkien fan, I can't get Celebrinbor playing as a goodguyspectre in    2014 was a quite year for video gaming. You realize that when Shadow of Mordor get many game of the year awards.

    Its only a okay game. Combat is fun, but the game is really repetitive. Some missions is only about collecting herbs and following a specific character to point 1 to point 2.

    Story is really weak. As a Tolkien fan, I can't get Celebrinbor playing as a goodguyspectre in this game, it just doesn't make any kind of sense. Main character Talion feels generic. Gollum is completely out of place. Scenario is uninspiring and incredible repetitive.

    I mean, I played this one in 2015, in a moment that PS4 launch window include games like Bloodborne, Project Cars, Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight, its really hard to care about a game like this. Just a little better than mediocre.    … Expand
  8. SaidenStorm
    Oct 14, 2014
    6
    SOM starts off strong with its story and begining tutorial section but quickly fades into mediocre combat, forced play style encounters, unlimited enemy in combat respawns, fighting with your camera and down right frustration at the very shortsighted and limiting streangths vs weakness system that by the end of the game is just plain out infuriating when you run into almost nothing butSOM starts off strong with its story and begining tutorial section but quickly fades into mediocre combat, forced play style encounters, unlimited enemy in combat respawns, fighting with your camera and down right frustration at the very shortsighted and limiting streangths vs weakness system that by the end of the game is just plain out infuriating when you run into almost nothing but enemies with 100% immunity to everything your able to do with only 1 weakness its especially annoying when that weakness is something like fear of XXX then you have to go this this annoy as #%^$ scanvenger hunt for XXX bring it back to where ever your target is in which case the run away then you have to chase an vastly faster moving then yourself enemy through their forces where it seems 90% of the time he gets away and you now have to start completely over !!!

    Strengths:
    Story

    Base gameplay (a mix of assassin's creed platforming and Batman combat)

    Weaknesses:
    Skills are unlocked based on main story missions forcing you to play as a jack of all trades which I guess was a side effect of the poorly though out invulnerability/weakness system.

    Very bad camera that you will spend a lot of time fighting against when it tries to keep combat onscreen even when your trying to run away and hide often time ending in your death because you can not see where you are running.

    Very bad Ranged aiming where it often accelerates and slows down forcing you to have to spend precious time adjusting your aim fighting with a system that is fighting against you.

    Unlimited respawn of enemies while in combat, there are times when I was in a fight and had to kill the exact same captain 3 times because the respawn was soo damn short he died and repopped before I was even down killing the enemies around him its obscenely bad.

    And then there are the major story boss fights I do not want to give anything away but these are by far and away the worst designed boss fights I have seen since Resident Evil 6's QTE bosses and often times they are very similar.    … Expand
  9. SidfriegM2928
    Mar 21, 2015
    6
    Interesting mechanics make up for a game that lacks in story and overall immersion. Interesting game, but not much else to it as a whole. Get it cheap.
  10. Markolius
    Oct 4, 2014
    7
    This is a good game, but it's not as great as many critics and reviewers have been making it out to be. The overall map is small, the quests are repetitive, the story is as almost as absent as Destiny's, and the camera is faulty. The nemesis system is what stands out the most in defining what makes this game unique. In that, the AI is smart in the long term but stupid in the short term.This is a good game, but it's not as great as many critics and reviewers have been making it out to be. The overall map is small, the quests are repetitive, the story is as almost as absent as Destiny's, and the camera is faulty. The nemesis system is what stands out the most in defining what makes this game unique. In that, the AI is smart in the long term but stupid in the short term. There is little variety in the game. Almost every enemy is Orc, again and again and again. I guess they can excuse the masses of dumb AI Orcs because masses of Orcs are dumb- so that was by design right? Right... And as with the gameplay so the same with the environment, it's a small open world and it all looks the same. When I think of LOTR, I think of grand beautiful variations of environments, races, and adventures. I mean I've only seen one hobbit and one elf; no wizards, dwarves, or trolls. This is just one small shadow of mordor. Still... The game is good. The challenges themselves are challenging and fun. The action is exciting. The graphical detail of Talion and each Orc is all very well done. It is similar to Arkham and AC as so may have said, which is not a bad thing. I'd also say that it's similar to Infamous as well in the layout of the map, quest & ability progression, and use of cutscenes. Music and voice acting are very good. It's got a solid dozen hours of fun. I just feel like it could/should be so much more.… Expand
  11. hawdskinna
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    If you are in to the style of games like Arkham, or Assassin's Creed, then this is the game for you. Its a fancy, polished mixture of the two. The nemesis system is neat, but very over-hyped. It was cool at first, but the novelty wears off fast, and it just becomes an annoying "cut-scene" you have to skip every time. It adds nothing to the game play that simply automatically promotingIf you are in to the style of games like Arkham, or Assassin's Creed, then this is the game for you. Its a fancy, polished mixture of the two. The nemesis system is neat, but very over-hyped. It was cool at first, but the novelty wears off fast, and it just becomes an annoying "cut-scene" you have to skip every time. It adds nothing to the game play that simply automatically promoting units would have done.

    I'm also not a fan of RPG's where the "spec" you choose has no real meaning. You get all the skills in the game very fast, and it makes picking what you select feel pointless. At best, you just pick what you want to use an hour earlier than the others... then you just get those too.    … Expand
  12. djmusic10
    Oct 3, 2014
    6
    Just finished the game well... I loved it and Hated it. I loved it because its Lord of The Rings and it provides some awesome Cameo's , as well as context on the land of Mordor. The Story line is your simple Revenge story that is extremely short being . The combat is your simple Assassin Creed and Arkham City engine which is cool but makes every single battle feel the same with only 3Just finished the game well... I loved it and Hated it. I loved it because its Lord of The Rings and it provides some awesome Cameo's , as well as context on the land of Mordor. The Story line is your simple Revenge story that is extremely short being . The combat is your simple Assassin Creed and Arkham City engine which is cool but makes every single battle feel the same with only 3 different times of orcs, 1 neutral monster and 2 mounted monster. The camera is very clunky and the controls feel delayed sometimes.
    The Biggest Downfall ! was the Nemsis System. This was their selling point and it worked got me to buy the game and looks cool when you work with it at first. But it is the most pointless aspect of the game . they combine the Nemesis system with the story line two times throughout the game which is good or bad depending on who you ask. Leveling up your orcs or taking them over don't do anything for you in game because even when you start the game your already an OP beast but as you level up the game goes from Normal to Very Easy. Its the same repetitive Nemesis Missions and they keep talking about runes which doesn't really do anything because you already can kill those orcs with ease without them    … Expand
  13. xhaosis
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    Its a decent game I actually give it a 7.5. I put in about 1-2 hours into. Its a button masher and I recommend drinking mountain dew coffee etc. Not beer while playing. I had a hard time remembering combos but I am sure after more time I will get it down. I was hoping for more of a rpg element or a bit more of a immersion into the world its more of a action game where practically yourIts a decent game I actually give it a 7.5. I put in about 1-2 hours into. Its a button masher and I recommend drinking mountain dew coffee etc. Not beer while playing. I had a hard time remembering combos but I am sure after more time I will get it down. I was hoping for more of a rpg element or a bit more of a immersion into the world its more of a action game where practically your just running around pushing buttons to make countless animations mutilating orcs etc. none the less it is fun its a face paced game so as I said you really need to be paying attention etc. the sound is good visuals are impressive to my 37 year old eyes. Its fun as I said I was hoping for more of a rpg element but can settle for less, dragon age will fill the gap for me. Finally this game has more value than the previous titles that came out hyped to all hell. hard to explain but everything in it works pretty good etc you get what you pay for no bullcrap here with this game its a action button masher that can keep you busy for a few hours. I don't recommend it for children if parents are looking here for gifts for kids, it is very violent etc. You have to use your parental guidance on that yet as I said its very violent and graphic. Practically a graphic rated R cartoon. Anyhow this is my review its worth the money folks.… Expand
  14. tekshow
    Nov 2, 2014
    7
    The journey to Mordor is a solid game, one built on the foundation of games like Assassin's Creed and Batman. That's not a figurative comment either, it literally steals pieces of those games like the climbing from AC and the combat directly lifted from Batman. That isn't a bad thing, even though WB games might get into some hot water from it legally. If you enjoy the AC series or theThe journey to Mordor is a solid game, one built on the foundation of games like Assassin's Creed and Batman. That's not a figurative comment either, it literally steals pieces of those games like the climbing from AC and the combat directly lifted from Batman. That isn't a bad thing, even though WB games might get into some hot water from it legally. If you enjoy the AC series or the Batman Arkham games then Mordor will be right up your alley whether you're into the LOTR franchise or not.

    That's where I found myself, I like Orcs, Dwarves and Rings as much as the next guy, but fantasy has never been my favorite genre. I'd rather have light sabers and laser beams like Mass Effect or Fallout 3.

    Mordor does what it does well, a great quote "If you steal from one person you're a thief, if you steal from many you're a genius." Bruce Lee subscribed to this philosophy and apparently so does WB Montreal. It not only borrows all these facets of Batman and AC, but it IMPROVES on them.

    The stealth component gives you more combat options than the big Bat. There's very deft range methods that keeps expanding the gameplay for the duration. There's a huge upgradeable skill tree that will take the longest playthrough ever, or if you beat Mordor in the typical time (about 20 hours) you'll barely be able to open up some of the most impressive skills.

    That's all without talking about the nemesis system, which takes every underling and mini-boss from the game and turns them into a living breathing chess piece. Any grunt orc that kills you will begin moving up the Orc ladder. If any Captain or Warchief kills you his notoriety will increase, and so will his power, making him even tougher during the next encounter. Eventually you get the power to brand Orcs with your mark, eventually stock piling nearby gruns to help you take down the Chieftains. After that you quickly get the ability to brand even the warchiefs themselves and therein lies the best strategic idea behind Mordor: Do you brand the Warchief directly, or install fraudulent bodyguards that can help you remove him from his pedestal? Nearly always I found it easier to bring in my Orc trator bodyguards and do the job with me. Then ultimately the most powerful bodyguard takes the recently felled warchiefs place on the hierarchy map.

    So it sounds all good right? Beautiful combat backed by two great franchises WB worked on, a good solid graphics engine, new upgrades to the formula and a huge skill tree to fill out.... and you know it's coming, there's a "but" in here.

    Mordor stumbles slightly for a number of reasons, and some of it hinges on the gameplay and Nemesis ideas. There's always been flaws in ACs gameplay and while not massive some of that is still there. I will say that Tailion can grab a ladder or a ledge almost better than anyone in AC, I never felt like he did the wrong thing at the wrong time because of the game. If I blew a counter or jumped off the wrong ledge it always felt like user error, the way it should be.

