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
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  1. Raviel1827
    Oct 26, 2014
    8
    The most next-gen game since Forza introduced Drivatar. The nemesis system is a fun innovative mechanic that makes the world feel alive. Unfortunately, it takes up everything of the game, not that it's bad but the story and especially the villains are badly executed. You're introduced to the villains at the beginning and then it takes half the game to reach one of them as a boss and noneThe most next-gen game since Forza introduced Drivatar. The nemesis system is a fun innovative mechanic that makes the world feel alive. Unfortunately, it takes up everything of the game, not that it's bad but the story and especially the villains are badly executed. You're introduced to the villains at the beginning and then it takes half the game to reach one of them as a boss and none of those boss battles are interesting.

    However, the nemesis system is well enough implemented and fun to waist time with, Yu'd want to get through the story to just play with the system. When you can brand, threaten and kill captains, that's when you've reached the games full potential.

    The story is very "not good" is the only way I can put it, not bad at all the first half of the game but bosses aren't as interesting as the captains or warchiefs, which says alot. The characters are "appearently" well based on the books of Tolkien which you notice since they fit so well together in the world that they're in.

    Wonderfully put together world, many open world games seems to fall flat on the "second" world, as the likes of Far Cry 3 where the second island is very pale compared to the first. Shadow of Mordor however gets a more beautiful and interesting second world with new stories to tell and nice locations to visit.

    Great game overall which you'll have a blast with and maybe find a captain that you like so much you help him reach the top of his ranks. Create bonds with your captains, you'll never know when you find the right one.    … Expand
  2. The_Game_Doctor
    Oct 25, 2014
    8
    As far as Lord of the Rings games go, this is the top of the pyramid.

    As far as games in general goes, it brings very little new to the table. The game is a solid Action-adventure game. The scenery is not overly varied, but more out of necessity of the source material rather than lack of ingenuity. The fighting mechanics are borrowed from the Batman: Arkham series, while the movement    As far as Lord of the Rings games go, this is the top of the pyramid.

    As far as games in general goes, it brings very little new to the table. The game is a solid Action-adventure game. The scenery is not overly varied, but more out of necessity of the source material rather than lack of ingenuity.

    The fighting mechanics are borrowed from the Batman: Arkham series, while the movement mechanics are reminiscent of the Assassin's Creed games. The being said. This is markedly not either one of those games, and it doesn't try to be. It spices in the RPG elements of its core inspiration while basing it in the rich LOTR universe.

    That being said, the mechanics base themselves on some of the most successful franchises in recent gaming. Because of that, it allows the real star of the game to shine. The star of the game is the Nemesis system. Something many more games should have. Te game itself is a construct built around the experience of the Nemesis system. At its surface, it is simple. You kill an Uruk, the tide of Sauron's army shifts. Simple. But the reactions to your actions have a much deeper affect on the game. This is a game that is meant to be enjoyed and the nemesis system is there to be manipulated and exploited.

    Sadly, the story seems more of a necessary evil to the extravagance of the game. A construct within which the beating heart of the game exists. As you evolve through the game, honing your gameplay styles, perfecting how the game is played, the story pushes you along and opens up more abilities to be used. The fact that several of the abilities are locked until you reach that specific story mission is almost a shame. I found myself getting much more enjoyment of playing through the shifting army than the story. Don't get my wrong, the story isn't bad, but it is a normal, no surprises revenge plot. It is paced extraordinarily well, but just not the most interesting item in the game.

    Several people complain that the game is nothing but a button masher, and the combat is a sad excuse for an action game. This can be played, poorly, as a button masher, but it is far from the only way that it can be played. There is enough variation in your skill trees to enjoy the different ways you can creatively approach every situation.

    The game shares elements with successful and well known franchises, and because of this, people are claiming it is a rip-off. This is certainly not the case. If you go into this game expecting a good action-adventure game, you won't be disappointed. If you are going into it looking for something completely new, you won't enjoy the game for what it is.

    This game is good. Not perfect. But good.    … Expand
  3. zezosk
    Oct 24, 2014
    10
    The game is a complete beast, the most likable thing about it is its smooth gameplay. it takes the open world trait form GtA v and scales it down, and it takes the assassin's creed freedom and triples it because it makes you do what you want to do, and finally it takes the batman arkham series's fighting perfection so that with each strike of the sword you get the satisfaction you need.
  4. Stoneyzatiger
    Oct 23, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I got mad at this game a lot. Dying to some ugly troll gimp frayed on my nerves a little more than it should have. The first hour of play was so bad for me I had to hide my head in shame from my son. I restarted and took things a little slower and I triumphed.

    Yes, the game is good. and yes...It is similar to batman and AC, blah blah blah. I don't care as long as it entertains. The story isn't really up to much; I was expecting my Tark character to dominate all of the warlords and become some evil dragon riding general or something. etc.
    One disappointment is with the collectables; After completing the weapons and Skills and pretty much getting everything to Max - including the side missions - I was bitterly annoyed to find no sweet reward waiting for me. It is true that when you become that powerful you don't really need anything uber powerful, but its a nice touch.

    The AI can sometimes let themselves down with an entire horde hugging the wall trying to get after you while you are safely dangling on the other side of the wall. That's not a big deal though and helps break up the Warlord missions where you seem to run into 3 bodyguards and 2 additional captains.

    The missions could sometimes be repetitive, I was expecting more AC3 style action here, with maybe some Stronghold destroying or capturing ability.

    The ending is poor. It seems then ran out of time to release? It easily had some more millage there for additional story/action. Still, its a pity they didn't use it for the original game. I expect the DLC will soothe the pain somewhat.

    Conclusion: - Its an Assassins Creed game set during lord of the rings. What could go wrong? Well the answer is, nothing major Its a good little game with perhaps little staying power after you max out your character everything. Not perfect but worth the money if you are a fan of the genre there's definitely more right with the game than wrong.    … Expand
  5. 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
  6. Zbox
    Oct 23, 2014
    9
    0,1,2.4's.................. so many trolls here, obviously either didn't even played the game, or using pirated copy (along with all the issues of being pirated) or just losers with too much free time. This game have minor issues, but nothing serious. story is very focus and the game is very rich with lore, combining batman with assassins creed to a whole new level of gameplay, pretty open0,1,2.4's.................. so many trolls here, obviously either didn't even played the game, or using pirated copy (along with all the issues of being pirated) or just losers with too much free time. This game have minor issues, but nothing serious. story is very focus and the game is very rich with lore, combining batman with assassins creed to a whole new level of gameplay, pretty open world, dynamic events and characters, rpg elements and so much content packed. this game is a serious contender for the Game of the year. sadly due to trolls spaming around and haters, this will be another sleeper hit like sleeping dogs, making people buying overhyped trash (driveclub,destiny,etc) over genuine good games like this one.… Expand
  7. headtrainborn
    Oct 23, 2014
    8
    This game performed well above my expectations. I thought it looked like an assassins creed rip off, and I wasn't even going to pick it up. This game is fun to play and a challenge at times. The story holds my interest. I don't regret purchasing it unlike some other games lately.
  8. dj_cole
    Oct 21, 2014
    8
    Shadow of Mordor could be epic, and most of the time feels like its heading in that direction, but then....just isn't. The game does a lot of things right, and a lot of things that other games don't do. To judge a book by its cover Shadow of Mordor looks great, and once you dive in it is great. However, the game is held back later on by a lack of impact and replayability.

    Shadow of    Shadow of Mordor could be epic, and most of the time feels like its heading in that direction, but then....just isn't. The game does a lot of things right, and a lot of things that other games don't do. To judge a book by its cover Shadow of Mordor looks great, and once you dive in it is great. However, the game is held back later on by a lack of impact and replayability.

    Shadow of Mordor looks great. I wasn't blown away by the technical prowess of the graphics, but everything looks sharp. The character models are well done, combat animations are fun to watch and the world looks, for the most part, realistic. The blood and guts gore adds to the oppressive tones of the title, though does go a bit far. Its only the second time my wife has asked me not to play a game in front of her (the other being the original The Darkness). There are plenty of games out there I wouldn't play in front of children, but there are far fewer I wouldn't feel comfortable playing with other adults around, and this one crosses that line at times. The gore isn't sadistic nor necessarily over the top, but it is frequent and bloody. The voice acting and sound are solid and add to the experience. There were no characters or enemies that sounded out of place or had poor acting, and the main cast was solid from start to finish. Overall, a solid start to finish presentation that won't blow you away, unless you love seeing gore, but has a high floor that doesn't disappoint.

    The gameplay is where the game shines. The combat is fun, fluid and gets better as you level up so it doesn't stagnate. I would compare the gameplay favorably to the Batman Arkham series (which I enjoy) but my friends equate it to the Assassin's Creed games (which they enjoy). As you level you gain a sense of power slowly but surely. Where a few weak enemies early in the game would quickly kill you, by the end of the game you are able to easily dispatch even the most powerful enemies you come across. The world is easy to navigate and rarely becomes frustrating, save for the times you want to just get a certain collectible but have to cut through a horde of enemies to collect it. The stealth is fun, if a bit clunky. Once you figure the system out it becomes simple to stealth through areas sniping enemies with the bow, but there's always that sense of suspense as a horde of enemies can come crashing down if you make a wrong move. The minigames are varied and fun, ranging from stealth assassinations to last stand type situations with your bow to freeing prisoners through whatever means are available. They can become frustrating later on in the game as there are no checkpoints, so if you fail you have to start over. This can be even worse for the stealth minigames as you can make a mistake so easily.

