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. easterfields
    Dec 26, 2014
    10
    I'm usually a pretty hard sell on games that are based on film, television, and book licenses. The main reason being that there's never enough attention to detail and production value put in such games as they are mainly created to cash in on the name. There are a few exceptions though, and this may be the biggest one. As a huge Tolkien fan, I will admit I was disinterested by theI'm usually a pretty hard sell on games that are based on film, television, and book licenses. The main reason being that there's never enough attention to detail and production value put in such games as they are mainly created to cash in on the name. There are a few exceptions though, and this may be the biggest one. As a huge Tolkien fan, I will admit I was disinterested by the concept of this game when I first heard about it. I really didn't feel it could do the books or films any justice, but I was hugely myopic in my assumptions. This game truly is a work of art in nearly every way. The attention to detail-such as the voice acting (the orcs are amazing!), the collectibles, the weapons, the graphics, etc. are all some of the very best I have ever experienced. It's very obvious that this game was a labor of love by those who developed it, and that shines through in nearly every moment of playing the game. And oh what fun there is to be had. Visceral, intense, threatening, and awe-inspiring are just some of the adjectives that come to mind in a typical play-session of Shadow of Mordor. They have done an outstanding job of presenting an experience that feels removed right out of the brilliant Peter Jackson films. It saddens me to great lengths, that this title will not be receiving the attention and hype it deserves-lurking in the "shadow" of the other regurgitated titles that were released around the holidays (GTA5 as an example), for it truly deserves to be praised and heralded as a great gaming moment. It is no doubt the sleeper hit of 2014 and would without question, be my pick for Game of the Year!… Expand
  2. Scottgun
    Dec 26, 2014
    9
    Shadow of Mordor is exactly what a game based on Tolkien's lore is supposed to be: fan fiction. Trying to recreate the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit is usually an exercise in disappointment. For an interesting excercise in this, watch Peter Jackson's films with the attitude that they are fan fiction rather than The Official Movie Version of Middle-Earth, and you might enjoy them muchShadow of Mordor is exactly what a game based on Tolkien's lore is supposed to be: fan fiction. Trying to recreate the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit is usually an exercise in disappointment. For an interesting excercise in this, watch Peter Jackson's films with the attitude that they are fan fiction rather than The Official Movie Version of Middle-Earth, and you might enjoy them much more. Shadow of Mordor mines Middle-Earth lore for all its worth yet delivers a unique story. Add the Nemesis system that turns the bad guys into real characters instead of faceless drones and you've got a recipe for success worthy of emulation.… Expand
  3. Munkey
    Dec 25, 2014
    9
    In the year of weak triple A titles and HD Remastered versions Shadow of Mordor is a welcome sight and fkr me the game of the year. Yes it has it problems but the fun you will get with this title makes the flaws of this title look small.
    First the combat is a blend of Batman series free flow and counter fighting with the Creed series of stealth finishers. Combat is bloody, brutal and very    In the year of weak triple A titles and HD Remastered versions Shadow of Mordor is a welcome sight and fkr me the game of the year. Yes it has it problems but the fun you will get with this title makes the flaws of this title look small.
    First the combat is a blend of Batman series free flow and counter fighting with the Creed series of stealth finishers. Combat is bloody, brutal and very responsive. The satisfaction of landing combos over 50 and the screems of enemies is music for my ears. Then is the ranged combat with the bow. It's there for does enemy archers,killing off straglers or to pin to the ground.
    The RPG element is there. You have wraith and ranger skills to chose from. You can also upgrade your health, focus, number of arrows and ad rune slots to your weapons ( sword, bow, dager ). There is a good amount of things to unlock.
    Mordor as an open world passes the test. You have ruins, old castles, forts and caves to explore. Let's be honest it isn't big when you compare it to skyrim, gta or da:inq but yoh will find it enough to please you. Then there is a second map with is a welcome change of the wastelands of Mordor.
    Then there is the Nemesis system. It's briliant and funy at times. In short when an uruk kills you it gets promoted to captain. You can kill him but when the encounter begins the uruk has something to say. He can say how he killed you, mock you, threaten you and so on. If you fail to kill the captain he will escape or if he kills you he will raise in rank and power. Each uruk has his strenght and weakness which you can exploit. This system should be implemented in more open world/rpg games.
    There are also collectables with lore, mounts to ride and more like in every open world game.
    The story is good. Nothing special but explores the middle-earth lore. I won't go in the details but will just say it's ok possible the weakest point of the game but still far from being bad.
    My only to concerns with game I had was the camera control in large fights. Sometimes it went in such an angle that you couldn't see or was stuck for a second. The other thing sometimes the climbing wouldn't work as fluid and when there was an enemy near you the game had some problem of recognizing what you wanted to do.
    Final score for me is a 9 out of 10. The best game in this year by far. Combat, lore and Nemesis system! I want more. Got it for 29£ and it was the best buy this year on my ps4!    … Expand
  4. Underpants158
    Dec 22, 2014
    9
    What is this game?: An open world action game. The action is defined by attacking, blocking, dodging, stunning, and a few other nifty moves that come in handy. The open world has bosses (captains, warchiefs) roaming around minding their own business, main missions, side missions that include messing with some captains and warchiefs, and side missions that focus on bow, sword, or stealthWhat is this game?: An open world action game. The action is defined by attacking, blocking, dodging, stunning, and a few other nifty moves that come in handy. The open world has bosses (captains, warchiefs) roaming around minding their own business, main missions, side missions that include messing with some captains and warchiefs, and side missions that focus on bow, sword, or stealth dagger play.