    It seems that WB was making another game, speculation is an open world Batman game. That might very well be true, but since Arkham Knight is on the way out and is open world the rumor is it was scrapped. WB has made a very well crafted game here, and it's plenty enjoyable, it got me to trudge through blood stained Orcs and the sprawling countryside of Mordor for about 30 hours.

    The story is completely bare bones. Wife dies, get revenge, live with a ghots, kill Sauron, the end. There's a few cutscenes sprinkled in there, but it's pretty negligible even for LOTR fans. This game is all about the combat, and some times that's just not that exciting. The world is pretty bland with just two main areas, and strongholds of Orcs littered about. In fact, if you don't spend some hours swinging your sword killing and doing side quests you won't level up enough to have a powerful ranger. I almost completely ignored the main quests of the game for the first 20 hours and just leveled up. The main campaign is almost non stop fighting and often for no reason.

    Not to be too harsh, but it almost felt like a LOTR Dynasty Warriors game for the bulk of it.

    Finally the Nemesis system isn't as polished as it should be. I died at the hands of Orc captains or higher maybe 2 times during my entire playthrough. Mostly that's because I wasn't afraid to run away, combat in war is about survival and my feet would carry me out of danger. I'd hide for a bit and then exploit a major weakness. Other times I was near death and ran straight to the nearest underling for a quick death. It meant the bottom man on the totem poll got ranked a bit, but I avoided having the super elite Warchief grow in power. You also have a last chance move that saves your neck long enough to get out of most situations.

    Mordor boils down to a hack and slash game. It's Batman, but 100% combat focussed. Depending on your mood that might not be a bad thing, I spent 30 hours there. Solid 7.    … Expand
  15. Kenmei
    Oct 11, 2014
    7
    While the game itself is very fun, alot of the outlying elements really drag this Assassin's Creed/Batman clone down. While it's still a great overall experience, it's certainly not going to stand the test of time.
    The gameplay itself is the star here with the combat system, a clone of the Batman: Arkham games, with the parkour elements from the Assassin's Creed games. What stands out is    While the game itself is very fun, alot of the outlying elements really drag this Assassin's Creed/Batman clone down. While it's still a great overall experience, it's certainly not going to stand the test of time.
    The gameplay itself is the star here with the combat system, a clone of the Batman: Arkham games, with the parkour elements from the Assassin's Creed games. What stands out is the Nemesis sytem, where you can hunt down and kill, or later on in the game, mind control them, Orcs. It's very fun and it's something I've never played before. That's what took up the bulk of my game time. Doing the side missions where you hunt them down and figure out a way to kill them is easily the best part of the game no questions asked. While the difficulty spikes if you run into an Orc with a special blend of strengths, there's no better thrill than to run into a stronghold and take down 100 guys before you fight a captain.
    The bad with this game starts with the graphics. While they aren't bad in some spots, in others they are absolutely terrible. The hair effects on the main character are PS2 worthy, and some of the other spots here and there are just absolutely terrible. The story is also terrible. While I commend them for trying to get away from the Lord of the Rings franchise and create a game based on Middle Earth itself, it failed miserably in the story department and decent performances by Troy Baker and the rest of the cast did nothing to save a terrible script. The "final battle" was super dull and I feel cheated a bit with how it ended. I haven't felt this cheated by a story since Mass Effect.
    There are other things that are bad including the camera and clipping stuff in the world but all these things combined don't hurt the experience too much. I feel like this is a good game that just was horribly crippled by the story and graphics. I like that they wanted to set themselves apart but they failed miserably and, that's too bad, cause there is major potential here for a decent franchise going forward. They really need to brush up the story before anything else happens though.    … Expand
  16. Type4101
    Jan 3, 2015
    7
    Fight the controls as you battle across a small section of Middle Earth! A wonky control scheme makes mistakes, random leaps off of things, and button-mashing combat commonplace in this game. Be prepared to fail many, many missions because of the controls, that will send you leaping into the line-of-sight of an orc on the countless stealth-only missions. Frustration aside, the game isFight the controls as you battle across a small section of Middle Earth! A wonky control scheme makes mistakes, random leaps off of things, and button-mashing combat commonplace in this game. Be prepared to fail many, many missions because of the controls, that will send you leaping into the line-of-sight of an orc on the countless stealth-only missions. Frustration aside, the game is otherwise a solid stealth-action game (when the controls cooperate), that is light on story and narration, but will fill the gap as we wait for (hopefully) better games, like the Witcher 3. Shadows of Mordor suffers from the plight of many open-world games....namely, repetitive missions and collectibles that are there for filler. Kill orcs...then kill some more...then some more...and then again. Still, in a year when games ranged from horrible-to-mediocre, it stands out as better than many. Beautiful graphics (for those that care about such things) and excellent voice acting (for the very few lines of dialogue). A solid game, but too frustrating and repetitive to be an instant classic.… Expand
  17. FlyingSnotBogey
    Oct 12, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Beautiful Icing but the cake's a bit dry.......

    Firstly I shall begin by saying this review may spoil some aspects of the game for new timers, secondly I shall mention that this review is an un-biased opinion based upon facts and scored upon variances of key factors relating to experience and "game-play".

    The game begins by throwing us into the gritty, rustic and somewhat painstakingly drawn graphical bombardment of lip licking florescent pink icing that everyone just has to stick their finger straight into. There is no denying that SoM looks fantastic. Fauna botanics wince in the breeze, dust flows ominously over the heat warped horizon, muslin and cloth folds swaying with promise of distant lands, my GOD they even look wet when they get wet.......the small things..... it's all very poetic.....

    Down to the Dice: SoW attempts to excel open world combat to the next level by using a hard-hitting signature special move people seem to be dubbing the "Nemesis System" and it certainly does hit hard. The problem with "Fighting" however is you need to have more than just that one big punch if you can never quite land it. "I just want to make it clear AT THIS POINT that I loved playing SoM" I just feel as if the introduction of the Nemesis system was somewhat lackluster and leaves a little something to be desired..... a bit like when Subway invent a new Sandwich but forgets everyone wants it "Their way".

    I have to admit that my first tingling thoughts about the game were along the lines of Asassin's Creed and Arkham had that forbidden love, one night stand, a baby was born and this is it....... I instantly felt all the de-ja-vu of playing Black-Flag and that's not entirely a bad thing, seeing as Black-Flag is probably the most all-around OWE I have played in the past 5 years. Being able to shape dominitive control of population to a certain geography is actually a very pleasing and exciting aspect but in it's own way seems to be its Achilles heel. I spent way more time running around "Making my own" battles and giggling putridly as I watch a feud I had time to set up, spiral out of control....... it's like baking an Orc-Cake...... mmmm Orc-cake... yummy.......

    PROBLEMS: As with ALL games...... there are problems. Despite all the rumblings from general fanboys and greenhorns caught iike a Deer in a pickups headlights the game just does not have enough gas to wheelspin over that damn Deers head! The game is short...... pityfully so if you do not follow all the side activities etc. There is NO "real" plot progression that leads you to believe that this is an "Abridged" story from the books, in the same way that the Mordor "Book" was NOT written by JRR but was in fact completed after his death, you can FEEL that lack of story. There was no real way to relate to the characters, after the opening story you barely even see another human beside them being a slave, barring the short triage of hunting with a manic little dwarf and the escapades of the slave liberation front. Even Smeagal is not in the game all that much and serves very little purpose to this front of the story, especially given that Golems influence during this particular time in Middle-Earth is paramount to the story........ *phew* ..... There was so much lack of character I found myself relating to a backstabbing Orc by the name of Ratbag even MORE so than the character I was playing..... ugh..

    FINALY/ENDING: I was expecting something far more epic from the end too...... The end battles "looked" like there were going to be huge, I was really excited for it all............ alas it was again all too short and before I knew it I was looking upon Sauron, the biggest baddest most evilest of vileness too dark for.... ahh you get the point........ hang on a sec..... he's dead..... was that it?............Guys.... just no... Sauron should have been WAY harder than ANY of the Orcs I've faced up till now........ *Sigh* ... what game to download next?

    Overall: 7/10
    Graphics 9/10 nothing ever gets a 10 leave it out
    Sound 9/10 excellent sound track with plenty of ambiance
    Story 6/10 it was pretty bad... let's be honest
    Character 5/10 character depth was terrible
    Gameplay 7/0 intuitive ideas pulled down by un-original execution
    Replay value - I don't normally include this but for me there is nothing that makes me want to play more after the main story is done with..... and that is a huge shame    … Expand
  18. Tamerlanz
    Nov 19, 2014
    6
    It is great game when you played half of it, but afterwards it becomes so boring! You have always to do the same thing - kill hundreds of uruks without any plot or necessity to it. All who put 10 to this game have you finished it?
  19. TheReviewNinja
    Nov 26, 2014
    7
    This game is really, really good until it isn't.

    I'll be the first to say, the combat in this game is amazing, the graphics are great, and its stealth is good. However, I found after just a few hours, the game starts to grow repetitive. The first problem is that the story is a huge drag. I often found myself just waiting for the missions to be over. The other problem is that when trying    This game is really, really good until it isn't.

    I'll be the first to say, the combat in this game is amazing, the graphics are great, and its stealth is good. However, I found after just a few hours, the game starts to grow repetitive. The first problem is that the story is a huge drag. I often found myself just waiting for the missions to be over. The other problem is that when trying to accomplish the task of killing the five war chiefs, the game falls into a pattern of doing the same stuff over and over again, and never really adds anything new to the game for a significantly long time.    … Expand
  20. Hamburgl3r
    Oct 19, 2014
    7
    (Scroll to bottom for summary) This game overall its a fun game. Unfortunately this game's gameplay is just a copy and paste of other games, except buggier and less polished.. It is just uncanny that the entirety of the Batman Arkham's combat is in this game, from the basic punches, counters, and stuns, to the entire upgradable tier list. The same can be said for other features which(Scroll to bottom for summary) This game overall its a fun game. Unfortunately this game's gameplay is just a copy and paste of other games, except buggier and less polished.. It is just uncanny that the entirety of the Batman Arkham's combat is in this game, from the basic punches, counters, and stuns, to the entire upgradable tier list. The same can be said for other features which either come from assassins creed, or batman. At least those were some of the best mechanics. So if you are fine with the game having a few bugs, and playing some mechanics you may have played before, you might find this more enjoyable than me.

    The map is very populated, and is structured well for the mechanics in this game. Their are fast travel points and "strongholds" where many enemies reside. The map ended up being a very good one, but I did have a couple problems. The few problems I had were: the respawn of enemies was almost instant after you cleared them out, leaving no time to escape/recover. :the other problem was that it did feel a bit small.