    This may be a small spoiler, but to anyone who has watched a trailer for the game you will know the end goal of the game is army building. To take over Sauron's army by controlling their minds and turning them against him. This was what made me want to play the game so badly. Be able to build an army and take it into combat. It's extremely fun and rewarding to find the captains you want and take control of them. You are then able to assist them on the missions they undertake, much like you are able to hinder enemy captains as they undertake missions. The problem is it doesn't really do you a lot of good. Yes, it's fun to get into a brawl and have an ally captain come with his small group of soldiers to aid you, but the problem is that it's not really all that useful. Captains will be where they are and you can't command them anywhere else. And the commands you can give them are very limited and don't allow for a lot of strategy beyond trying to position captains you control to become a warchief. Once they are warchiefs they become slightly more useful, but only as a means to kill off enemy captains. The one really annoying hiccup I did run into with the system was if you control enough captains the game feels hollow, as there aren't anything besides basic enemies to fight and not a lot to do with the captains you do control. Army building is extremely fun and rewarding until you realize that it's not really all that useful in the grand scheme of the game, though by that point you'll be powerful enough to rip through any enemy that comes across you. You have an army, which is fun, but it's an army that just wanders around.

    Shadow of Mordor is fun, rewarding and does a lot of things right. The floor is high as everything is done well. Unfortunately there are enough issues to keep the game from being epic. I would equate Shadow of Mordor to a book that draws you in, makes you want to keep going, makes you invested in the characters and then just....kind of peters out. The game is spent doing a lot of fun things, that make you invested in what's going on, only to surprise by just kind of ending without great resolution or impact.    … Expand
  9. unluckydice
    Oct 21, 2014
    8
    Fans and non fans of LOTR will enjoy this game due to its familiar mix of Assassins Creed and Batman Arkham City gameplay and mechanics all generated into a live flourishing world of middle earth with various intimidating Orcs full of dread and hate among many other enemy's, but what makes Shadow of Mordor unique from the bunch is it's Nemesis System (otherwise it would have been justFans and non fans of LOTR will enjoy this game due to its familiar mix of Assassins Creed and Batman Arkham City gameplay and mechanics all generated into a live flourishing world of middle earth with various intimidating Orcs full of dread and hate among many other enemy's, but what makes Shadow of Mordor unique from the bunch is it's Nemesis System (otherwise it would have been just another clone in my opinion) (think of it like a game of chess very difficult chess) side note (what i enjoyed the most was finding the artifacts (all voice spoken) and learning more about the lore of the game) (few faults were the main protagonist voice and story were a tad weak, killing orc captains got repetitive)… Expand
  10. radamanthys
    Oct 19, 2014
    10
    this game is just : awesome !!!! i don´t think that deserves a 1010 but in a year of so much weak new games for this new generation that were so coward to bring new experiences for gaming , this one does his best in many aspects , and its a must for every tolkien fan so c'mon lets play a real great game of this mythology
  11. Squeezit
    Oct 19, 2014
    8
    Admittedly a perfect score is something I would probably never give any game because I can always find something that needs improvement. Shadow of Mordor is no exception to that rule. However Shadows of Mordor, while it had a slow start for me, was a fantastic game.
    Story 7/10
    Graphics 9/10
    gameplay 8/10

    Overall, I absolutely loved the game and really hope for a sequel.
  12. djrussell
    Oct 19, 2014
    9
    I really enjoyed this game, its everything I hoped it would be when first seeing it. The gameplay is reminiscent of Assassins Creed (free-roam, free-climbing) and Batman Arkham Asylum (combat), but it very much feels different. Even when you're completely leveled up its still possible to swamped by so many Orcs that even as a badass ranger you never truly feel safe in Mordor, this isI really enjoyed this game, its everything I hoped it would be when first seeing it. The gameplay is reminiscent of Assassins Creed (free-roam, free-climbing) and Batman Arkham Asylum (combat), but it very much feels different. Even when you're completely leveled up its still possible to swamped by so many Orcs that even as a badass ranger you never truly feel safe in Mordor, this is especially true at the beginning of the game. The story was also really good as well, although at times it felt a bit thrown together (you can approach certain missions in whatever order you want, so branching side-stories can feel lost in the overall narrative). My only major gripe is that after the campaign is finished the side missions (archer, sword, dagger and outcast missions) dont have enough variety to sustain 5-10hrs of grinding. It would have been good if cut-scene side-missions were available or the side-missions already in place had more variety and better objectives.… Expand
  13. 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
  14. Mikeyd93
    Oct 19, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A mixture between the Arkham and the Assassins Creed franchises. Easy to get in to and fun if you enjoy these types. Stealth in the game is fun and fair. I do wish there was more to the story line, as i found it short. also Talions face should have been better detailed. As the main character whose previous life was being a ranger, you'd think there would be scars or wrinkles from his past. The "end boss" is also disappointing as he is a quick time event at the end. overall good game… Expand
  15. Kal-Hell
    Oct 19, 2014
    9
    We who love LotR have been burned before by the promise of Tolkien gaming bliss, WBIE have finally delivered. Even if you aren't a fan of LotR you'll enjoy the Arkham-like combat system, the Nemesis system, and cutting an Orcs head off. I put this game down for a week to play Alien: Isolation and when I came back I thought the new-game-rush would have warn off, I was wrong. It's just a joyWe who love LotR have been burned before by the promise of Tolkien gaming bliss, WBIE have finally delivered. Even if you aren't a fan of LotR you'll enjoy the Arkham-like combat system, the Nemesis system, and cutting an Orcs head off. I put this game down for a week to play Alien: Isolation and when I came back I thought the new-game-rush would have warn off, I was wrong. It's just a joy to play. The story isn't all that but this is a game you will want to come back to time and time again.… Expand
  16. 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
  17. VGReviwer
    Oct 19, 2014
    8
    Shadow of Mordor is an innovative addition to the open world genre. In an industry filled with games that are rehashed, re-skinned versions of their respective games before them, it is great to see something fresh in gaming. The nemesis system makes the game. The countless scenarios that i created with rival orcs is always dynamic. Its the part of this game that sets it apart from othersShadow of Mordor is an innovative addition to the open world genre. In an industry filled with games that are rehashed, re-skinned versions of their respective games before them, it is great to see something fresh in gaming. The nemesis system makes the game. The countless scenarios that i created with rival orcs is always dynamic. Its the part of this game that sets it apart from others and is worth getting just to experience it. The game does however have some flaws that keep it from being recognized as a 10/10 game. First off, what the game does right.

    While the maps are smaller than I'm used to, they are well designed, especially in the main orc strongholds which offer you so many ways to go about your mission. In the game their are 3 main ways to progress in a mission. You can go in sword swinging and catching the orcs off guard (though I'd advise against it in early levels, This game is no walk in the park for noobs), You could slip past like a shadow through stealth (which you must use in this game, or prepare to die) or you could play tactically be distracting enemies, drawing in the beasts of the wild, secretly branding and controlling enemy soldiers before you launch an attack( which is always fun when it comes together in your assault) or scaring the living **** out of your enemies with the always helpful morgul flies.
    The combat system itself is like a hybrid of assassins creed and Batman Arkham series, with each present at all the right levels. Its so satisfying when you finally decapitate your arch nemesis after he has killed you 500 times and is basically immune to any strategy. The graphics on the ps4 are great and really stand out however a bit more variation in the environment would have been appreciated
    The collectibles in the game are... descent. The artifacts are like an audio log mixed with an actual object (memory reading, the game explains it). While sometimes the objects are somewhat bland, the memory almost always interesting and the artifacts add to the vast lore of J.R.R Tolkien.

    Now for the negatives. The games story, while interesting at first, never gets really engaging except for the plot twist in the end, no spoiling. The characters are okay and not that interesting. I feel like i would have become more invested in Talion if they had shown more of his memories through other collectables or something like that. The boss fight with the black hand are the games weakest points, they are not challenging and really scripted for this game. The last one was the biggest disappointment. Their was so much potential for an epic clash that would rival that of Dark Souls. Instead, we get a quick time event. Which is such a shame, seeing how many random encounters have felt like epic boss fights. Another thing this game needed from dark souls was greater difficulty, for late game i mean. Once you've played the game for about 8 to 10 hours, it becomes really easy, with no way to increase the difficulty.

    In spite of the flaws, the game is a great piece of work from monolith, a developer who has now earned my respect. If the story had been better and if the story boss fight were more interesting then I would have give this game a full 10 out of 10. But for a now I give it 8. However it is the best lotr game made and if you are a fan the franchise or you feel like you want to try something , it is a must buy. I hope the sequel is just as innovative.    … Expand
  18. St4rk
    Oct 19, 2014
    10
    By far my favourite PS4 game I have played since launch. A real jewel in the rough and a must play game for any fan of the sandbox/open world genre. Even if you aren't a fan of the LotR franchise this is a must own, form combat to graphics and scenery this game is just amazing. They've taken so many element of other games, Batman and Assassins Creed and perfected it and not to mention theBy far my favourite PS4 game I have played since launch. A real jewel in the rough and a must play game for any fan of the sandbox/open world genre. Even if you aren't a fan of the LotR franchise this is a must own, form combat to graphics and scenery this game is just amazing. They've taken so many element of other games, Batman and Assassins Creed and perfected it and not to mention the nemesis system which works so well and really adds some depth to the game. So far my no 1 for game of the year and there are only a handful of other titles I'd say can compete this year.… Expand
  19. 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
  20. Ryhelia
    Oct 18, 2014
    10
    Game should be an 8.5 or 9, but I give it a 10 to balance out these ridiculously low scores of 1,2 and 0. To the couple people complaining about "bugs"...it's just not true. I have 40+ hours so far and the game is smooth as silk. I spoke with a few friends who have been playing this for 3 solid weeks and they haven't seen a single bug either. As far as the other super low scores....IGame should be an 8.5 or 9, but I give it a 10 to balance out these ridiculously low scores of 1,2 and 0. To the couple people complaining about "bugs"...it's just not true. I have 40+ hours so far and the game is smooth as silk. I spoke with a few friends who have been playing this for 3 solid weeks and they haven't seen a single bug either. As far as the other super low scores....I don't know. ..just bitter trolls I guess.