    Pros:
    -The action aspect works well. The blocking, stunning, and finishing somebody off is real satisfying
    -Stealth kills are cool
    -You can takeover orcs and have them fight alongside you
    -The bosses (captains and warchiefs) have strengths and weaknesses that are unique to him and that you must exploit/avoid if you are to have any realistic shot of taking him down.
    -The nemesis system can lead to unique and fun stories of killing each other.

    Cons:
    -Idc about the story or the characters. I forgot why I was supposed to be doing it all until the game told me again at the end.
    -speaking of the end it was very lackluster both story and gameplay wise.
    -dodging is delayed sometimes making it frustrating

    Conclusions: You are surely not playing this for the narrative unless it's the one you create with your interactions with the baddies roaming around the world. That being said it is a great and addictive action game. I struggled with giving it an 8 or 9 but hey, it's christmas. Better make a second one and make it even better.    … Expand
  5. maveric_87
    Dec 19, 2014
    9
    My first 30 minutes with the game were not thrilling. I felt it was a bit boring and unoriginal. However, once I got passed the 1.5 hour mark I was hooked and still am. The graphics are fantastic and really show off the world Tolkien created that Peter Jackson showed us on the big screen. The controls are solid using the combat system Arkham Asylum made famous. The story is well done forMy first 30 minutes with the game were not thrilling. I felt it was a bit boring and unoriginal. However, once I got passed the 1.5 hour mark I was hooked and still am. The graphics are fantastic and really show off the world Tolkien created that Peter Jackson showed us on the big screen. The controls are solid using the combat system Arkham Asylum made famous. The story is well done for an action game and it does an excellent job utilizing the material provided by the books to give us more background on the setting, herbs, characters, history etc. One of my few gripes is the lack of a loot system which I feel could have been easily added to the game even with the rune system(which I loved) already in place. Being able to customize Talion's armor and weapons rather than being limited to different skins would have been the icing on the cake for me. The game setting although set in Mordor(hence the name of the game) could use some more variety to it. Now to my favorite part. The Nemesis system! It. Is. Awesome! Very innovative and adds a new dimension to games that are fun but lack a good challenge. I look forward to seeing this system evolve and be used in future games. Overall, this game is amazing! Worth every bit of the $59.99 price tag!… Expand
  6. themdr127
    Dec 19, 2014
    7
    Shadow of Mordor was a highly anticipated game on my side, not because of the creators, nor because of Warner Bros, but because of a successful trailer.
    Only a few trailer creators can add that "spark" to make me anticipated for ANY game nowadays.
    The graphics and sound design was phenomenal, but the story line was rushed closer to the end. It would of been best to post-pone the release    Shadow of Mordor was a highly anticipated game on my side, not because of the creators, nor because of Warner Bros, but because of a successful trailer.
    Only a few trailer creators can add that "spark" to make me anticipated for ANY game nowadays.
    The graphics and sound design was phenomenal, but the story line was rushed closer to the end.
    It would of been best to post-pone the release date and add a richer ending, instead of a speedy cinematic.
    Overall the gameplay was good, combat is very intuitive and smooth, 2-3 glitches in some places, but not as much as AC.
    I dont regret purchasing the game, but i wont be buying any of the DLC content, its completely unnecessary, i would rather wait for the next installment to take place.    … Expand
  7. Keys1989
    Dec 18, 2014
    10
    All the positive word of mouth is why I got this game. Well then....it's the first game I ever bothered to platinum.