    The good news its there are lots of things to do. There are the main missions, that last around 12 hours, and the side missions in each area, and the power mission to do as well. After that there is also so much more to do with the Orc captains and War chiefs.

    Moving on to the story. Mostly Spoiler free. The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense explaining the main plot, but it has its moments of shock, or reward. The game creates a few new characters some fairly memorable. If you are a huge LOTR fan, you may find some references laughable, and others you might find cool. For example the game does end up make decent use of gollum.

    The one interesting new feature that stuck out was the captains/warlords feature. There are specific characters you can hunt/manipulate in game to kill off/ kill to build the Orc army leaders in your image. This ended up being one of my favorite features.

    -slightly more buggy copy and paste mechanics
    -copy and paste mechanics were at least from great ones.
    -few new fun features
    -an okay story
    -populated well done map(little small)
    -Lots to do
    7/10    … Expand
  21. Grassrafiki
    Oct 18, 2014
    6
    Good game and worth a look. Mechanics are polished and top notch. Graphics are decent but nothing special for next gen. Story is non existent which really hurts the game.
    There is little motivation to progress other than the sake to progress. You spend all your time going from one interest point on your map to the next interest point on your map with little sense of purpose
  22. Ocosu
    Feb 11, 2015
    7
    What to say about this game... My rating was tricky. I honestly loved the game and it's gameplay. What brought down my score as much as it did was the fact the game's actual story was so short. On top of that, the last two 'bosses' was very disheartening for me. The first boss was actually challenging and was fun to play against... The second boss? It felt like a child's game of hide&seek,What to say about this game... My rating was tricky. I honestly loved the game and it's gameplay. What brought down my score as much as it did was the fact the game's actual story was so short. On top of that, the last two 'bosses' was very disheartening for me. The first boss was actually challenging and was fun to play against... The second boss? It felt like a child's game of hide&seek, with the final boss? You don't even get to do anything but watch. For a game I had considered to be as good as it was before that, it was sad to say the least.

    I understand there is a lot of content to game in terms of side missions and quests you can do. I'm not by any means saying it lacks in content. What I am saying though is the actual story ended up lacking. Way to short for my liking.

    I'd still recommend this game. If you like exploring areas, getting really involved in it's awesome side missions and quest, this is the game for you. Great fighting system... Great systems in general. If you're someone who doesn't often bother in side quest stuff and just want a nice story mode? I can't say this will provide that. It didn't exactly for me. It has a cliffhanger ending which is nice and all since I would actually buy a sequel to this game... But I just hold they go further with the story and don't make it as brief as they did in this one.

    Overall, good game.    … Expand
  23. bfgallo
    Feb 12, 2015
    6
    Great inovative game but has its problems:

    - sometimes you get too many enemys on screen/ makes strategy combat impossible.
    - camera issues.
    - boss presentation interrupts fight everytime.
  24. 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.
  25. AhmedShehab95
    Oct 12, 2014
    5
    Where's the fu*king game?
    all what i'm doing in this **** is killing endless amount of Orcs.

    it has no story just an almost empty open world full of Orcs and nothing more.

    another overrated BORING piece of ****,thanks to you dumb heads for overrating the game.
  26. Despair
    Oct 1, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game starts out incredibly strong I was having a blast but around the time when you get the Brand Skill is when it takes a real turn for the worse. Basically the last 25-30% of the game is majority of enemies that you take control of doing the fighting I mean the in the final open world area you can literally do nothing and the AI can just beat every boss for you. The final two bosses are absolute trash with the actual final boss needing the DLC (Which I got but still a very bad decision) which are basically just qte events.. two of probably the most epic enemies we see in the game are just incredibly poorly designed fights. So yeah I loved the story, loved the gameplay for the first 70% of the game but the final portion of the game just leaves a real bad taste.

    If you like a bit of Batman, mixed in with Assassin's Creed, mixed in with Skyrim then you should have a good time and worth the money.    … Expand
  27. WalterGirao
    Oct 10, 2014
    6
    Combat flows well and the nemesis system is very enjoyable. This alone can make the game worth it for you.
    Unfortunately, this is not enough for me. What I didn't like:
    1- Camera is REALLY bad 2- Game feels unpolished with so many bugs 3- Enemy threats interrupt you mid combo and can get very annoying. 4- Main story is uninspired 5- The game doesn't feel like lord of the rings. 6-    Combat flows well and the nemesis system is very enjoyable. This alone can make the game worth it for you.
    Unfortunately, this is not enough for me. What I didn't like:

    1- Camera is REALLY bad
    2- Game feels unpolished with so many bugs
    3- Enemy threats interrupt you mid combo and can get very annoying.
    4- Main story is uninspired
    5- The game doesn't feel like lord of the rings.
    6- VERY rushed ending. last boss is only quick time events!
    7- Characters are forgettable

    I could go on but items 4, 5 and 7 alone are enough for me to not recommend this one.    … Expand
  28. herrmoekl
    Oct 15, 2014
    6
    This game could have been much better. Adapted Gameplay Elements from Batman and AC feel good (except for the climbing) and the finishers here are even more fun than in batman as they are very violent. I also like the RPG Elements they integrated. Leveling up and getting better moves and runes makes you feel stronger and is necessary against strong enemies. And of course the nemesis systemThis game could have been much better. Adapted Gameplay Elements from Batman and AC feel good (except for the climbing) and the finishers here are even more fun than in batman as they are very violent. I also like the RPG Elements they integrated. Leveling up and getting better moves and runes makes you feel stronger and is necessary against strong enemies. And of course the nemesis system is great. Hopefully they will improve on the good basics in the future. The worst thing for me was the Unsightly Open World with only slaves and orcs in it. There are no villages with people or anything like that. I don´t enjoy spending any time in this world except for making the missions. There is nothing really to explore as the Elements in this sandbox are very repetitive and almost everything looks just brown and grey. Also i didn´t really have the feeling that gameplay and story was well combined. When i played missions i didn´t have the feeling to play a story. It was kind of separated from another. (Maybe im spoiled with this since The Last of Us)

    Pros:

    - Nemesis System
    - RPG Elements and Feeling more and more Powerful when leveling up

    Conts:

    - Repetitive and Unsightly Open World
    - Story and Gameplay are a bit separated from another
    - Monotonous Go from A to B Leveldesign
    - Climbing    … Expand
  29. pt122781
    Oct 1, 2014
    7
    Unreal graphics, immersive gameplay and combat. Great open world with plenty to do. Just an amazing game, good job Monolith, can not wait for the sequel. You can loose hours in this game and be in awe at the next -gen graphics!!
  30. joshsk
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    The nemesis system is frustrating in the early game. You have to kill certain enemies before fighting the war chiefs. Unfortunately, they respawn after every damn kill and still show up to guard the war chief. To really have a fighting chance you must avoid the war chief quests and level up abilities. I hate working so hard to kill an impossible enemy *(one immune to normal attacks andThe nemesis system is frustrating in the early game. You have to kill certain enemies before fighting the war chiefs. Unfortunately, they respawn after every damn kill and still show up to guard the war chief. To really have a fighting chance you must avoid the war chief quests and level up abilities. I hate working so hard to kill an impossible enemy *(one immune to normal attacks and has massive damage), just to see them show up again. I think there are maybe 15 different captains and no matter who you kill, they never die and only drop in the ranks temporarily.

    Another crappy system is that early in the game, you might die a lot to the same few captains, because they have abilities that make them a tough fight. Guess what? Every time they beat you, they get stronger! Having trouble beating an enemy? Let's give him a buff to health and damage. One enemy in specific made it to level 17 before I even had played an hour. I finally beat that mother **** and he immediately came back.

    The story aside from the war chiefs js decent enough. I like the interaction with gollum. One strange addition is the artifacts you find. Each one has a story unlock that plays a dialog when you find them. Sounds cool? It is not. The dialog seems random and appears to be taken from random conversations about people and things that mean nothing to you. I stopped listening after the first few.

    Another major issue is the constant stream of orcs and no real way in the early game to deal with such a large number of orcs.

    The biggest problem is the nemesis system that everyone seems to be Having a circle jerk about. If you fail a fight with a war chief, they now have more body guards and you have to start over! This game has such potential... Yes, it does get better, you have to griND levels, and early on it should be able to tell you are getting your ass kicked and back off on the difficulty so you can better learn the combat. Either that or hide the war chief missions till the other main missions are complete. The game feels hard because you don't have the tools to deal with what they throw at you early on and if you run away or die that tough enemy gets TOUGHER.    … Expand
  31. 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
  32. VitorCortial
    Sep 30, 2014
    6
    The story of the game start as well, therefore in the middle of the game starts to get confuse and cheesy. The gameplay for me is the strongest point, it takes assasin's creed for another level! It's easy, beautiful mechanicals and a lot of blody!
    The game is worth at all, there is some good background story, cool but emotionless protagonists, and a mistery to be discovered... If you love    The story of the game start as well, therefore in the middle of the game starts to get confuse and cheesy. The gameplay for me is the strongest point, it takes assasin's creed for another level! It's easy, beautiful mechanicals and a lot of blody!
    The game is worth at all, there is some good background story, cool but emotionless protagonists, and a mistery to be discovered... If you love LOTR and AC, go on and eat the game, but if you don't like, man! Keep a great distance of this game! (Sorry my grammar erros, i'm brazilian and i don't write well...)    … Expand
  33. kenmil
    Feb 15, 2015
    7
    A strange thing happened to me whilst playing this game - I got bored with it after playing about 75%. This has never happened before and I always play to the end, but this one just lost me. Sure there are some weaknesses, such as a weapon upgrade rune system that keeps rewarding me with useless runes way below my current level, and an inability to keep my character focused on the opponentA strange thing happened to me whilst playing this game - I got bored with it after playing about 75%. This has never happened before and I always play to the end, but this one just lost me. Sure there are some weaknesses, such as a weapon upgrade rune system that keeps rewarding me with useless runes way below my current level, and an inability to keep my character focused on the opponent during combat, but I think it was the repetition in every location and every quest that finally drained me of any interest.
    The graphics are very nice though.    … Expand
  34. jack2059
    Oct 26, 2014
    7
    Some wonderful features but lacking any soul.

    The biggest underdog shock of the year is how everyone is describing this game. Its got a very strong combat system, lifted straight out of Batman. And while its great, the combat on the whole can get very frustrating as you are swarmed by captains, beserkers and shield enemies. A simple attempt at killing a war chief or captain can very    Some wonderful features but lacking any soul.