    This game is loads of fun great graphics and super fun combat. In my opinion the combat never gets old because there are so many different strategies you can take to approach your enemies.

    As many others have said...the game has elements of assassin's creed and Batman, but it does what they do BETTER. It also came up with this "nemesis system" and your enemies evolve and change depending on how you play the game. They have real memories. Anyway, I could go on and on. I'm having a blast with this game and so far it is my favorite game on the ps4    … Expand
  21. flametail23
    Oct 18, 2014
    9
    I thought this game was just going to be an Assassin's Creed clone, it's really not. I think this is even better than Assassin's Creed. I love this game, if you love LOTR or Middle Earth's past you will like this game. The nemisis system works amazingly and I love encountering Orks I have fought before to see what scars they have after the first battle we had.
    9/10
  22. Wardrobechaos
    Oct 18, 2014
    8
    Like that game a lot, its cool, stylish, super combat system, working interesting abilities that actually change how you play the game, I just think the main character is a bit flat and run of the mill, but the world is gorgeous and fits together well, maybe whats missing is towns or settlements to add a bit of peace into the hostile setting...all in all a great, polished game...
  23. Mistval
    Oct 17, 2014
    8
    This is a competent but small open world game with some interesting innovations that hopefully will work their way into the video game industry at large.

    Combat in this game is very fun and you get a heck of a lot of abilities. So many that sometimes using them is a little awkward, as you have to press two buttons at once or something. No big deal though. That's the price of having a    This is a competent but small open world game with some interesting innovations that hopefully will work their way into the video game industry at large.

    Combat in this game is very fun and you get a heck of a lot of abilities. So many that sometimes using them is a little awkward, as you have to press two buttons at once or something. No big deal though. That's the price of having a lot of abilities. Stealth mechanics are pretty good and, indeed, quite Assassin's Creed like. If you've played that series you'll be right at home. Enemies can be ridiculously oblivious to you running around and killing their buddies, so it ain't no Splinter Cell, but that's probably for the best.

    As far as being open-world, yes you can go anywhere and there's a lot of stuff to do, but don't expect the scale of, for example, an Elder Scrolls game. There aren't skills, there aren't cities, shops, no people you can really talk to, just some people in cutscenes and slaves that say a few words of thanks when you free them. The world is also pretty small, I was disappointed by how small it is. They pack a lot of stuff in, but you will see it all pretty quickly. By the ten hour mark I had unlocked all dozen-ish of the forge towers in the game (pretty much exactly the same thing as viewpoints in Assassin's Creed) and forged the legendary bow by finishing all the bow missions (ten, they take like two minutes each).

    Nemesis system: a lot of people are talking this up, and rightfully so. This is the first current-gen game (I refuse to call PS4 and Xbone next gen anymore) I've played that does something that last gen couldn't. In a nutshell, orcs are also playing the game, trying to kill their enemies (including you) and get promoted to war chief while you play the game. Sometimes some orc you fought a while ago will show up and try to kill you at a really inconvenient time. But that's just payback for when you tried to kill him at a really inconvenient time. You can also take control of orcs by defeating them and order them to kill other orcs you don't like. And you can help them level up and get promoted to war chief.

    Eventually this makes things too easy, though. If you control a war chief and there's some other orc you want to kill, you can just tell your war chief to help you kill the other war chief and you would have to try pretty hard to lose that fight.

    So the Nemesis system is not perfect but it is definitely fresh and interesting and there is a lot of potential in the concept. Hopefully other games will follow in Mordor's footsteps by giving NPCs more soul. Mordor is just the beginning of the trend, and other games can hone and refine it.    … Expand
  24. TheWillydog
    Oct 17, 2014
    2
    I bought this game because it got such a high rating and I saw the words RPG and ADVENTURE in a review, I got bored of this game very quickly, fighting mechanics were familiar and gameplay felt repetitive. Kill orc, kill orc, kill orc, no roleplaying or adventure, just find an orc and slash.... repeat over and over.
    I took the game back to EB games a day later for a refund and I haven't    I bought this game because it got such a high rating and I saw the words RPG and ADVENTURE in a review, I got bored of this game very quickly, fighting mechanics were familiar and gameplay felt repetitive. Kill orc, kill orc, kill orc, no roleplaying or adventure, just find an orc and slash.... repeat over and over.
    I took the game back to EB games a day later for a refund and I haven't done that in years.
    I suggest you hire before you buy if you're looking for an rpg or adventure because this is just button mashing action.    … Expand
  25. 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
  26. Maeglin
    Oct 17, 2014
    8
    Even though it shares many similarities with Assassins creed or the batman franchise the game provides it's own experience. After so many failed Lotr titles this game provides an interesting story line and a rather unique insight in Mordor.

    The combat system is easy to learn but difficult to master. The camera might sometimes be a little off but never to an annoying point or that it    Even though it shares many similarities with Assassins creed or the batman franchise the game provides it's own experience. After so many failed Lotr titles this game provides an interesting story line and a rather unique insight in Mordor.

    The combat system is easy to learn but difficult to master. The camera might sometimes be a little off but never to an annoying point or that it hampers your view or fighting ability.

    And even though anything but the main missions is repetitive (kill uruks, free slaves, kill warchiefs) there is a certain addiction to doing the challenges, duels and interrupting a recruitment attempt by Uruk warchiefs. Especially when things get personal (they have killed you and brag about it, throw insults at you or run away to fight you another time) it is very satisfying to walk across half of Mordor to get that bastard and finish him off. The sheer hatred you feel when a cowardly warchief stabs you every time in the back when you are already in a fight and kills you for the 3th time that way (all the while growing in power) I have not experienced before.
    The abilities work all very well and give you more options to make a battle a whole spectacle.

    I just had hoped there would be a bit more diversity in your enemies/world, like Haradrim or Easterlings. Maybe that will be something for expansions? And my worry is that when you are fully levelled up you become a bit to godlike which takes away the thrill of the fight or hunt.

    My only complaint is that not everything is explained very well. You learn the most from doing immediately the main missions but somehow they throw you out there in the open world without much explaining.    … Expand
  27. WarX
    Oct 17, 2014
    9
    Best Lord of the Rings themed in recent times.
    Yes it have AC elements, but it's not a rip off, they have improved the formula. And the AC fan boys dont understand that.
  28. Zafeer
    Oct 16, 2014
    9
    So entertaining I played every spare minute until I completed the game. I can't say that about very many games. Excellent combat and an interesting story that stays within the lore but doesn't feel mired in it.
  29. MasiTronXIII
    Oct 15, 2014
    9
    I didn't know much about Shadow of Mordor going into it, but when you get started, this game simply feels incredible, running around Mordor in itself on next gen machines looks fantastic. The combat system is reminiscent of the Arkham combat systems, but this time you can brutally murder things, making it a step up in my opinion. The biggest knock on this game is it can get a bitI didn't know much about Shadow of Mordor going into it, but when you get started, this game simply feels incredible, running around Mordor in itself on next gen machines looks fantastic. The combat system is reminiscent of the Arkham combat systems, but this time you can brutally murder things, making it a step up in my opinion. The biggest knock on this game is it can get a bit repetitive sometimes. If you are a Lord of the rings fan, or a fan of the Arkham series, like myself, you will probably love this game. It's smooth and beautiful and a great step up on the next gen consoles. The nemesis system is incredible, within 2 hours I had been killed 6 times by one foolish uruk who made his way up the ranks, eventually I got revenge, only for him to come back with a face wound and for our battle to continue. It creates small stories and power struggles within the game and I absolutely love it. Overall Shadow of Mordor is an incredibly fun experience, though it is not without flaw and so much more could be done with it, I would highly recommend it. I look forward to more games following in the footsteps of this one… Expand
  30. 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
  31. aadms
    Oct 15, 2014
    8
    This game does justice to Tolkien's world. Without going into deep narrative, many items are found and characters are met throughout Mordor that tells the Silmarillion up to the events beginning The Lord of the Ring. The characters aren't top-notch realistic, yet the graphics, animation look great, especially in 1080p. The combat is more like Batman than like AC, although it does borrowThis game does justice to Tolkien's world. Without going into deep narrative, many items are found and characters are met throughout Mordor that tells the Silmarillion up to the events beginning The Lord of the Ring. The characters aren't top-notch realistic, yet the graphics, animation look great, especially in 1080p. The combat is more like Batman than like AC, although it does borrow AC's scaling walls as well as the rooftop strikes, but you level up your combat combos and skills like the Batman Arkham games. But, this game goes beyond what Batman offers in the combat scheme as the addition of "Wraith" skills makes combat something incredible to see once you get all the nuances down. The "nemesis" system is an awesome innovation that I would love to see more open world games utilize. I found myself getting caught up more in cleaning out orc strongholds and bending a makeshift army to my will, then searching out the story line in this open world. Sadly, while there is an emotional charged story, with both Tailon and Celebrimbor as your duel protagonists, it never really comes across compelling enough to get caught up in. Such as shame, because the voice acting and animations are very well done. And the last sad thing about this game is the final end battles with Sauron's servants that were very anti-climatically done. Think Tomb Raiders last game disappointing boss battle. But even with those issues, I found myself engrossed in the world of Mordor and quite a willing participant to rid Middle Earth of orcs in flourishing style.… Expand
  32. 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
  33. 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
  34. ghamed
    Oct 15, 2014
    10
    Fantastic fun, great combat, great story ;Story is really not bad of boring I can't find anything negative about this game so I'll give it a 10/10
    thanks
  35. 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
  36. 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.
  37. mordor15
    Oct 13, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. overall the game was epic, the only thing i didn't like was the final battle with sauron. it was too short and a bit of a disappointment...with all of that hype he got for being so evil and all.And i hate the fact that talion didn't give a **** about the whole Celebrimbor using him thing.… Expand
  38. Movieman4
    Oct 13, 2014
    10
    This game is just pure fun. Story is at least decent, but the action is what this is about. Get this game if you want and open world AC and Arkham game in a LoTR universe with tons of gory bloody action.
  39. mt1886
    Oct 13, 2014
    9
    This is a fun game, the combat is stolen from the Batman Arkham games, but that is not a bad thing because it does it better than any other game has other than Arkham. The Nemesis system is fun and it can feel rewarding when you finally beat a captain who has killed you multiple times and now is overpowered.
  40. Akilae0
    Oct 13, 2014
    9
    Fantastic game. Great open world, interesting story, fluid combat system, and strategy elements that get more interesting as you go forward. Highly recommended whether you're a fan of LOTR or just open world/action games in general.
  41. UShallntPASS
    Oct 13, 2014
    8
    Daring really from Monolith to come with another game from the consecrated Lord of the Rings series, but without bigger complications, Monolith developed a great and indefatigable hack'n slash game, with a superb story, meanwhile some mechanics that seems to be good working at the first view may be just problematic after 5 or 6 hours of gameplay, as well as the map, a map that no, the fastDaring really from Monolith to come with another game from the consecrated Lord of the Rings series, but without bigger complications, Monolith developed a great and indefatigable hack'n slash game, with a superb story, meanwhile some mechanics that seems to be good working at the first view may be just problematic after 5 or 6 hours of gameplay, as well as the map, a map that no, the fast taveling points weren't able to save it this time, the traveling in the game is slow and repetitive.