    I loved this game so much I can't possibly articulate it here. I think I clocked in at about 50 hours and it felt like 10 minutes. The combat is beyond smooth, in the early going I died often, but as the game progressed and my character got stronger things changed. I felt    All the positive word of mouth is why I got this game. Well then....it's the first game I ever bothered to platinum.

    I loved this game so much I can't possibly articulate it here. I think I clocked in at about 50 hours and it felt like 10 minutes. The combat is beyond smooth, in the early going I died often, but as the game progressed and my character got stronger things changed. I felt like a painter, my canvas was the battlefield, my brush a sword and my paint was supplied by decapitated and impaled orcs. SO FUN!

    If I had to nitpick my only complaint would be that by the last quarter of the game I was an unstoppable killing machine and to die would take some serious effort. Also no real replay value but with how much is there that is really not an issue. It's still a great value and worth every penny and then some.    … Expand
  8. Danulius
    Dec 18, 2014
    10
    This game is an absolute must-have in my eyes. Being a huge Lord Of the Rings fan, I'm in love with the story line. the combat is brilliant, the perks for weapons is a great idea and the stealth and execution elements make the game even better.

    Bringing this style of game into an open world lay out was an excellent idea, i cannot praise it enough. going from a dark and infested area of    This game is an absolute must-have in my eyes. Being a huge Lord Of the Rings fan, I'm in love with the story line. the combat is brilliant, the perks for weapons is a great idea and the stealth and execution elements make the game even better.

    Bringing this style of game into an open world lay out was an excellent idea, i cannot praise it enough. going from a dark and infested area of Mordor into lush greenlands brings a new appeal to a game. As i have never played a game like this, I easily put hours and hours into it without thought.

    In regards to the story line, it sticks well to the events of the LOTR books/films, and brings elements of these films into the game, they've done an excellent job with this game, and i strongly recommend you get it!    … Expand
  9. ed_hunter01
    Dec 17, 2014
    10
    Simply amazing one of the best game i ever play the combat system is amazing is like play a fusion of batman origins with assassins creed with a mod of lotr is a great game a must own
  10. Storm1672
    Dec 16, 2014
    8
    Let me get this clear; This is one of the best games of the year and was totally surprised by its quality. Certainly did not see this coming. Now, besides that, I read all the press and reviews and have to say that I feel a lot of them were too biased I think by the fact that it surprised all of us.

    The technical aspect is great, though did not care much for some of the artwork. The    Let me get this clear; This is one of the best games of the year and was totally surprised by its quality. Certainly did not see this coming. Now, besides that, I read all the press and reviews and have to say that I feel a lot of them were too biased I think by the fact that it surprised all of us.

    The technical aspect is great, though did not care much for some of the artwork. The gameplay is too similar to some of the great great of the last years. The execution is great and so are the ideas, but there is little to do and every sandbox game needs a great world and Mordor is not it. It is very poorly designed. Ok, it's Mordor. Desolate plains. I get it. More variety was needed.

    The best part of the game is how everything is well made and also the Nemesis system which is what takes this game from mediocrity and places it on top tier.