    The biggest underdog shock of the year is how everyone is describing this game.
    Its got a very strong combat system, lifted straight out of Batman. And while its great, the combat on the whole can get very frustrating as you are swarmed by captains, beserkers and shield enemies.
    A simple attempt at killing a war chief or captain can very quickly become a big test of patience and annoyance. This isnt helped by the camera system which can be very awkward.

    The standout feature however is the Nemesis enemy system. This adds serious weight to the enemies around the world. Giving them names and personas.
    Attempting to take down a War Chief is thrilling as he baits you with great lines of speech, then while you fight you hear the surrounding enemies chant his name.

    The graphics are largely very good. Especially on a rain soaked evening the world looks beautiful.
    The game world is like the story, very bland. Lots of wide open stony floored stretches of middle earth with nothing but rocks to see.

    Where the game falls down most though, all importanly is the complete lack of a main character. You play a very bland person, in a very bland basic story. And its for this reason that the game just doesnt addict me. There is no heart to make the combat and nemesis system worthwhile

    Give the nemesis system to a game like Assassins Creed or Batman and you could have something incredibly special.    … Expand
  35. armchairjerk
    Oct 27, 2014
    5
    Really isnt that much to this game. The plot is bad but the combat can make up for that. You're forced to run from captain to captain killing them while being subjected to quests that at times don't feel necessary. Wait for this game to go on sale.
  36. Enforcer122
    Nov 3, 2014
    7
    The game itself is a solid game. The combat is smooth, the stealth is tactical and it all comes together as an enjoyable experience. I just couldn't help but to feel bored near the end of the game... I had been doing the same stuff for 20 hours plus, the game forcing me to kill all the war chiefs before letting me move on was hugely frustrating. Some of the quests you do also feltThe game itself is a solid game. The combat is smooth, the stealth is tactical and it all comes together as an enjoyable experience. I just couldn't help but to feel bored near the end of the game... I had been doing the same stuff for 20 hours plus, the game forcing me to kill all the war chiefs before letting me move on was hugely frustrating. Some of the quests you do also felt meticulous and samey. If you're looking for a game to get plenty of hours out then go for it, but I found the novelty soon wore off.… Expand
  37. Deschain89
    Oct 15, 2014
    6
    What happens when Ass Creed has butt sex with Arkham Assylum? ASS.

    And now that this is out of the way, on to the review. The story is straight up Hollywood panderism: Troubled protagonist who was the perfect father/husband, looses all, and now is out there to get revenge: partnered with an unlikely, quirky ally, and this time it's personal. It's a buddy cop movie, but with Gollum    What happens when Ass Creed has butt sex with Arkham Assylum? ASS.

    And now that this is out of the way, on to the review.

    The story is straight up Hollywood panderism: Troubled protagonist who was the perfect father/husband, looses all, and now is out there to get revenge: partnered with an unlikely, quirky ally, and this time it's personal. It's a buddy cop movie, but with Gollum thrown in the mix. Remember Gollum guys? You people loved him in the movies! He is a ticked seller, that good old potato headed hobbit.

    Gameplay wise, You run and jump just like in Assassins Creed, you even have eagle vision and the tower system; and then you fight and mash buttons just like in Arkham Asylum. The only original fart coming from this ass meet up is the original "do not steal" nemesis system, in which you will fight Uruk Ay Lmaos named Pug the furry or something, cut his head twice, and he will still come back to call you a pig and to check your privilege.

    Trully amazing.

    I give it a weekend from purchase to lose your interest, pick it up second hand for a nickel and a BJ.    … Expand
  38. Iberian_Buffalo
    Oct 8, 2014
    7
    good things:
    - open world
    - interesting system of orc army(you can build your army, control, betray, help commanders) - fight enjoyable ( little boring, you want to finish is as soon as possible to just complete objectives) - encounters with commanders interesting(weaknesses, strong sides, you can use environment, you can use other orcs, you can scare commander or make him stronger) -    good things:
    - open world
    - interesting system of orc army(you can build your army, control, betray, help commanders)
    - fight enjoyable ( little boring, you want to finish is as soon as possible to just complete objectives)
    - encounters with commanders interesting(weaknesses, strong sides, you can use environment, you can use other orcs, you can scare commander or make him stronger)
    - enemies remember you and speak about this
    - really nice story
    - great compendium that explain a lot about world, nice to read
    - good character progression idea, weapon runes
    - 30fps nice graphic
    - great audio, nice use of mono controller speaker

    cons:
    - little boring weapon missions(at some point you don`t want to do them in next location, all the time the same but you can ignore them)
    - control on mount(dogs) is sometime hard to control, creatures too much prefer to jump up/down than go around something, the same when you try to jump through window, game prefer to grab/climb walls
    - stealth is too powerful(but well.. really fun :) )

    final score: 7/10    … Expand
  39. Aplox
    Oct 7, 2014
    7
    I found the game very amusing and polished but i had anticipated and endless horde of quests like Skyrim but insted it took me less than 20 hours to complete main story line and at 24:37 i have completed 95% of the game, since they dident make any multiplayer i doubt i will ever play the game again unless there comes some major update, so in short terms

    Great game, but WAY TOO SHORT i    I found the game very amusing and polished but i had anticipated and endless horde of quests like Skyrim but insted it took me less than 20 hours to complete main story line and at 24:37 i have completed 95% of the game, since they dident make any multiplayer i doubt i will ever play the game again unless there comes some major update, so in short terms

    Great game, but WAY TOO SHORT i am sorry to say that i am dissapointed, cus i rly love the gameplay but there aint enough of it, and no Multiplayer    … Expand
  40. Rodistar
    Oct 19, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The ending is just something inexplicably bad because the overall the game is amazing but the final missions are incredible idiotic. Killing The Mountain was like a tutorial for stealth and killing the Black Hand and Sauron was a cheap quick time event, a bad one by the way. Its just so sad this game could have been much better if it would have had a better ending. so i give it a 7/10. the overall game was good. but the ending was bad… Expand
  41. chayshirin
    Jul 5, 2016
    6
    The bad:
    Way too easy
    non existing AI
    useless collectibles and side quests

    The good:
    runs smooth

    In short your typical assassin's creed under a new guise
  42. lexsteryo
    Oct 23, 2014
    7
    I've never been a huge fan of LOTR but I am always excited for a medieval based game. The combat system works amazing, when it WORKS, that's probably the biggest issue I have with this game. There are times when you are required to hit "X", and end up getting hit, or you dodge an attack end up against a wall, only to attempt to climb when you are hit, and end up dying to bad controls. TheI've never been a huge fan of LOTR but I am always excited for a medieval based game. The combat system works amazing, when it WORKS, that's probably the biggest issue I have with this game. There are times when you are required to hit "X", and end up getting hit, or you dodge an attack end up against a wall, only to attempt to climb when you are hit, and end up dying to bad controls. The open world is very repetitive, and you continue running into respawning orcs, over and over and over again. Now I know I have talked about a lot of bad things in this game, put those issues aside and you are left with a great looking and great sounding game. Its the simple gameplay that will leave you asking for more after about 7 hours which is where I'm at.… Expand
  43. AndyPatterson96
    Oct 26, 2014
    7
    The gameplay mechanics more than echo those of Rocksteady's Arkham games and Ubisoft's Assassin's creed but that's forgivable considering Monolith utilised (recycle?) them rather well and threw in an intriguing nemesis system to keep things feeling fresh. Tolkien fans needn't worry that the beloved LOTR license is tarnished either; Shadow of Mordor has an engaging and dark revenge tale atThe gameplay mechanics more than echo those of Rocksteady's Arkham games and Ubisoft's Assassin's creed but that's forgivable considering Monolith utilised (recycle?) them rather well and threw in an intriguing nemesis system to keep things feeling fresh. Tolkien fans needn't worry that the beloved LOTR license is tarnished either; Shadow of Mordor has an engaging and dark revenge tale at its heart that adds depth to the lore and setting of Middle Earth.… Expand
  44. Red-Opposom-098
    Jan 15, 2015
    6
    After looking at what this game looked liked, well it looked fun and it was for the first hour. Now the nemesis system is probably the best part of this game next to seeing the stupid names the enemy's have. The combat system in this game is great and isn't to easy to counter everything but it can be way to tricky when fighting 10+ enemy's. But at times the game can be way to boring.
  45. the_great_owl
    Oct 28, 2014
    7
    Shadow of Mordor is a good game, though full of flaws.

    Combat system is great. It is swift, fast, bloody and impressive. Visuals are great. I really liked the changing weather and the photo mode with which you can play around with creating nice screenshots. Voice acting, music and sounds are top tier, I really felt that game is taking place in Middlearth. Nemesis system is really    Shadow of Mordor is a good game, though full of flaws.

    Combat system is great. It is swift, fast, bloody and impressive.
    Visuals are great. I really liked the changing weather and the photo mode with which you can play around with creating nice screenshots.
    Voice acting, music and sounds are top tier, I really felt that game is taking place in Middlearth.
    Nemesis system is really innovative and gives a lot of opportunities to get rid of captains of warchiefs.

    And that is about everything good this game can offer.

    Flaws? Game is repetitive. After 10 first hours of playing you will know what rest of the game is about.
    Characters are bland and forced into the almost non-existing plot. Plot is really disappointing, especially the ending, which basically is a short QTE...
    Despite the nice Nemesis system I did not find this game challenging. To be honest game was getting easier and easier with new powers that you unlock during play through.

    Having on mind that game is not a short one, I am kind of disappointed with its execution.
    Instead of setting new standards, the game tries not to be Assassin's Creed/Batman clone inserted into Middlearth realm but ultimately fails to do so.