    But boreless combat, fluid and frantic, it can give you lots of fun for a long time, without leaving a missing air in the story, I can't forgot to mention the graphics, gorgeours to say less, an easy 80/100 game.    … Expand
  42. yogurtspy
    Oct 13, 2014
    9
    I've given this a 9. It would have been a 10 but I think the difficulty at the start can make it a touch frustrating for a new player, and the tutorials could have explained the combat systems a bit better. It borrows heavily from AC and the Batman games, but why not? SoM adds in new elements that make it an awesome game which will make you want to throw the controller at the TV, but alsoI've given this a 9. It would have been a 10 but I think the difficulty at the start can make it a touch frustrating for a new player, and the tutorials could have explained the combat systems a bit better. It borrows heavily from AC and the Batman games, but why not? SoM adds in new elements that make it an awesome game which will make you want to throw the controller at the TV, but also have you dancing round the room with glee when you finally kill that orc that has been killing you over and over again the last week. Looks and place great on the PS4.… Expand
  43. BurningG
    Oct 12, 2014
    10
    Some say this game is assassin creed + batman rip off. But I would say it takes the best aspect of both games and add its original nemesis system and end up with one of the best game I've played.
    The graphic is one of the best I've seen to date and the various execution animation never get bore.
  44. 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.
  45. nms1215
    Oct 12, 2014
    8
    Story: While not canon, this story explores a grey area in the mythology and proposes an interesting turn of events that are not to be expected by LOTR fans, but still appreciated. I love the LOTR lore, and this did nothing but interest me. I was not yelling at how it may contradict the lore, I was interested at how this provides a different take. I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers.Story: While not canon, this story explores a grey area in the mythology and proposes an interesting turn of events that are not to be expected by LOTR fans, but still appreciated. I love the LOTR lore, and this did nothing but interest me. I was not yelling at how it may contradict the lore, I was interested at how this provides a different take. I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers. The story is not in your face, but carefully in the background, allowing you to explore your two main characters while progressing further. The true fun is in the nemesis system.

    Gameplay: This game plays just like the Batman Arkham games, with a smooth free-flow combat system based around achieving combos and using various abilities. However, the nemesis system adds a whole new dimension to this game. Each uruk is unique--even the lowly grunts. Each one has the potential to rise and fall (die) in the ranks, develop new traits (weaknesses, strengths, etc.) based on their experiences, and also be your tool of manipulation. The real fun is choosing uruks that you enjoy and dominating them--this allows you to begin building your own line of uruks, having them train and gain power, get close to your target, or strike at other uruk leaders. If you like the combat of the Batman Arkham games, you will enjoy this combat, which includes the excellent gore and crude violence missing from Batman, as well as some great differences to make it its own.

    Graphics: While I felt like the main character (Talion) had a weird appearance to his face, you are usually over his shoulder so it is not often in view. Everything else looks fantastic. Not quite up to the current-gen standard, but clearly at the cross-gen peak.

    This game is a whole lot of fun. While the story may be short, the nemesis system offers endless hours of coming back and manipulating the ranks of your enemies.

    P.S. Some of these orcs will freak your out! One just kept breathing heavily in my face and it was creepy as hell!    … Expand
  46. 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
  47. mrshoes74
    Oct 12, 2014
    10
    As a huge fan of the LOTR movies I waited eagerly for this release, I was not disappointed.
    To me the game just oozes quality and refreshing gameplay in a world where we are surrounded FPS games. I'll be honest the game wont win any awards for the story but the whole feel of the game is very much in LOTR universe and again another top class performance from Troy Baker who seems that every    As a huge fan of the LOTR movies I waited eagerly for this release, I was not disappointed.
    To me the game just oozes quality and refreshing gameplay in a world where we are surrounded FPS games. I'll be honest the game wont win any awards for the story but the whole feel of the game is very much in LOTR universe and again another top class performance from Troy Baker who seems that every game he works on is pure gold. The gameplay is excellent and although elements have been taken from Assassins Creed and Batman Shadow of Mordor uses all these ability's with a fresh approach. The combat system is excellent and there is nothing more rewarding than decapitating an orc and watching his fellow soldiers running to the hills in shock and dismay.. A mention has to go to the Nemesis system which a totally new experience and is constantly in the back ground. You take down a captain then another orc is promoted they may get to war chief only to be beheaded in the future. The graphics are vibrant and detailed and always a joy to look at. The soundtrack is very reminiscent to the films and any LOTR fan would be mad to miss this masterpiece. Hats off to Monolith ..Bravo...Looking forward to future DLC....    … Expand
  48. vinnykin
    Oct 12, 2014
    9
    The sign of a good game is when you notice the sun coming up and your still playing! I was hooked for 3 days on this game and played to 100% completion with 80% trophy's. The combat, movement and game mechanics are brilliant and the nemesis system was a nice surprise........however the end of the story was a bit of a let down and by the time you have hit 25 hours of gameplay and unlockedThe sign of a good game is when you notice the sun coming up and your still playing! I was hooked for 3 days on this game and played to 100% completion with 80% trophy's. The combat, movement and game mechanics are brilliant and the nemesis system was a nice surprise........however the end of the story was a bit of a let down and by the time you have hit 25 hours of gameplay and unlocked all the abilities you will be so proficient at killing orcs and leaders that the game becomes stale. the 30 hours are so fun though and well worth the money. will probably play it again right through in a few months… Expand
  49. 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)
  50. MalistiX
    Oct 12, 2014
    9
    I gotto say if you love action games or like them and love LOTR you will find much to enjoy here. The combat is great and that is where the game shines, killing orcs in all kinds of fashion with a solid and good voice acted cast that give this title some real good atmosphere and you will find much to love.
  51. velvetmeds
    Oct 12, 2014
    0
    This game is incredibly overrated, wtf are reviewers and users thinking? The game has good fighting/combat, though even that is entirely ripped off of Batman Arkham (which still does it better than this game), everything else is a yawn fest. Bland, empty, lifeless open world which is a chore to travel through, boring story, lots of useless padding of the kind that you find in many UbisoftThis game is incredibly overrated, wtf are reviewers and users thinking? The game has good fighting/combat, though even that is entirely ripped off of Batman Arkham (which still does it better than this game), everything else is a yawn fest. Bland, empty, lifeless open world which is a chore to travel through, boring story, lots of useless padding of the kind that you find in many Ubisoft games... damn. This game would have been a lot better with a more tight, focused experience instead of trying to do many things and artificially increasing play time. But i guess this is what gamers want nowadays, doesn't matter if it's boring or not, they just want it to take hours to play through. Quantity over quality mentality...which i disagree with.… Expand
  52. Mehtevas
    Oct 12, 2014
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've had so much fun with this game so far! My favorite feature would definitely be the nemesis system with all the different captains you can fight. I was a little disappointed that there was no grand massive battle at the end since we spend the entire second half of the game building a grand Army. Yeah I mean when you attack the tower there are maybe 10 with you, but that isn't on the immense scale I would've hoped for. But that is literally my only complaint, which I think speaks volumes about the game itself. Definitely would recommend!… Expand
  53. davecave23
    Oct 12, 2014
    9
    This game is not just a great Lord of the Rings game, but a great game in general that repeats its lore and roots. Many will say that the game is similar to the Arkham and assassins creed games and to that I say.... so thats awesome! its story is a bit generic but theres a good host of side characters and it should keep you sufficiently engaged for the duration of the 12 hour campaign. GetThis game is not just a great Lord of the Rings game, but a great game in general that repeats its lore and roots. Many will say that the game is similar to the Arkham and assassins creed games and to that I say.... so thats awesome! its story is a bit generic but theres a good host of side characters and it should keep you sufficiently engaged for the duration of the 12 hour campaign. Get this game NOW!… Expand
  54. 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
  55. Jim222001
    Oct 11, 2014
    10
    This game is awesome and they need more like it. I love that once an orc kills you; that orc becomes an enemy of yours and even remembers you every time you bump into them. The game can be hard but it's awesome nevertheless.
  56. Joelony
    Oct 11, 2014
    8
    There are few other "licensed" games that actually play well and deserve a great score; this game is one of them. Is it perfect? No. Does it get a little bit repetitive? Yes. Even after the 100th Uruk Captain kill is it still satisfying? H*LL YES!

    The game features a satisfying and fairly long campaign, with some time trials and leaderboard driven tasks to keep you playing after you    There are few other "licensed" games that actually play well and deserve a great score; this game is one of them. Is it perfect? No. Does it get a little bit repetitive? Yes. Even after the 100th Uruk Captain kill is it still satisfying? H*LL YES!

    The game features a satisfying and fairly long campaign, with some time trials and leaderboard driven tasks to keep you playing after you beat the game. Those modes are similar to the Batman: Arkham series of games. No surprise, since WB Games published ME: Shadow of Mordor.

    I must point out however, that while at times it feels like Lord of the Rings, other times it doesn't. In fact, the game could easily drop the Lord of the Rings licensing and still stand on it's own merit for delivering an Assassin's Creed style clone that actually plays really well. In fact, the combat is oftentimes more enjoyable than it ever was in AC.

    I must suggest that if you do play this game, don't get sidetracked by how fun it is to just kill stuff. Get through missions since it unlocks more content. I realized I had maxed out my RPG style upgrades and novelists pretty early. While this makes you feel like a demigod, or should I say demiwraith, when you can absolutely wreck a small army of Uruks (30+ enemies at a time) it makes missions an absolute snoozy breeze. I was still being taught "core game mechanics" in some missions and my abilities were mostly maxed out.

    The bad: Some of the animations and gameplay are downright wonky. Climbing can be frustrating and clumsy and some animations and move sets are not as fluid as Assassin's Creed or nonexistent altogether. For example, sidling a wall is really clunky, if you aren't perfectly lined up your character will oftentimes refuse to climb, and there is no way to jump from one ledge to another while hanging (unless it is close enough behind you then it gives an R1 prompt).

    Also, as much as I don't like comparing it to Assassin's Creed, it's hard not to notice the similarities. Graphics are much better than Black Flag, obviously, but aspects like building up a base or a large supporting cast just aren't in this game. However, the supporting cast are the Uruk Captains that you fight and without spoiling too much for you, I was really impressed with how this game adapts to the decisions I made; whether that was fleeing a fight, dying, or using a particular method to dispatch a Captain this game does a great job of making them feel like real adversaries. While their motivation isn't too deep (they are dumb evil Orcs, after all) it's really satisfying to use their weaknesses against them and finally get rid of that thorn in your side.

    I'd give this game an 8.7 or 8.8 if I could.    … Expand
  57. aqurban
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    It might hesitate to dive into the storytelling which it lacks, yet Talion's adventure might be best told in his battles against the merciless horde of Uruks. Taking down captains or petting them against one another to achieve his goals, deceiving them to become under his command or simply ending their lives certainly extends the experience into an endless but not linear number of stories.It might hesitate to dive into the storytelling which it lacks, yet Talion's adventure might be best told in his battles against the merciless horde of Uruks. Taking down captains or petting them against one another to achieve his goals, deceiving them to become under his command or simply ending their lives certainly extends the experience into an endless but not linear number of stories. Shadow of Mordor does not shy when it comes to delivering a bloody and merciless combat experience and differently does not hide its incredible Nemesis system and its infinite capabilities.… Expand
  58. Rylos77
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    After reading some of the user reviews for this game I have been left scratching my head. People who complain about only having one chance when it comes to the captains and such, obviously have no idea what the whole nemesis system is all about. this game is designed to make you stop and think before you take on some of the higher ranking uruks. And those who complain about there onlyAfter reading some of the user reviews for this game I have been left scratching my head. People who complain about only having one chance when it comes to the captains and such, obviously have no idea what the whole nemesis system is all about. this game is designed to make you stop and think before you take on some of the higher ranking uruks. And those who complain about there only being orcs to kill, i laugh and say, you do realize your in the lotr universe rite? were you expecting half naked faeries and cupcake s&*tting unicorns?. That being said, this game is a whole lot of fun. it has a bit of a learning curve as we are not used to playing a game as clever as this. rushing in to a battle is a sure fire way to get killed and rank up the enemy. Not to mention that you may also be being hunted. the fear of thinking, its ok, im only taking on a level 5 captain, just to be ambushed by your rank 12 nemesis mid battle is very real. its a great game that manages to make your palms sweat when your about to die, forcing you ask yourself, would i rather flee and be called a coward by the orcs? ( and they do call you a coward ) or do i risk letting another captain level up making him tougher to defeat down the track?
    This is a must play for those who crave a deep gaming experience, the rabbit hole is deep indeed with this one. Happy hunting.    … Expand
  59. Moonraver005
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    This game fell off my radar for a while; but now that I've picked it up I have been pleasantly surprised. Truly enjoyable from the beginning and a nice addition to the Middle Earth Universe. I ask everyone to give it a shot.
  60. MyRaceIsDoctor
    Oct 10, 2014
    3
    visuals are nice and sometimes this game has epic moments where the fall of the game starts is the combat. its boring , reptive and really ruins the atmosphere of the game. the game is way to easy after a hour and a half the game is pretty much a cake walk and there is no difficulty slider which it needs cause its just to easy. the last boss battle last 30 seconds and is just a few quickvisuals are nice and sometimes this game has epic moments where the fall of the game starts is the combat. its boring , reptive and really ruins the atmosphere of the game. the game is way to easy after a hour and a half the game is pretty much a cake walk and there is no difficulty slider which it needs cause its just to easy. the last boss battle last 30 seconds and is just a few quick time events which was extremely unforgivable after all the tension and ready to seek your revenge its a joke. i am glad i rented this because i got to say i was very disappointed. many orcs durring the times when you lead your army just seem ghost out and stand around when they are suppose to be killing other orcs which kills it for me since i was looking most forward to this game play element.… Expand
  61. Flippy4212
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    Let Me set This Strait, its a great game, i only have one issue. I made the mistake in the begining of not knowing what to do. so i went off to kill uruks. i soon learned that the more you die to the same captain, the harder it gets to kill them. so now after an hour of messing around dieing its almost impossible for someone like me. But Beside From me Dieing To the Same Captain 40 TimesLet Me set This Strait, its a great game, i only have one issue. I made the mistake in the begining of not knowing what to do. so i went off to kill uruks. i soon learned that the more you die to the same captain, the harder it gets to kill them. so now after an hour of messing around dieing its almost impossible for someone like me. But Beside From me Dieing To the Same Captain 40 Times Over. Its A really good game… Expand
  62. Northur
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    Fantastic Tolkien game. The Nemesis system is something that I would want to be in other games too. Combat is very similar to Batman Arkham series, which is a good thing. This seriously has the potential to be game of the year. Eventhough hte game has it's flaws, like the camera, I would highly recommend this to all.
  63. 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
  64. ps4ftw
    Oct 9, 2014
    8
    Love the game love the combat system love the parcour does not feel like AC at all story is amazinging just dont like how easy it is to get over whelmed by enimies and i didnt like the ending but im happy
  65. JohnnyBeGood
    Oct 9, 2014
    10
    The game is absolutely incredible. I had heard it was great, but after about 3 hours, I wasn't feeling it. I was struggling with it at first. I honestly was disappointed. Then something suddenly clicked, and I absolutely love it. The combat is amazing. It's fluid, smooth, easy to learn, yet difficult to master. It's pretty much perfect. The upgrades are extensive (for both your characterThe game is absolutely incredible. I had heard it was great, but after about 3 hours, I wasn't feeling it. I was struggling with it at first. I honestly was disappointed. Then something suddenly clicked, and I absolutely love it. The combat is amazing. It's fluid, smooth, easy to learn, yet difficult to master. It's pretty much perfect. The upgrades are extensive (for both your character and your weapons. Nemesis system is really really really cool and if they don't put it in more games, I'll be disappointed. Newbies be warned, it's a pretty challenging game. It's certainly not easy. But it 's refreshing to see a game that makes challenges you and doesn't cater to thick-skulled neanderthals like games have been lately. The voice acting is absolutely top notch. Troy Baker's performance as Talion rivals his portrayal of Joel in TLoU. Every voice actor I've heard so far has done an outstanding job, especially the ones for Ratbag and Gollum (I had to look it up because apparently Andy Serkis didn't do Gollum; the man they got to fill his shoes did a spectacular job). You'd be dumb not to pick this game up. The graphics are amazing, the orc characters models look unreal, the environments look stunning.9.5/10 for sure, but I'll round up.… Expand
  66. Vertran187
    Oct 9, 2014
    10
    Fantastic game a true gem after a disappointing year this game was pure fun great abilities fluid combat unique story line and some unique features. GOTY so far who would have thought.
  67. Shiftian_Be
    Oct 9, 2014
    9
    Truly a lot of fun.. The nemesis-system is so fresh to me, a new mechanic..
    I still don't really enjoy losing but its bearable now. Story is awful, which is the reason it didn't get a 10 but man , am I glad they finally made a LOTR game thats good and not consist of Lego.
    Any reviewer rating this beyond 7/8 is a joke and has some emotional reason to not give it an honest rating. Get this.
  68. Magus80
    Oct 9, 2014
    8
    +gameplay is fun and polished
    +plenty of content / collectibles
    +Nemesis system bring something new and fun +adorable orcs that can be killed in numerous ways -weak story and ending, absence of your favorite LotR monsters -repetitive missions that can get old fairly quickly -substantial content taken out of game for DLCs, wait for the GotY edition, of course -lack of varied    +gameplay is fun and polished
    +plenty of content / collectibles
    +Nemesis system bring something new and fun
    +adorable orcs that can be killed in numerous ways

    -weak story and ending, absence of your favorite LotR monsters
    -repetitive missions that can get old fairly quickly
    -substantial content taken out of game for DLCs, wait for the GotY edition, of course
    -lack of varied environments, it's just mostly forests, some rocks, castles and strongholds    … Expand
  69. R7critical
    Oct 9, 2014
    9
    Shadow of Mordor is a better assassin's creed game than any assassin's creed game.

    I spent a good 4 hours as soon as the game started roaming around stabbing orcs in the back, having a grand ol' time murdering anything that moved and hunting down captains before I even bothered getting into the main missions. The game really opens up and shows you it's true colors in the second half    Shadow of Mordor is a better assassin's creed game than any assassin's creed game.