    Shadow of Mordor could have been so much more.    … Expand
  46. Jpwr39
    Apr 6, 2016
    6
    I'm a huge LotR fan and really wanted to enjoy this game but just couldn't . A very overrated game. Don't understand all the high ratings tbh. The game is impressive at first but gets dull and repetitive quickly. Nemesis system is interesting though as others have said it's basically a rip off of Assasins Creed and Batman Arkham.
  47. Jalmerk
    Nov 16, 2015
    7
    Shadow of Mordor offers a fun, satisfying and brutal combat experience, but in the end, there isn't really much variety to speak of. You will be killing orcs throughout the entire game, and towards the end your character will be so overpowered that it kinda sucks the fun out of it all. Ironically the very first Warchief you face in the game, is considerably more difficult than the finalShadow of Mordor offers a fun, satisfying and brutal combat experience, but in the end, there isn't really much variety to speak of. You will be killing orcs throughout the entire game, and towards the end your character will be so overpowered that it kinda sucks the fun out of it all. Ironically the very first Warchief you face in the game, is considerably more difficult than the final boss of the game. If you can get this game used or on discount, knock yourself out!… Expand
  48. Tailynd
    Apr 8, 2016
    7
    Love the way you fight in this game, same fighting engine as Batman Arkham. But a little easy and the story wasn't interesting or engaging. But a fun game and the Nemesis system was a cool experience
  49. Greghead
    Jun 30, 2016
    6
    I have mixed feelings about this game. Some elements of gameplay show glimpses of genius, whilst other elements feel unfinished and below par. Boss fights can be really good fun, but the game overall does suffer from a lack of flair.
    For LOTR fans, this is a must buy. But for others who are mildly intrigued by it, try before you buy, or pick it up second hand.
  50. Pormetheus12
    Nov 28, 2016
    7
    Decent game with good game mechanics and nice world. The graphics are good, but the story is a major let down. The game could have been much better if the story would have been improved.
  51. visiblelight7
    Jul 21, 2017
    6
    I played this game for many hours and i'm finally putting it down. I'm done, the novelty of the nemesis system and initial wow factor when encountering bosses with short introductions finally got old. Honestly, if you removed this, I would have not played this game past 2-3 hours. It's just a repetitive mindnumbing zerg fight after zerg fight. It's highly overrated IMO.
  52. sufflaminandus
    Jan 21, 2019
    5
    Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is yet another collector simulator in the age of open-world action-adventure genre. Everything is straight from recipe list: seamless huge areas? Check. Piles and piles of building, rocks and landscapes to climb upon? Check. Infinite respawning foes roaming those places? Check. Garbage hidden in every inappropriate corner? Check. Unnecessary stories tetheredMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is yet another collector simulator in the age of open-world action-adventure genre. Everything is straight from recipe list: seamless huge areas? Check. Piles and piles of building, rocks and landscapes to climb upon? Check. Infinite respawning foes roaming those places? Check. Garbage hidden in every inappropriate corner? Check. Unnecessary stories tethered to each piece of that garbage? Check. Generic unsolicited ‘side quests’? Check. Stealth? Check. Upgrades and abilities? Check. Progress tab to track percentage of your ‘completion’? Check. In fact, M-e:SoM is so discrete designed that even main quests are perceived as trite markers on map to add to your percentage. But, at least, developers are honest about the story: in a first thirty minutes we introduced to the objective that doesn’t change through all 20 hours, to kill a trio of evil fellows. Blant but ok. At least they are not pretentious.

    So recall an any Assassin’s Creed, extract combat from Batman, throw it all in a alchemy pot and you will distill M-e:SoM. But, of course, there are some flavorings that makes the game distinguishable from others.

    Visuals in general are eye-catching and pleasing but architecture is gray. There are no lore landmarks present, thus Mordor doesn’t inspire imagination. It’s like something completely separated from The Lord of the Rings.

    Protagonist is half-human, half-ghost and this mix actually feels fresh. Contrast between good-natured ranger Talion and stern dour elf-ghost is entertaining, especially remarks of the latter (huge thanks to his brilliant voicing).

    Combat is fifty-fifty. The melee part of it is bad. For a game where you can fight thirty orcs at a time, this fact is very disappointing. The system itself is exact copy of Batman’s but somehow in M-e:SoM it is bleak: basic attacks lack feedback and impact, enemies designed around lots of unrewarding dodging and parrying; so lots, in fact, that it’s quickly becomes a drudgery.

    Archery and stealth, on the other hand, are superb and astounding. Stealth mechanic is trivial: press button-you will crouch-you will be less noticeable but, paired with decent AI, it is just what we need for such kind of game. Balance is perfect: there are no discoveries through walls but there are no ridiculous ‘hide-in-place-sight’ situations either. This makes stealth a go-to option, not due to rewards (like in a lot of other games) but because it’s actually fun.

    Advantages of archery are indirect. The game uses environmental combat utilities (like explosive… bonfires, yes) and they are realized through archery exclusively. The miracle is that M-e:SoM is one of the maybe five games where *all* supporting objects are useful. Incredibly useful, I must add. The other excellence of archery is skill you can learn midgame: you aim your bow at *any* visible orc (yes, literally hundreds of meters away) and you will flash to him and silently end his miserable life. It doesn’t require much resources so generally you can freely use it most of the time. Must I advertise how awesomely cool this skill is? All that spiderweb flying and horse riding doesn’t stand even close to the breathtaking tactics you can realize with ghost bow.

    And the last gem of the M-e:SoM is, of course, a nemesis system. In short: orcs live their own lives. The purpose of their lives is to climb career ladder: nameless rookie - captain - warchief. To obtain rank you need power and power is accumulated through numerous means: feasts, executions, duels, ambushes… And you can be a part of it all! Wanna promote your own warchief? Easy: save him from ambush, intervene in duel, help him slay the beast, or (what’s even more easier) let him kill yourself! Games features no manual saves, the are no game overs (you are immortal and will resurrect after death), defeat is irreversible, so any orc who manages to slay legendary wrath-ranger will surely get a promotion… and become your nemesis. The real show begins later in game when you will learn mind control. You will be able to subjugate a warchief and order him to wage war against another warchief, or brainwash captain-bodyguard and command him to betray his master (and if he succeeds in attempt he will become a warchief himself, yours warchief!). Intriguing, isn’t it? But pointless. The system is great itself but it offer zero reward. There is absolutely no reason to dabble with it more than you have to. Sandboxing is good… but no. Nevertheless, it’s makes M-e:SoM open world quite charming: everything is on the move, changing, captains comes and goes, rivalries resolved…

    If you are a fan of marker-chase explore-on-your-own action-adventure games, M-e:SoM would be a solid choice for you, as it offers qualitative implementation of said mechanics, entertaining combat, pleasing graphics and unique nemesis system. Otherwise, pass by without second thoughts, we’ve seen it all before.    … Expand
  53. Dukay66
    Oct 8, 2014
    7
    Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a fun open world experience and a great "Lord of the Rings" game. It borrows from just about every game in the book; from Assassin's Creed to the Arkham series. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially when they implement a mind blowing new mechanic call the nemesis system. I would say Shadow of Mordor does everything well enough and if it weren'tMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a fun open world experience and a great "Lord of the Rings" game. It borrows from just about every game in the book; from Assassin's Creed to the Arkham series. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially when they implement a mind blowing new mechanic call the nemesis system. I would say Shadow of Mordor does everything well enough and if it weren't for it's new next-gen nemesis mechanic, it would of turned out very mediocre. The good thing is that Warner Bros. and Interactive have created a sturdy foundation to start building a better sequel.… Expand
  54. angrywombat
    Feb 10, 2015
    5
    About halfway through the game I felt I had done everything is has to offer. It's fun to be a ranger/wraith running around middle earth killing orcs for a while.... but the story is uninspired, and the game-play gets repetitive fast. Reminds me very much of Assassin's Creed with a new skin. I'd only recommend this if it's in the bargain bin.
  55. Nednerb
    Mar 30, 2017
    7
    Picture Batman in in Middle Earth. That is what Shadow of Mordor is. The game is pretty much a carbon copy of Arkham Origins/City except you are in a different world, playing a different hero and fighting different villains. Without a doubt Shadow of Mordor is the best Lord of the Rings game available to date, however the fun and excitement that you get out of the game from the moviePicture Batman in in Middle Earth. That is what Shadow of Mordor is. The game is pretty much a carbon copy of Arkham Origins/City except you are in a different world, playing a different hero and fighting different villains. Without a doubt Shadow of Mordor is the best Lord of the Rings game available to date, however the fun and excitement that you get out of the game from the movie you love is short lived and the game becomes quite repetitive. For the trophy hunters obtaining the platinum is relatively easy with one or two semi-tough trophies in the DLCs.… Expand
  56. memus
    Oct 6, 2019
    7
    What I liked:
    - Polished fighting system (as in Batman, but even better).
    - Decent stealth (I'm looking at you, Assassin's Creed). - Nemesis system actually produces cool moments with orc captains - *spoiler* Gollum and Sauron have cameos What I didn't like: - All side quests are just stupid grinding. Felt like **** work. - Final boss battles are QTE. Why? I wanted to actually    What I liked:
    - Polished fighting system (as in Batman, but even better).
    - Decent stealth (I'm looking at you, Assassin's Creed).
    - Nemesis system actually produces cool moments with orc captains
    - *spoiler* Gollum and Sauron have cameos

    What I didn't like:
    - All side quests are just stupid grinding. Felt like **** work.
    - Final boss battles are QTE. Why? I wanted to actually fight them.
    - It consists of even more than 50 shades of gray.    … Expand
  57. hemmo1986
    Jan 12, 2015
    7
    While an enjoyable game, it borrows heavily from the Batman and Assassins creed games; while this isn't necessarily a bad point as those games are undoubtedly great titles, it does however create a feeling of " haven't I been here before?".

    The one saving grace is the new nemesis system that has been quite astonishing and it will be interesting to see how its implemented in future    While an enjoyable game, it borrows heavily from the Batman and Assassins creed games; while this isn't necessarily a bad point as those games are undoubtedly great titles, it does however create a feeling of " haven't I been here before?".

    The one saving grace is the new nemesis system that has been quite astonishing and it will be interesting to see how its implemented in future games; something people should truly be excited about.

    Overall this game is good just don't expect a revolution in game design.    … Expand
  58. odahima
    Jul 23, 2015
    7
    It is a good game only if you didn't play other games because this is nothing but stealing from batman, assassin's creed, other good games combined with stupid mechanics and poor story. You just keep pressing square to attack and triangle to counter-attack and that is very much the whole game. The critics' rating was very misleading and I regret ever buying it.
  59. HaloFever
    Apr 24, 2017
    7
    Shadow of Mordor is a fun game but I am reluctant to give it more than a 7 out of 10. Gameplay is great and the nemesis system is inspired. The world, however open it may be, is small and the story is pretty much non-existent. The few cutscenes are nice.

    What makes Shadow of Mordor work is the personality of the orcs you slaughter by the hundreds. The run of the mill Orcs have their    Shadow of Mordor is a fun game but I am reluctant to give it more than a 7 out of 10. Gameplay is great and the nemesis system is inspired. The world, however open it may be, is small and the story is pretty much non-existent. The few cutscenes are nice.

    What makes Shadow of Mordor work is the personality of the orcs you slaughter by the hundreds. The run of the mill Orcs have their generic chatter and taunts. You don't care about them. You want the leaders. The leaders do not disappoint. They have unique looks and personalities to match. They have different dialogue if they previously defeated you, if you ever ran from them, or if you ever defeated them. The highest level leaders have their own theme music. I've really never seen anything like it. The nemesis system gives them life as each Orc leader remembers your last encounter with them.