    I spent a good 4 hours as soon as the game started roaming around stabbing orcs in the back, having a grand ol' time murdering anything that moved and hunting down captains before I even bothered getting into the main missions.

    The game really opens up and shows you it's true colors in the second half with the addition of the "Brand" ability which allows you to convert enemies into your followers. Suddenly a 30 on 1 brawl looks less like an impossible disaster and more like an opportunity.

    The nemesis system is a lot of fun and I had many a "Hey, I remember that guy!" moment when a captain I killed came back with a metal eye-patch or a sack over his head screaming "they call me bag head now!" and with the brand power you can take control of those captains and ensure their rise in the ranks of Sauron's army, becoming a shadowy figure pulling their strings from behind a curtain as you lure your true foes out into the open and crush them with your army of carefully selected and trained up warchiefs.

    The only real complaints I have are the fiddly controls near walls, getting stuck on them when you try to walk around them can be a little annoying, and climbing around on archer towers trying to drop into the middle space can also be irritating.
    The lack of a smarter lock-on in combat means you'll end up combat-branding the same guy twice in a row and not him and his pal right next to him. There is no -hard- lock on either, so you have to contend with the soft lock on system and fiddly wiggle yourself around a bunch until the guy in the pack below you want to pounce on is lit up, this is especially a nuisance when the enemy has a group of bodyguards.

    The story is about average length for games these days, and it ends on a modern movie style "sequel coming!" note.

    It took about 3 solid days of playing to get ~most~ of the stuff in the game done, sidequests and all, I figure 4-5 days total if one were to try and platinum it AND just play the game.

    In all I would give this game a solid 8.6 out of 10, but since I can't, it's getting a 9.    … Expand
  70. morningstar6969
    Oct 9, 2014
    10
    Reminds me a lot of a mix between the Batman and Assassin Creed series but with a lot of fresh new ideas. Best game I've played in a long time. Definately a owner.
  71. Gamer_Guy
    Oct 8, 2014
    9
    I was a little cautious with this purchase as i don't usually buy assassins creed or batman but i'm a huge fan of lord of the rings and the hobbit. But pleasantly to my suprise this game is amazing. Graphically, technically and story wise.

    The nemesis system is brilliant. It's so refreshing to see developers add something new, unseen in any game today. Clearly this game borrows key    I was a little cautious with this purchase as i don't usually buy assassins creed or batman but i'm a huge fan of lord of the rings and the hobbit. But pleasantly to my suprise this game is amazing. Graphically, technically and story wise.

    The nemesis system is brilliant. It's so refreshing to see developers add something new, unseen in any game today. Clearly this game borrows key elements from assassins creed and batman arkham series but does this in such a way it feels unique to the game.

    i highly recommend this game to anyone interested. i will at least get 50-60 hours out of it. which is alot more than most single player games interest me these days.    … Expand
  72. sgtdegrandis
    Oct 8, 2014
    8
    this games is tons of fun however the biggest flaws are the QTE final boss battles also the missions themselves are just tutorials which is ok but i wish there was more to them also the story was not very interesting.

    now lets go to the goods first the combat is top notch you really feel like a complete badass also the killcam that happens when you charge your attacks are pretty epic    this games is tons of fun however the biggest flaws are the QTE final boss battles also the missions themselves are just tutorials which is ok but i wish there was more to them also the story was not very interesting.

    now lets go to the goods first the combat is top notch you really feel like a complete badass also the killcam that happens when you charge your attacks are pretty epic kinda reminds me of the movie "300"

    Nemesis System either works great or not at all what I mean is that my first play through I kept dying and the Orc that killed me leveled up to damn high and was untouchable but my second play through was very different all the Orc were to weak and never leveled up past 10    … Expand
  73. hollowfication
    Oct 8, 2014
    10
    oh my god i played it last night i only did like 3 mission i loved it i keep trying to takeout most of captain i keep dying it was headache but fact is fun

    felt like bit like assassin creed but fact is it mad i love Nemesis system it awesome wraith ability is cool just hope i get to control orc soon
  74. ernuk
    Oct 8, 2014
    8
    The way I felt about this game during the playthrough was a bit of a rollercoaster. There were great ups and then there were bland downs.

    I think the game is really bold in what it sets out to do. More often than not when you write a story within an already established world, you create new characters and tell their tales. I guess Talion and his story is exactly that, but everything    The way I felt about this game during the playthrough was a bit of a rollercoaster. There were great ups and then there were bland downs.

    I think the game is really bold in what it sets out to do. More often than not when you write a story within an already established world, you create new characters and tell their tales. I guess Talion and his story is exactly that, but everything else (and there's a plenty of that "else") goes hard on pre-established major characters. I can see why someone could be up in arms about the plot developement later in the game, but I don't really mind. The story overall was good, although I will say that some of the Main Missions didn't feel like Main Missions at all, and some of it just happened too quick.

    The gameplay? It's Assassin's Creed with Batman's combat, which if you asked me, is a significantly improved Assassin's Creed. Of course, aside from the combat being very solid, there are also plenty of other special tricks you can pull off to help you murder orcs. This is all great, but the major issue I had here was that you learn all those combat moves and tricks too slowly. When you've learned the bulk of them, the game is nearing it's end. And some of those are what I'd call core abilities! While opening all abilities slowly and letting the player choose the order is fine, this is something I've seen happen in other games too. I thought I had much more fun with the combat and orc slaughter later in the game than in the beginning. But when it was fun, it was really fun.

    The side missions and collectibles are alright. Or perhaps mediocre. There's an okay amount of them. What a lot of them do is add flavor to characters met during the main storyline, but those characters were only mentioned relatively briefly in the first place. I didn't really care reading more about them. "Forging the legend" of your weapons is a cool way to say "combat"/"stealth"/"archery" challenge. It's all fairly repetitive, but such is the nature of the beast.

    It's an interesting thing that there's no difficulty slider. I think it could use one, but there's two sides to that coin. The game gets harder everytime you die or use fast travel, but if you only die rarely and don't use fast travel, it actually never gets really hard. And I found avoiding death isn't actually hard, since running away from fights is really easy. So really, depending on how you're doing, you might find yourself wanting to turn the difficulty either up or down.

    All in all, if you liked either AC or Batman, you'll like this. If you'd like to play Orc Army Building Simulator, you're gonna love this. If you're a hardcore LotR fan, you probably think this one ruined LotR forever. If you're a casual fan, not so much.    … Expand
  75. 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
  76. Vigilem
    Oct 8, 2014
    8
    Shadow of Mordor is quite an ambitious action-RPG. The developers have taken quite a few risks to try and deliver something completely different to anything else out there. To break down my score:

    Story: 7/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Graphics: 8/10 The story is admittedly nothing special. It definitely seems to me that the story was developed to fit the general gameplay which makes it seem    Shadow of Mordor is quite an ambitious action-RPG. The developers have taken quite a few risks to try and deliver something completely different to anything else out there. To break down my score:

    Story: 7/10
    Gameplay: 9/10
    Graphics: 8/10

    The story is admittedly nothing special. It definitely seems to me that the story was developed to fit the general gameplay which makes it seem less significant and somewhat of an afterthought whilst you're running around slaying Uruks. Despite this, it is still pretty engaging when you're watching the cut-scenes or doing a main-story mission and I felt it was good enough to suit the game quite well.

    Gameplay is great. The combat reminded me of the early days of playing Dark Souls for the first time and how quickly you have to learn how to make combat work to get anywhere. It also reminds me of Metal Gear Revengence with the combo system and specials which feels incredibly rewarding as you pull of something neat in the heat of battle and it looks like a move from a film. As mentioned by many, the Nemesis system is a brilliant reinvention of traditional RPG bosses. Not only does each Captain have unique strengths and weaknesses that you can exploit, if one defeats you, they can grow stronger. If an ordinary Uruk kills you, they can be promoted to become a whole new Captain in the Uruk's ranks. The system isn't reliant on the player to kill these captains - the captains sometimes challenge each other to succeed one another. The player can take advantage of this and interrupt these events and take out both in one opportunity.
    What stopped me from giving the gameplay a 10/10 is the stealth system which I found somewhat frustrating. Especially in missions where if the enemies set off the alarm - you have to start over.

    Graphics are very good. Though I thought the hair wasn't rendered as well as it could have been - everything else looks beautiful - particularly the landscape.

    Overall - a solid game. Well worth the price and the best [new] game out for the new consoles so far (Last of Us Remastered and Metro Redux excluded).    … Expand
  77. BobBently
    Oct 8, 2014
    10
    Under-hyped hit game of the year. Just what we wanted. What we deserve, after that failed Destiny game that was shoved down our throats.
    It plays like Assassins Creed, So your ready to jump in & are already comfortable w/ the controls.
    Top notch animation & graphics. Killer combos (blood & death level 10!) Sweeeet!! Full of surprises, Just the right difficulty too. No    Under-hyped hit game of the year. Just what we wanted. What we deserve, after that failed Destiny game that was shoved down our throats.
    It plays like Assassins Creed, So your ready to jump in & are already comfortable w/ the controls.
    Top notch animation & graphics. Killer combos (blood & death level 10!) Sweeeet!!
    Full of surprises, Just the right difficulty too. No multiplayer though. But you don't need it w/ this game.
    The single player campaign is so strong, you don't need anything else.
    Enjoy this game. It is spectacular.    … Expand
  78. 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
  79. billgates0904
    Oct 8, 2014
    10
    This is no doubt the best LOTR game ever. The game creators have put lots of love in it, and it reflects on how fun and amazing this game is. Do yourself a favor and go buy this game.
  80. Gamer44
    Oct 7, 2014
    10
    Shadow of Mordor is an incredible gaming expierence and one of the best games I have played in 2014.

    The gameplay is superb and the combat is fluid it has an outstanding story that keeps you engaged. The graphics and the world is outstanding and the detail is just incredible. This is truly a great open world expierence and one that will keep you entertained for hours upon hours. If    Shadow of Mordor is an incredible gaming expierence and one of the best games I have played in 2014.

    The gameplay is superb and the combat is fluid it has an outstanding story that keeps you engaged. The graphics and the world is outstanding and the detail is just incredible.

    This is truly a great open world expierence and one that will keep you entertained for hours upon hours. If you loved Assassins creed then this is a game for you.    … Expand
  81. KarolosPR
    Oct 7, 2014
    10
    Taking into consideration some of the other major reviews, for example "IGN" and "GameSpot", I have to agree that the campaign, even though it is interesting to experience since it involves more of the lore of "Middle Earth", it is not the game's strongest factor/component. That does not necessarily mean that it disappoints, but that it leaves you wanting more. You get this feeling thatTaking into consideration some of the other major reviews, for example "IGN" and "GameSpot", I have to agree that the campaign, even though it is interesting to experience since it involves more of the lore of "Middle Earth", it is not the game's strongest factor/component. That does not necessarily mean that it disappoints, but that it leaves you wanting more. You get this feeling that the main story messes up what you already know from either the books or the movies (most common). My personal "Story" score would be a 7 or 8 out of 10. Of course, this game received good critic from major reviewers for a reason, and that reason is everything else excluding the "Main Story" of the game. This includes the fantastic gameplay with your epic sword, your ghostly bow, and finally your brutal stealthy dagger. Even more fun are the abilities that you have from being a "Wraith" where you are tremendously fast and blow you opponents heads off continuously. It is extremely fluid and responsive in every situation. There is nothing else to say about the gameplay since it is difficult to understand just from a review how impeccable it really is. This game was created, in my opinion, to introduce the "Nemesis System". Even though it is really easy to understand what it is doing while playing the game, I will just say this: Every kill you make, counts. Every kill your opponents make, especially counts! You could be fighting some random "Uruk" while exploring Mordor, and something happens and leads to your death. The random (could had avoided death) Uruk that killed you will now become a "Captain" and all the other "Captains" will increase there level. The thing is that if you are not careful while playing, and are constantly dying, the "Captains" can become a huge issue, getting into a point where they are totally harder than a "War-chief" (Commander of Captains). You might not understand what this means (not until you get the game), but basically keep in mind that you receive rewards to upgrade Talion , but think of his deaths as a "Double-Punishment Treat". You can always be able to kill even the hardest opponent, but don't expect it to be as easy as you might think since at that point, they will be invulnerable to simply everything.
    To conclude my simple review for "Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor", I say that it always falls down to you (reader of my review) whether or not to buy the game, maybe you're not into games like this, or maybe this game has made things difficult for in terms of how the game it-self is made up. I will have to admit though that when I bought the game I was not entirely sure I made the right choice for giving away $60, but after while, I realized that the game is unique in it's own, specific way and has come out to bring a different sense/feeling of gameplay compared to anything else out there in the market. It has come out to intrigue "Gamers", who are looking for something different in terms of game development.    … Expand
  82. Markiniezter
    Oct 7, 2014
    8
    Very good story, which delves into the lord of the rings, beautiful graphics, aver could have been better. Excellent mechanical to fight the best. By M
  83. Ocima
    Oct 7, 2014
    8
    Great game, great world and great battles! Only the graphics are not very good for this genertion consoles.. and the toturial is not very nice for newbies (like me)
  84. SomeHooligan
    Oct 7, 2014
    4
    This game offers no real challenge to the player at all beyond the first ten minutes of learning the game mechanics. The Arkham Asylum type fighting system is really the worst possible choice they could have picked as it turns the whole game into a rhythmic quick-time event. Only one enemy attacks you at any given time even if you are surrounded, the rest stand around and wait their turnThis game offers no real challenge to the player at all beyond the first ten minutes of learning the game mechanics. The Arkham Asylum type fighting system is really the worst possible choice they could have picked as it turns the whole game into a rhythmic quick-time event. Only one enemy attacks you at any given time even if you are surrounded, the rest stand around and wait their turn like a bad kung fu movie. If you do find yourself somehow losing a fight (maybe you weren't paying attention or dropped your controller) you can simply just vault over all the enemies, and run up the face of a mountain to safety.

    Graphics and animation were nicely done, but seeing how this is 2014 this is hardly a compliment anymore in the gaming industry.    … Expand
  85. m3t4lm4n222
    Oct 7, 2014
    8
    This is not your typical video game based off of a movie franchise. Hint: It's actually good.

    I've spent a good 20+ hours playing the game and I rushed to complete the main story and I have had a blast the entire time. The Nemesis system adds another level to the game and as other reviewers have stated it "Makes death matter." For example, I was fighting a mini-boss, one of his minions    This is not your typical video game based off of a movie franchise. Hint: It's actually good.

    I've spent a good 20+ hours playing the game and I rushed to complete the main story and I have had a blast the entire time. The Nemesis system adds another level to the game and as other reviewers have stated it "Makes death matter." For example, I was fighting a mini-boss, one of his minions dealt the final blow, so when I went to fight them, there where two mini bosses. Awesome.

    In addition, the abilities for both the ranger and wraith powers work extremely well. You're not really ever going to choose one side over the other, as it's well balanced.

    I would say the game would be one of the best games released as of yet on next-gen consoles, if there wasn't one, large, glaring issue. The story. It was....less than thrilling and realistically, very short. I'm not going to say much about the story, as I don't want any of my reviews to contain story-based spoilers, but the ending was plain awful. The good news is the gameplay and game design itself is good enough to hold the game up. Honestly, if the game had a berry story, I would have absolutely no problem giving it a 10/10.

    All of the above being said, I would very much suggest this game to others.

    Pros:

    Combat (FUUUUUN)
    Nemesis system
    Ability system
    Wraith/Ranger combo
    Multiple wide-open maps
    Ability to control orcs

    Cons:

    The Story. (The ending, what the heck man)    … Expand
  86. Luthalis
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    One online reviewer called this "The Best Assassin's Creed Game Yet." and, yes, the Assassin's Creed influences are apparent. However, this game is much more Batman: Arkham City than anything else.

    Let me simply say, this game IS Batman Arkham City. The combat is a LotR skin on Batman. I do not mean this in jest. I mean it in a VERY LITERAL SENSE. Identical button configuration in every    One online reviewer called this "The Best Assassin's Creed Game Yet." and, yes, the Assassin's Creed influences are apparent. However, this game is much more Batman: Arkham City than anything else.

    Let me simply say, this game IS Batman Arkham City. The combat is a LotR skin on Batman. I do not mean this in jest. I mean it in a VERY LITERAL SENSE. Identical button configuration in every possible way.

    The game takes place in a very open world over the course of two medium-sized maps filled with roaming orcs, slaving humans, and the occasional tamable mount. Combat is frequent, and you're rewarded with bonus XP for variations in your style.

    In the beginning you may feel limited by your ability to travel on foot, and possibly discouraged from exploring if you're trying to avoid combat, but by the middle of the game's skill tree you have access to several things that speed things up and never stop making you feel incredibly powerful. The game splits it's customization into three parts. Abilities that you get for earning XP, Stat upgrades (HP, ammo, etc), and Runes that are equipped on your weapon and drop from Nemesis enemies.

    Which brings me to the main reason this game gets such high marks from me. The game is Batman Arkham City.. and excellent game with very good combat. However, what takes it above and beyond is the Nemesis system. Over the course of the game, this concept is expanded on repeatedly, but in practice there is leadership for the Orc forces in Mordor and they are represented by named enemies in the world. They always introduce themselves when engaged, and have a colorful name or physical characteristic that sets them apart. They are significantly more difficult to kill than other fodder, and depending on their rank they may have body guards including other ranked Orc captains.

    The first thing you learn in the game is that your character is "Banished from Death" by a curse placed on him and this plays heavily into the nemesis system. As you fight Orc Captains, the ones you fail to kill who get away, or the ones you kill you will remember. They'll remind you that you rode away on a mount and taunt your cowardice. The ones who you couldn't finish off may even bear scars of previous encounters. I even encountered one who simply wouldn't die and kept climbing his way up through the ranks--- and no, this was not a glitch. The game made special reference to this fact in dialogue.

    Even better, these enemies are randomly generated from a pool of candidates, and if a generic monster kills you, they are given a title and promoted to captain, free to work their way up to the highest rank: Warchief.

    Eventually, you're given the ability to enslave orcs minds and use Sauron's army as your own if you take the time to dominate the leadership, but overall the system is always changing and it is definitely the stand-out feature that made this one of my favorite games in the past few years.

    The story is forgettable and poorly executed, and I've even heard it upsets LotR lore, but I'm far from an authority and I was not bothered by anything I saw, regardless of how silly.

    I 100%'d the game at a little over 27 hours and I really felt the absence when I beat the game; enough to find busy work in the world as an excuse to mess around with it just a little bit more. If you like the Batman Arkham series, this is an easy sell. If you're remotely interested in open world stealth/action with a neat new twist, I'd highly recommend this game.    … Expand
  87. scotto123
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    This game is a breath of fresh air for the PS4. With the multitude of ridiculous "HD remakes" plaguing this system (i.e. GTA4, TLOU) along with the lack of new titles, this game has put a step in the right direction for current-gen gaming. While it is obviously taking inspiration from Assassin's Creed and the Arkham series of Batman, it is a FUN game. While some people think it's a rip offThis game is a breath of fresh air for the PS4. With the multitude of ridiculous "HD remakes" plaguing this system (i.e. GTA4, TLOU) along with the lack of new titles, this game has put a step in the right direction for current-gen gaming. While it is obviously taking inspiration from Assassin's Creed and the Arkham series of Batman, it is a FUN game. While some people think it's a rip off or boring, I would say that it takes inspiration from other games and makes it their own. The nemesis system is incredible while being super frustrating and rewarding. I remember going back to specific warchiefs and captains AFTER I've beaten the game to test myself.