    The nemesis system then goes to the next level in the second half of the game. Not to spoil the story, but instead of just killing Orcs, you build an army of Orcs. This means making sure your allies win duels and work their way towards becoming war chiefs. It's a wonderful flip from the first half of the game and my only complaint is that babysitting Orcs becomes repetitive and annoying near the end of the game. The effort seemed worth my time when my little army cut through the enemy forces like a hot knife through butter.

    Combat itself is simple enough and is almost identical to the Arkham games. What surprised me was the effectiveness of the bow. Usually these kinds of fighting games give you weak ranged weapons so you can't pick off enemies from a distance. Instead, Shadow of Mordor embraces the idea of sniping from an unreachable position. With a fully unlocked bow, you can defeat most gangs of Orcs and even some Orc leaders without setting foot on ground. I felt liberated not just because encounters become more strategic but also because it felt good to down these Orc bastards.

    Where the game lacks is in the size of the world and scope of the story. Most of the time, I had no idea how my actions connected to the story. At it's heart, the game is a revenge tale. Then a couple of people show up and you do missions for them for no apparent reason. The story hook of the game seems to be flashbacks of the tale of Celebrimor, the person who forged rings for Sauron. The problem with this hook is that 1) the cutscenes are scant and brief; and 2) the do not progress the story you are playing. The snide personality of the protagonist, Talion, doesn't help. Some semblance of story progress would have helped the 20ish hours of repeating the same encounters in the same locations in the tiny land of Mordor.

    As open world games go, this is the smallest open world I have seen. Perhaps this is an issue with the last generation of consoles, as Shadow of Mordor was released for them as well. The textures are also low rez and do no service to the excellent animations. I wonder, though, if the problem was created by cutting content to then sell as DLC. Maybe the plans for this game were never ambitious. It seems in whole to be less than a $60 AAA game should offer. Full disclosure: I picked up this game for free back in January of 2015 and waited until April 2017 to play it. I try to divorce the cost of a game from my impression, but this this generation of games if full of examples that challenge that intent. Let me just say that I believe more content would have made this game better.    … Expand
  60. Barefoot_Gamer
    Oct 14, 2014
    7
    I was expecting a lot from this game and really looking forward to the open world roaming around middle earth. The game for me is too repetitive. A great idea where the Nemesis system is concerned but overall the game is way too repetitive. Good story but lacking in gameplay ideas. Enjoyable for the first few hours and then the fun begins to wear thin. A little disappointed.
  61. FreezingProgram
    Oct 12, 2014
    6
    Awesome game, very gory, addictive RPG. The gameplay is not new to consoles though. I think of this game as "Chivalry Of The Rings". Since it is the same as all of the Lord Of The Rings games, and has the same gameplay as Chivalry Medieval Warfare.

    I don't understand how this got a higher score then Destiny... (I am not a Destiny Fanboy)
  62. pongkrit03
    Dec 14, 2016
    7
    Just have a chance to play this GOTY game. The combat system is pretty much similar to Batman. However, the game's theme is like assassin creed, which you will have to kill a lot of enemy's generals.

    The game is fun and challenging. Story is mediocre. The world looks so bland and the game become repetitive fast since most of your activities are killing enemy generals. I like the idea of    Just have a chance to play this GOTY game. The combat system is pretty much similar to Batman. However, the game's theme is like assassin creed, which you will have to kill a lot of enemy's generals.

    The game is fun and challenging. Story is mediocre. The world looks so bland and the game become repetitive fast since most of your activities are killing enemy generals. I like the idea of interrogating enemies in order to grasp general's weaknesses. However, in later half of the game, this feature is not helpful anymore since most generals have no easy weaknesses.

    It is a good game, however very far from GOTY in my opinion.    … Expand
  63. DeeMoney
    Nov 12, 2014
    7
    Extremely fun game with lots to do. Can be a bit repetitive at times with some of the combat. But overall a good experience and well worth the time put into it.
  64. 670Gamer
    Jan 14, 2015
    6
    Fighting mechanics is kool, environment is okay, and enemies are okay; thus, the 6 rating.

    Same view about the game in regards to "go there,kill then go there and kill". I would have loved this game if there was no enemy respawn. Instead, give the player the benefit of conquering the whole map. Would have really like to conquer a section and then after that, human/elf/and dwarf allies    Fighting mechanics is kool, environment is okay, and enemies are okay; thus, the 6 rating.

    Same view about the game in regards to "go there,kill then go there and kill". I would have loved this game if there was no enemy respawn. Instead, give the player the benefit of conquering the whole map. Would have really like to conquer a section and then after that, human/elf/and dwarf allies would settle there, but no, you kill then they come back to get killed again. You end up using stealth wherever you go if you don't want to fight forever. Yes, the # of missions sucks. The upgrades are okay, but require multiple button smashing and timing. Story is hardly there unless you want to get all the collectibles and see if they are relevant to the story. Only watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy (not the Hobbit ones cause I am not interested in those) and don't see a strong connection.    … Expand
  65. Matodox
    Oct 17, 2014
    7
    The gameplay is really smooth. It features the combat system we were introduced with, by the "Arkham Asylum" series of Batman games, and it just really works well, better than i thought it would in a fantasy RPG game. I love the violence in here! It's so damn bloody, but you feel awesome when you finish off an orc and cap his head of with your finishing moves! The ability system is also aThe gameplay is really smooth. It features the combat system we were introduced with, by the "Arkham Asylum" series of Batman games, and it just really works well, better than i thought it would in a fantasy RPG game. I love the violence in here! It's so damn bloody, but you feel awesome when you finish off an orc and cap his head of with your finishing moves! The ability system is also a great add-on, there's a good variety of powers to choose from. There's also runes that you can use to upgrade your weapons. Personally i think it would've been better, if you could just change your weapons. The story line is also surprisingly good and interesting. I mean, no points for originality here, but it does what it's supposed to do, keep you hooked on from beginning to end and doesn't feel like it's just a money maker like most expanded universe stories. And the nemesis system is just freakin' awesome!!! And i love when you attack a captain or warchief you get to confront them just before you decapitate their ass. The only things disappointing about it, is that the game is too short. The main story is completed in like a day or two (depending how much you play in a day) but around 20-25 hours. Then you got the side missions, which are okay but a little repetitive after a while. And the world is just not big enough. And i was greatly disappointed by the final boss battles. The only "superboss" you really get to fight are the Hammer of Sauron, while both the Tower and the Black Hand are ridiculously easy, like just a matter of pressing the right buttons at the right time or sneaking up behind 'em and drain them. Also i hate that you can't jump when you're climbing if there isn't any ledge or platform that you can leap towards, like in Assassin's Creed, you can jump anywhere even if it means you will die or loose a lot of health. It get's really annoying when you accidentally climb onto something and you need to get down quick but you just have to let go and press and hold the circle button, or else he will grab onto it again. Despite it's flaws, it's a great experience and has decent graphics.… Expand
  66. DinoBeam
    May 28, 2020
    7
    the nemisis system is a revolution, and that is mixed with pointless sidquests that get you absolutely nothing and second-hand writing
  67. HellOnFeels
    Nov 19, 2014
    7
    Grabbed this one with my PS4 bundle. If you really enjoy LOTR you'll enjoy this game, there is enough story to keep you interested, the atmosphere is immersive and the combat is excellent. The upgrade tree's are well thought out and there is a lot to get done. For myself however it played out like another Assassins Creed, the game borrows much of what it is from other games and at times IGrabbed this one with my PS4 bundle. If you really enjoy LOTR you'll enjoy this game, there is enough story to keep you interested, the atmosphere is immersive and the combat is excellent. The upgrade tree's are well thought out and there is a lot to get done. For myself however it played out like another Assassins Creed, the game borrows much of what it is from other games and at times I felt I was playing Destiny with swords, albeit a far superior version. The graphics are incredible, the mechanics near perfect, enemies are challenging and diverse forcing the player to really think about his actions. The open world environment is full of action and provides for numerous surprises, you will genuinely feel as though you've stepped into Mordor. There is however an over reliance on gory finishing moves and the characters are less lovable than I would have liked and several hours in you may find yourself ditching some of the more repetitive aspects of the game. In all a good game but not for me specifically.… Expand
  68. Jimmy_Rinser
    Oct 6, 2014
    7
    This game is dope! I know I have only given it a 7 but its still worth a play. The game is what it is, big combos, lots of upgrading, lots of pressing square and triangle when promoted with a couple special attacks mixed in. Its kind of a mix between, skyrim, assains creed, batman and informus with a LOTR skin over the top.
    Not ground breaking, no real new ideas but def lots of fun and    This game is dope! I know I have only given it a 7 but its still worth a play. The game is what it is, big combos, lots of upgrading, lots of pressing square and triangle when promoted with a couple special attacks mixed in. Its kind of a mix between, skyrim, assains creed, batman and informus with a LOTR skin over the top.
    Not ground breaking, no real new ideas but def lots of fun and worth playing.
    (dont think it will have much shelf life, once completed it will be sold straight away)    … Expand
  69. Fataudama
    Oct 15, 2014
    6
    Good: Nemesis system is a great concept. Future PvE games in the industry will look back at this game and expand on this. Lord of the rings world! Just plain fun and gory.

    Bad: OVER HYPED! no difficulty setting so hardcore gamers will be bored fast. repetitive combat, weak RPG elements overall: RENT IT! its worth playing but you can finish it quickly. Replay-ability is weak despite    Good: Nemesis system is a great concept. Future PvE games in the industry will look back at this game and expand on this. Lord of the rings world! Just plain fun and gory.

    Bad: OVER HYPED! no difficulty setting so hardcore gamers will be bored fast. repetitive combat, weak RPG elements

    overall: RENT IT! its worth playing but you can finish it quickly. Replay-ability is weak despite being an open world game.    … Expand
  70. Heater
    Dec 4, 2014
    5
    Played the game for two hours, unlocked a few abilities, and didn't find a new respawn point. I'm not sure how people rate this highly for the combat or for the LoTR feel but this game feels a lot like AC with all the sneaking around and stealth kills. The combat is mashing the attack button with an occasional special move or blocks. Button reuse means you'll accidentally do the wrong movePlayed the game for two hours, unlocked a few abilities, and didn't find a new respawn point. I'm not sure how people rate this highly for the combat or for the LoTR feel but this game feels a lot like AC with all the sneaking around and stealth kills. The combat is mashing the attack button with an occasional special move or blocks. Button reuse means you'll accidentally do the wrong move 50% of the time when doing anything other than mashing attack. You can easily get overwhelmed by enemies if you're not careful and if there are ranged enemies in a large group you'll need to hide until you can get a smaller group.

    I spent over an hour making my way to the first boss after practicing a few groups fights. I did a couple of side missions on the way and explored a bit but mostly went toward the target area. I beat him in about 30 seconds then celebrated by picking up the rune or whatever he dropped. The tutorial popped up, like it always does after you die or restart the game, which promptly caused the game to hang. I loaded back up to realize I had to do it over again. This along with always respawning back where the game starts just made it feel like I was never going to get anywhere so I decided to set the game aside until it gets patched.

    The story actually seems cool, I mean who wants to play through the movies, right? It's an original take on events surrounding the return of Sauron. The abilities and combat style seem much like what you would expect to see in a LoTR movie when you're not sneaking around. The progress of your character being somewhat matched by promotions among the Uruks makes the game more immersive, especially when you seek revenge and they talk about you not staying dead.

    When you kill a boss the enemies around you actually run away. How many times have you played a game where you killed a hundred enemies who never had a chance but just attacked you anyway? Who knew the Uruk were so smart? Too bad they are all near-sighted and hard of hearing. Lost count of how many times I stealth killed an orc 10 feet away from his friend, while they were talking, and the other guy didn't have a clue. Was funny to hear them rag on their dead comrades though.

    Would have rated this higher if the game showed new spawn locations on the map, made combat a little more complicated or less buggy, and had no bugs in critical story missions. Not restarting the tutorial popups so often would have been nice too.    … Expand
  71. theFPSyoungGOD
    Nov 6, 2014
    7
    when playing this i thought it could be one of the best games ive ever played...then suddenly the main story was done like in no time at all,maybe the least challenging game ive ever played and so little content,the hierarchy system is amazing and more games need it.
  72. kafkanian
    Nov 14, 2014
    7
    It's a good game overall, with some really nice features like the Nemesis System, the combat mechanics and the skill tree, but the story isn't compelling at all and it becomes quite boring after 6-7 hours of gameplay.
    For an open world game, the map is ridiculous. At first glance, you think it's big, but you can actually explore it all on foot in just 5 minutes! You'll be running around    It's a good game overall, with some really nice features like the Nemesis System, the combat mechanics and the skill tree, but the story isn't compelling at all and it becomes quite boring after 6-7 hours of gameplay.
    For an open world game, the map is ridiculous. At first glance, you think it's big, but you can actually explore it all on foot in just 5 minutes! You'll be running around the same places over and over again.    … Expand
  73. MattAldridge31
    Nov 18, 2014
    7
    I bought this game after the patches so I've had absolutely no problems in that regard. On the other hand I've had a few problems with trying to love this game. I'm a huge LoTR fan and I anticipated this game as much as anyone so when eagerly shoved the disc into my PS4 I pretty much knew everything about it. I'd watched the videos, I'd seen the trailers and I'd watched the reviews - II bought this game after the patches so I've had absolutely no problems in that regard. On the other hand I've had a few problems with trying to love this game. I'm a huge LoTR fan and I anticipated this game as much as anyone so when eagerly shoved the disc into my PS4 I pretty much knew everything about it. I'd watched the videos, I'd seen the trailers and I'd watched the reviews - I knew what was coming. However, when I started playing it, it just didn't feel right. The game is very ambitious and the premise is interesting but the way certain parts of it are executed seems a bit rushed and underwhelming. Trekking across Mordor at times can be a chore and completing effectively the same missions over and over again becomes tiresome for me very quickly. I have enjoyed fighting and the main story is very strong in my opinion. It's what's been keeping me going. The side missions however have so far been uninteresting and repetitive. I enjoy the mechanics of the game and the slick fighting is wonderful to watch and take part in. The graphics compliment it well with finishing moves being as visceral and gruesome as expected. All in all it's a good game but not a great one for me. In my opinion it just needed a little bit more time in the oven.… Expand
  74. Krazyfool_
    Nov 19, 2014
    6
    Assassins Creed: Shadow of Mordor.....................................................................................................................................................
  75. powerman449
    Nov 22, 2014
    6
    Would be a much better game without the massive frame rate drops every few minutes even for a new system. Also could use a complete rework on control set up, current one feel like you are rolling and walking through quicksand in combat and button smashing for the first half of the game.
  76. Jozefow
    Nov 29, 2014
    5
    I dunno, just rather unremarkable and repetitive to me. Once you find a routine that works for killing multiple enemies it will work every time. Fighting the Captains can be interesting but I was pretty much on auto pilot for the entire thing. This going to a spot on a map and finding stuff has to stop. They keep doing for all sorts of games and it's so ridiculous. It's certainly not badI dunno, just rather unremarkable and repetitive to me. Once you find a routine that works for killing multiple enemies it will work every time. Fighting the Captains can be interesting but I was pretty much on auto pilot for the entire thing. This going to a spot on a map and finding stuff has to stop. They keep doing for all sorts of games and it's so ridiculous. It's certainly not bad but I doubt I'll do it again. Not as good as a game as Destiny but certainly fewer problems.… Expand
  77. behnammatin
    Dec 4, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game is not bad,but is too hard and boring after 3 hours play,and same misson(go there and kill and again go there and kill)
    i think shadow of mordor in look like AC    … Expand
  78. SuperAC
    Mar 16, 2015
    5
    Extremely fun combat and story but the rate at which enemies spawn completely ruins the games, it's no fun taking on a captain and then all of a sudden have a group of orcs and other captains spawn from absolutely nowhere resulting in you dying instantly. Good idea, poor execusion
  79. Balon
    Dec 12, 2014
    7
    Its fun and cool looking sword fighting. But after you have killed 10 000 orcs, you start to feel like that there should be variety in enemies. Where are the giants, trolls and other fantasy **** And the ending, its just too easy feels like you dont play at all.
  80. themdr127
    Dec 19, 2014
    7
    Shadow of Mordor was a highly anticipated game on my side, not because of the creators, nor because of Warner Bros, but because of a successful trailer.
    Only a few trailer creators can add that "spark" to make me anticipated for ANY game nowadays.
    The graphics and sound design was phenomenal, but the story line was rushed closer to the end. It would of been best to post-pone the release    Shadow of Mordor was a highly anticipated game on my side, not because of the creators, nor because of Warner Bros, but because of a successful trailer.
    Only a few trailer creators can add that "spark" to make me anticipated for ANY game nowadays.
    The graphics and sound design was phenomenal, but the story line was rushed closer to the end.
    It would of been best to post-pone the release date and add a richer ending, instead of a speedy cinematic.
    Overall the gameplay was good, combat is very intuitive and smooth, 2-3 glitches in some places, but not as much as AC.
    I dont regret purchasing the game, but i wont be buying any of the DLC content, its completely unnecessary, i would rather wait for the next installment to take place.    … Expand
  81. Snowe
    Jan 4, 2015
    7
    This game is SO much fun throughout the story mode, but that's why I gave it a 7. After story mode, like allot of other games, the replay value dies WAY down. It truly was a fun game when I played it though, I didn't wait for any DLC, just beat it and traded it in. Great game though!
  82. Darko84
    Jan 20, 2015
    7
    Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor is an interesting game worth playing but never to be considered as best game of 2014.

    The game is clumsy mainly due to the camera and the "stealth" system (very poor). Orcs cannot see you when you are standing next to them but they can see you if you are hidden in the bushes! Game play is very similar to AC and Batman Arkham series (as many people have    Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor is an interesting game worth playing but never to be considered as best game of 2014.

    The game is clumsy mainly due to the camera and the "stealth" system (very poor).
    Orcs cannot see you when you are standing next to them but they can see you if you are hidden in the bushes! Game play is very similar to AC and Batman Arkham series (as many people have already noticed), which for me it a good dynamic for this kind of games. The story development is interesting and the Nemesis system make this game worth playing it (specially if you are a LOTR fan).

    Positive Things:
    + Nemesis system.
    + Story.
    + Graphics.

    Negative things:
    - Camera.
    - Stealth system.    … Expand
  83. Hank704
    Feb 2, 2015
    5
    I'm almost sorry to give this game this score because the first half was amazing, but the 3rd act of the game will leave you with a terrible taste in your mouth. Its starts out fantastic and challenging, but the ending of the game was obviously rushed and included quick time event boss fights. A game that should pride itself on finding the weaknesses of your opponent and then engaging themI'm almost sorry to give this game this score because the first half was amazing, but the 3rd act of the game will leave you with a terrible taste in your mouth. Its starts out fantastic and challenging, but the ending of the game was obviously rushed and included quick time event boss fights. A game that should pride itself on finding the weaknesses of your opponent and then engaging them in combat ends up having a quick time event for the final bosses! What!?
    The only thing else I can say is that you will put effort into the game because the beginning makes it seem like it has so much potential, but you will soon see (and by soon I mean SOON! Really Short Main Campaign) that your effort will reap no rewards or lasting feel of accomplishment.    … Expand
  84. JayLightBar
    Feb 6, 2015
    7
    This game is great! There is a lot of fun to be had in the slashing and murdering of nasty old wankers that ruined the life of our main hero. Not only does the game look beautiful on the ps4, but it runs just perfectly. Never had a single drop in frame rate through my entire playthrough. There's a lot to do here, and well keep you busy. The story itself wasn't terrible...until the last fewThis game is great! There is a lot of fun to be had in the slashing and murdering of nasty old wankers that ruined the life of our main hero. Not only does the game look beautiful on the ps4, but it runs just perfectly. Never had a single drop in frame rate through my entire playthrough. There's a lot to do here, and well keep you busy. The story itself wasn't terrible...until the last few moments, which completely ruined the 3RD Act of the game for me. Sound design is good, nothing really that great though. No song from here well be remembered. Overall, it's fun. Shadows of Murder could very well be the first step into a great game series. But next time, step it up in the story department please.… Expand
  85. FearTheOldBlood
    Feb 17, 2016
    7
    Good game but the last boss fight was soooooo easy, a simple QTE fight! C'mon, I expected something more. Everything building up to the last fight should be epic, not a bore.
  86. saif99
    Jul 28, 2015
    7
    as an obsessed person with middle earth movies, i was really excited for this game, and i can't say i was quite disappointed but it's just that i expected more....the story is good but how the game ends was disappointing actually, but the gameplay is really enjoyable and that what gives the game all the positive reviews
  87. pwills2009
    Jul 29, 2015
    7
    Game play was fun. Most enjoyable abilities were only able to be acquired near the end of the game, however. The final two boss battles were TERRIBLE. One included no fighting, just sequential button pushing. I liked the game, but the last hour of game play was overwhelmingly disappointing.
  88. Kargun
    Nov 29, 2018
    6
    La ambientación es interesante. La historia también. Las mecánicas me han aburrido y no lo he terminado.
  89. DenverPike
    Dec 27, 2016
    6
    Story - 5 - This game has a confusing and unfortunately boring story. The game jumps too soon to the middle of the action without letting us understanding what and why is happening. And after finishing the game I still did not know what the hell happened.