    Having said all this, the story is interesting and works well within the LoTR universe. The graphics are fantastic and I only imagine they look even better on PC (sorry, PS4 fans...it's true). The combat speaks for itself with it being very fluid while sometimes button-mashy, but fun in its own right. There's a lot of ways to make your character OP, but if one were to completely dismiss the strategy of runes, stealth, attacking enemies' weaknesses, you're going to be in for a frustrating time. That's the one thing I do enjoy about this game. With Batman or Assassin's Creed, if you were powerful enough, you could just go all "guns-blazing" and make it out alive. With "Shadow of Mordor", you have to use some strategy and some wits, otherwise, you'll be dead before you know it. For that reason, this game gets a 9.

    I'm looking forward to more games within this series. A great new series from Monolith.    … Expand
  88. rhap
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    Awesome game. The Nemesis system is exciting and I can't wait to see even more of it, with more options and events.

    The game is far from being hard, but that doesn't take away the fun of exploring it all and ruining Orcs plans haha
  89. Cilvyenn
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    I have always been a fan of the books and movies and have played almost all Lord of the Rings games and this one is my favorite other than LOTRO (which is an MMO). I am not a big fan of Assassin Creed games but I do really enjoy the combat. I feel like the combat in SoM resembles that of Assassins Creed III. It has a parry and dodge system and it really works fluidly against multipleI have always been a fan of the books and movies and have played almost all Lord of the Rings games and this one is my favorite other than LOTRO (which is an MMO). I am not a big fan of Assassin Creed games but I do really enjoy the combat. I feel like the combat in SoM resembles that of Assassins Creed III. It has a parry and dodge system and it really works fluidly against multiple and hordes of enemies. It does have a story but I am only 6 hours into the game and I have found a lot of story through the descriptions of items and memories they contain. I also have not explored every area yet but from what I am seeing, the landscape and weather change is very nice.

    Gameplay - The combat has a parry & dodge system with timed button presses you can counter-attack and perform finishers. As time goes on, you earn more types of finishing moves and special attacks. It is amazing to be surrounded by a horde of orcs and watch all of the amazing moves you can make and gruesome finishers as you parry and flip over them. Some of the enemies are stronger than others, especially when you get to the captains or tougher opponents and you must find other means of killing them.
    There is a nemesis system in place that really makes this game unique. Each captain you face on the battlefield can and will remember you and the fight you had if they end up fleeing successfully or they are able to kill you. If you come across them at another time, they will be stronger with better gear and will say something about your previous fight, or what you managed to do to them.

    Sound - The music is very fitting and at times dark and ominous. It can really immerse you in the world if you let it. The sounds of swords clashing and orcs grunting as you are in battle seem very authentic.

    Graphics - It isn't visually stunning but it still looks impressive. There are times when the sun sets over the hills and rays of sunlight can be seen through trees and the like. Little moments like that are nice to look at but I wouldn't purchase this game for the graphics alone.

    If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, this is a must buy. If you haven't seen the movies or read the books, I would hold off until it goes on sale or possibly rent it. I give this a 9 because of the combat and nemesis system that is in place, AND because I am a fan of the series.    … Expand
  90. Edozul91
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    I've been playing this game for days and I got really impressed. Let's face it, It's the first great game on The lord of the rings and I really appreciate this thing. Personally speaking I advise you to get this amazing game whether you like this wonderful world or not. So, get it and you won't regret!!!
  91. PowerPagan
    Oct 7, 2014
    10
    Power Pagan's NO BS, SHORT REVIEWS.

    Have you played any AC (Assassin's Creed's) game's recently? Did you love them for the first quarter and then wonder why you were running around in circle's being told to restart mission's over and over, when you were sure you nailed that last one. Did you wonder when the never ending blathering would end and you would get some fun again? I know I did    Power Pagan's NO BS, SHORT REVIEWS.

    Have you played any AC (Assassin's Creed's) game's recently? Did you love them for the first quarter and then wonder why you were running around in circle's being told to restart mission's over and over, when you were sure you nailed that last one. Did you wonder when the never ending blathering would end and you would get some fun again? I know I did and i'm not interested in AC Unity, for now.

    Shadow of Mordor spares you all this nonsense and brings back the Action and Fun to Video Game's. Having played at least 4 different AC game's I can tell you this. Monolith has got it right with Shadow of Mordor. The Nemesis system is awesome. The game controls really well. None of that trying to go left when your character is running up a wall instead. The fights are gruesome and having played over 20 hours so far. The main story is well fleshed out, and not in your face all the time running the action and the fun.

    Go Get Shadow of Mordor and go remember what video game's were originally intended to be FUN.

    Want some awesome Music and some awesome Uruk's to kill? Shadow of Mordor is it

    NO BS from Power Pagan.    … Expand
  92. pauldie97
    Oct 7, 2014
    10
    awesome game completely underrated and its a shame that some lets plays of the game like outback gamer are getting barely any views... overall though the game is amazing and i bet some games are going to copy the nemesis system idea, really innovative monolith.
  93. 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
  94. BlackNastyyy
    Oct 7, 2014
    4
    As much as I wanted to believe it wasn't going to be an Assassin's Creed clone, it turned out to just be Assassin's Creed 2 re-skinned with unimportant Lord of the Rings characters...

    Another hyped up disappointment in the year of 2014.
  95. ieatglitter
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    Let me start off by saying that I did not enjoy Arkham Asylum, and I hated Assassin's Creed. I also didn't like Shadows of Mordor...at first. In the beginning it can take quite a bit of finagling and I won't say that I didn't say some silent prayers to Cthulu and sell the soul of my first born to Satan trying to get a handle on the game. I opted to play the tutorial again, which solvedLet me start off by saying that I did not enjoy Arkham Asylum, and I hated Assassin's Creed. I also didn't like Shadows of Mordor...at first. In the beginning it can take quite a bit of finagling and I won't say that I didn't say some silent prayers to Cthulu and sell the soul of my first born to Satan trying to get a handle on the game. I opted to play the tutorial again, which solved all of my problems.

    I am, however, a LotR enthusiast, well that's a little too far. I should say that I very much enjoyed the books, movies and games. I found Shadows of Mordor (heretofore to be called SoM) a great deal. I found that the stealth options were fun, the ranged options were fun, and the swingin'-my-ranger-sword-in-yo-face options were fun too. There truly is something for each style of player, whether it be in your face, from the shadows, or a safe distance away. Sure, the game will force you out of your comfort zone, but any great game will, in my opinion.

    The game is also open world, so expect that you will find it easy to meander and fart around, but it is also easy to just follow the story lines. I enjoy that very much, because I like to roam and get far from the storyline, but I like to be able to get back to it when I want, and SoM allows you to do that.

    It combines innovate moves and ideas into the combat system, and rewards players for not always taking the easy way out. The leveling system isn't too fast paced, and although I haven't beaten the game, I feel like the abilities at the end will be well worth the work, time, and effort.

    The game isn't without faults, I can see how some people would get bored by killing throngs of Orcs. I am not one of those people, though. I hunt them down like the bastards they are.

    I feel that the Nemesis system bears some mentioning as well, because I think this is something that I have yet to see in another game, which makes it truly original, and originality should be rewarded! (I mean, sure it may be out there in other games, but I have yet to see anything similar to the Nemesis system as of yet.) By using the Nemesis system, WB and IE have introduced strategy into a sandbox hack-n-slash game.

    There is something to be said about replay-ability. You can play this game through time and time again, and while the scenarios themselves will be the same, the way you handle them, and what you do will shape the outcome. Literally every single time you play, you could end up changing something and finding quite a different result.

    PROS:
    Open World
    Fun Combat System
    Multifaceted Combat Preference Options
    Excellent Graphics
    Great Voice Acting
    Replay-ability

    CONS:
    Open World
    Feels A Bit 'Grind' Oriented
    Somewhat Repetitive
    Storyline Needs More Substance

    Overall I give this game a 9 of 10 because of it's innovate system, excellent game play, and it's replayability. I subtracted a point because all in all, the story needs more substance, and the gameplay feels a bit grind oriented and repetitive at times.    … Expand
  96. chasiu852
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    What started like a Assassins Creed rip off quickly veered off to something a lot better.

    I've always been a fan of Assassins Creed but there was something about those games that become very mundane and repetitive. I've only played SoM for several hours but there already are some distinct differences and things that make this game a lot more unique and fun. Character customization and    What started like a Assassins Creed rip off quickly veered off to something a lot better.

    I've always been a fan of Assassins Creed but there was something about those games that become very mundane and repetitive. I've only played SoM for several hours but there already are some distinct differences and things that make this game a lot more unique and fun. Character customization and weapon customization skill trees that unlock as you progress. A lot more combos and unique methods of killing enemies. etc.

    What I found most interesting was the fact that every time you die. The guy who kills you gets promoted to a rank of captain (Your objective is to kill all the captains). If all captain slots are taken then they battle til the death for that captain spot and the winner gets stronger. If a captain kills you then he also gets stronger. This makes the game unique and the difficulty changes as you go. Very fun game!    … Expand
  97. northernlad
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    really enjoyed the ork captains are great my only complaint would be its more of an action game than an rpg but if your in two minds its a really good game
  98. 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.
  99. countyourmacros
    Oct 6, 2014
    1
    Do not be FOOLED BY WARNER BROS PR TEAM who is clearly paying "users" to go and review this game positively.

    This is average at best. It's like the deformed love (hate) child of Assassin's Creed and Ryse. So incredibly boring. It takes FOREVER to kill an average Uruk or Orc, and more often than not you're stuck sneaking around. Nobody wants a LOTR games where you're stuck sneaking around.
  100. spyderdeman
    Oct 6, 2014
    0
    A copy of Assassin!

    Hackneyed plot, primitive fighting system, horrible management, and a complete lack of RPGs...

    P. S. Unable to play more than 20 minutes
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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]
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