    Characters - 5 - The characters (which have dialogs) don't have much personality, all dialogs are boring with absolutely no point.    Story - 5 - This game has a confusing and unfortunately boring story. The game jumps too soon to the middle of the action without letting us understanding what and why is happening. And after finishing the game I still did not know what the hell happened.

    Characters - 5 - The characters (which have dialogs) don't have much personality, all dialogs are boring with absolutely no point.

    Gameplay - 6 - I hope I was not the only one to think that the gameplay is a poor version of Batman/Assassins Creed. You will spend 80% trying to kill everyone by stealth because the fighting is atrocious. You will button smash a lot with your eyes wide open for that counter attack button which by the way you only have 1 second to react to it in the middle of 20 orcs. I also hate when there is no limit spawning and Orcs just keep flooding you.
    The climbing becomes hard as the camera fixes horizontally and makes it harder for you to know where you are going. I also felt the camera was too close and therefore making fighting and running around so much harder.

    Graphics - 8 - The character models are amazing sculpted and look really nice. The environment tho, I felt like it needed some more dirtiness and darkness (this is Mordor FFS)

    Sound - 2 - If you are expecting some epic music, think again. The soundtrack was completely off for a Lords of the Rings game. Sometimes I felt like I was playing King of Hearts or something like that.

    Overall - 6 - I felt like the game is not as good as many say. Okay fine the Nemesis aspect of the game is a really good idea and it does work. Sometimes I felt like dying to a certain Orc to see what would happen, but the rest of the game is very poor. The missions are very short and few. If you are like me and bought this game, I feel sorry for you.    … Expand
  90. Mikeb86
    Aug 20, 2017
    6
    I really wanted to love this game and in some ways I did, combat is really good, I really like the whole nemesis mechanic, the big let down for me was when you defeat the first lot of war chiefs and move to the second big area to explore you realise you have to do the exact same thing again, it felt very lazy to me so much so it stopped my enjoyment instantly and still haven't finished it!I really wanted to love this game and in some ways I did, combat is really good, I really like the whole nemesis mechanic, the big let down for me was when you defeat the first lot of war chiefs and move to the second big area to explore you realise you have to do the exact same thing again, it felt very lazy to me so much so it stopped my enjoyment instantly and still haven't finished it! Hope they step it up for the sequel and keep it fresh throughout the whole game instead of clear the chiefs in one area to do the exact same in the next, not cool!… Expand
  91. Dragonfly44
    Feb 23, 2021
    7
    The nemesis system is a very cool idea and the gameplay is good but this game just simply isn't that remarkable and the story in particular was just okay. 75/100
  92. TrophyHunter14
    Aug 24, 2018
    6
    I thought it would be amazing, but I finished this game without even being really into it at any part. It is too hard in the beginning, but later on it gets to easy. I struggled so hard at the beginning just to find myself jawning later on because how easyt the game was. I passed the final boss from first try and it wasn't even close... The game is not completly awful but it is probablyI thought it would be amazing, but I finished this game without even being really into it at any part. It is too hard in the beginning, but later on it gets to easy. I struggled so hard at the beginning just to find myself jawning later on because how easyt the game was. I passed the final boss from first try and it wasn't even close... The game is not completly awful but it is probably the most dissapointing game I have ever bought.… Expand
  93. XxAlbertoBuzzxX
    Jun 2, 2020
    7
    MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR
    ..............................................................................
  94. AlbertoBuzz
    Mar 27, 2018
    7
    Shadow of mordor empieza con una historia emocionante pero luego se vuelve repetitiva al igual que todas las misiones. Esta bien para matar a orcos, sus capitanes y caudillos. Me gusta el echo de las vengazas que puedes tener con los orcos o que los asciendan por matarte.

    Shadow of Mordor begins with an exciting story but then becomes repetitive just like all missions. It's okay to kill    Shadow of mordor empieza con una historia emocionante pero luego se vuelve repetitiva al igual que todas las misiones. Esta bien para matar a orcos, sus capitanes y caudillos. Me gusta el echo de las vengazas que puedes tener con los orcos o que los asciendan por matarte.

    Shadow of Mordor begins with an exciting story but then becomes repetitive just like all missions. It's okay to kill Orcs, their captains and warlords. I like the echo of the vengazas you can have with the Orcs or be promoted to kill you.    … Expand
  95. BoostOrDie
    Nov 4, 2020
    7
    Please show me that IDIOT that decided that placing SPRINT on X will be a good idea!? L3 is fpr sprinting god damn! How am i supposed to use camera at the same time while using Left analog and holding X???? Controls are not remappable
  96. KratosKong
    Jun 16, 2019
    7
    No me parece mal juego pero se mi hizo un poco cuesta arriba debido a su repetitividad. Tiene ideas muy buenas como su sistema nemesis. Recomendable para fans de Tolkien
  97. Cyrus666
    Dec 22, 2021
    6
    Number of playthroughs: 2
    Totaly hours played: 40 hours
    If I'm being honest, due to the high praises and the awards won, I thought I was going to have the time of my life. But my feelings changed after a few hours. This game has mechanics similar to Batman Arkham Series. Combat and stealth are mixed together into the gameplay. I can say that Shadow of Mordor has the exact combat as    Number of playthroughs: 2
    Totaly hours played: 40 hours
    If I'm being honest, due to the high praises and the awards won, I thought I was going to have the time of my life. But my feelings changed after a few hours.
    This game has mechanics similar to Batman Arkham Series. Combat and stealth are mixed together into the gameplay. I can say that Shadow of Mordor has the exact combat as Arkham series. You have regular strikes, you can counter before a strike using the triangle button, there are finisher moves that aren't exactly like the Arkham series but they are assigned to the buttons similar to Arkham.
    The only difference between these 2 games is that in Shadow of Mordor you kill enemies and in the Arkham series you don't.
    The game is fun for 4-5 hours but after that, it's a boring repetitive game. Everyone praises the Nemesis system for how fun and intriguing it is but I personally didn't feel like it made much of a difference.
    During the first few hours, you try to learn about every target's weakness and plan ahead but after those starting hours you have to massacre so many Uruk bosses that you don't get info on them and just dive into their territory. I personally found that most bosses were weak to finisher damage so I didn't bother planning ahead.
    Each game has a gameplay loop where you do the same things over and over and over again. That gameplay loop has to be fun in order for the game to succeed and for this game, the gameplay loop became extremely repetitive after a while. I always felt like I was playing an inferior version of Arkham games.
    Whereas in Arkham Knight you have the Batmobile and the flying mechanic that always remain fun means of traversal throughout the game or in Witcher 3 where you always have Roach by your side, in this game you must run to the points of interest and use fast travel. You do get the ability to quickly make steeds out of the animals around the map but as soon as you get off of them they just run away to attack enemies. So the traversal is not as fun as the Arkham series or Witcher 3.
    The maps are also small and the first map is boring and uninspiring.
    The game wasn't all bad. Here are some positive aspects of it:
    You feel more and more empowered as you progress through the game and unlock new abilities which I personally think is extremely important in such games.
    The second map you unlock is beautiful
    The murdering of uruks is fun (not all the way through the game tho)
    Overall I give this game a 6 out of 10. It had the potential to be good but ends up being boring and repetitive.    … Expand
  98. Shazam1407
    Nov 1, 2019
    7
    Сюжет практически отсутствует (точнее для галки) брака слизана с бэтмэна. Если бы не система капитанов то была бы как Mass effect: andromeda
  99. piuscorvus
    Jan 2, 2021
    6
    For some, this game can be pretty frustrating. It certainly was for me as I quit it two times. However, whenever I felt that some game was too hard, that actually meant (in most of my cases) that I was playing it wrong. This game has a specific system and if you do not understand it and do not follow that code the game will feel abnormally hard. It took me a few hours to get how itFor some, this game can be pretty frustrating. It certainly was for me as I quit it two times. However, whenever I felt that some game was too hard, that actually meant (in most of my cases) that I was playing it wrong. This game has a specific system and if you do not understand it and do not follow that code the game will feel abnormally hard. It took me a few hours to get how it actually works and then, the gameplay felt good. Still very challenging (difficulty setting does not exist) but good.

    Shadow of Mordor felt something like a Tolkien-fan-fiction thing. You are a man of Gondor who is on his quest of revenge in the land of Mordor and the story is far below average, which degrades this game and leaves you only with a good, challenging gameplay, which I would describe as a mixture of Batman Arkham series (but harder) and Assassin's Creed (moving and jumping around).

    The gameplay is based on finding information, locating and defeating Orcs and finally, dominating their armies. You first start with lower ranks and slowly go up to the Warchiefs, the strongest Orcs. Every Orc has its own strengths and vulnerabilities and that is what makes this gameplay not just another completely boring button masher. Even though you are doing the same things from the beginning to the end of the game (you are only fighting, you are in Mordor and surrounded by Orcs almost the whole time), I was never bored even after more than 20 hours of gameplay.

    Shadow of Mordor is not a bad game but it is far from a great game. However, I see a big potential here and I think that at some point in the future we might see one great Middle-Earth game.    … Expand
  100. Vaeu
    Jun 30, 2020
    6
    Interesting at the start, but the gameplay gets repetitive and rather tedious as the game progresses. The graphics are average and the sound quality is expected. The characters aren't memorable and the story gets disappointing as the game progresses. A solid Middle-Earth sure, but nothing special.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PS4 Game of 2014
7
#7 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014
5
#5 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 85 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 77 out of 85
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 85
  3. Negative: 0 out of 85
  1. Thunderbolt
    Jun 12, 2015
    90
    For people who are alright with playing fifteen hours or so of Helm’s Deep-style carnage, Shadow of Mordor is a delight – and even for people who couldn’t care less about Lord of the Rings, the exciting combat and unique Nemesis System are more than enough to make the experience worthwhile.
    Read full review
  2. The Digital Fix
    Dec 24, 2014
    90
    As a gamer you owe it to yourself to experience Shadow of Mordor if not for anything else other than the Nemesis system because playing a single-player game never made you feel less alone.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Dec 13, 2014
    75
    Batman’s Creed: Shadow of Mordor – Monolith’s inspirations are so obvious that you could call their game a rip-off. Its greatest sin though is the fact that it fails to vary gameplay the way Assassin’s Creed or Batman do and offers almost nothing apart from killing stuff and playing with the Nemesis system (which, I admit, has its moments). I got so tired with its repetitiveness that I wouldn’t have finished the game if I didn’t have to. [Dec 2014, p.48]
See all critic reviews »