    I think the sequel has some great potential.    … Expand
  11. janeausten69
    Dec 16, 2014
    10
    Absolutely loved this game. I got a PS4 specifically for this game and do not regret it. It's basically Arkham Series combat, AC stealth and an open world environment. The game does get a little repetitive, but that didn't bother me. The gameplay was fun so I didn't mind doing similar things over and over. I usually don't write reviews but I've noticed a lot of poorly written negativeAbsolutely loved this game. I got a PS4 specifically for this game and do not regret it. It's basically Arkham Series combat, AC stealth and an open world environment. The game does get a little repetitive, but that didn't bother me. The gameplay was fun so I didn't mind doing similar things over and over. I usually don't write reviews but I've noticed a lot of poorly written negative reviews. For those who are criticizing the combat and nemesis system, I don't believe you truly understood the game. I'm assuming that you wrote your reviews after only playing an hour or two, or just flat out didn't understand the game. To me, this is a definite game of the year contender. The only negative I found was the final boss battle. It was definitely anti-climatic. Other than that an excellent game. Can't wait for the DLC and hopefully a sequel too.… Expand
  12. windbite
    Dec 13, 2014
    8
    Purchased Middle Earth because of the great ratings on metacritic and haven't been disappointed. The storyline is interesting and control is nice but a little tricky. The biggest flaw to me with this came is the camera/view angles. The graphics are very good, but I'm still expecting more against my PS3.
  13. Balon
    Dec 12, 2014
    7
    Its fun and cool looking sword fighting. But after you have killed 10 000 orcs, you start to feel like that there should be variety in enemies. Where are the giants, trolls and other fantasy **** And the ending, its just too easy feels like you dont play at all.
  14. stratagemmedley
    Dec 12, 2014
    8
    Shadow of Mordor is a hybrid between a sandbox and Arkham-style brawler that is set in the famous land of Mordor, in which you play as Talion, a ranger from the black gate who is brought back from the dead, after having his family slaughtered in front of him, by a wraith who had forgotten his past (I would just outright say who he is but I don't want to spoil, even if it is completelyShadow of Mordor is a hybrid between a sandbox and Arkham-style brawler that is set in the famous land of Mordor, in which you play as Talion, a ranger from the black gate who is brought back from the dead, after having his family slaughtered in front of him, by a wraith who had forgotten his past (I would just outright say who he is but I don't want to spoil, even if it is completely obvious who he is).

    I think I speak for many of us, Tolkein fans and traitors alike, when I say that expectations for Shadow Of Mordor were rather low, it both being a movie/book tie in game and a Lord Of The Rings game, which (unless you count that one RTS game which I thought was kind of good) are both historically **** or at least not really that good, largely due to heavy pandering to the fans by focusing exclusively on accuracy and completely forgetting that video games are supposed to be fun. Either that or the other way round where the devs don't give a rat's arse for the fans, or humanity in general, and end up creating an abomination which even the flaming pits of hell wouldn't admit to creating.
    However Shadows miraculously avoids this and manages to both be a fun game while at the same time expanding on the franchise, though it is non-canon so I suppose it matters little regardless.
    While we're on the topic of fun, my oh my is Shadows fun, it manages to blend elements from Assassin's Creed and Arkham games rather effectively while at the same time adding in some fresh ideas of it's own. The best singular example of this would be the much lorded Nemesis system, which allows you to look into and target the more powerful Orcs within the Orc hierarchy itself and once intel is gathered, learning their weaknesses and strengths so as to make the task of murder much more successful and that's only the beginning, it gets even better when you insert your own mind-controlled orcs into the mix later on in the game.
    Also when it comes to murder, SOM gets a big fat check from me, as the combat and the enemies are both fun, intuitive and interesting, I especially like both the fantastic voice-acting and the way that the head orcs (to put it simply) recognise and talk to you, for example if you made them flee last fight you had with them, then they will reference that when they talk to you, which adds a much more personal feel to the Uruk, who by the way are all randomly generated, so everyone will have their own War-chiefs to square off against.
    So let's talk about environments, the land of Mordor is quite "next-gen" on the PS4 as it looks pretty despite being so desolate, also for those worrying that Mordor will be another generic dark bland sandbox needn't worry as there is also another, more lush part of Mordor to explore, so despite the sandboxes being kind of pokey when we compare them with other games, they still are interesting and have plenty to explore within them.
    So all in all a solid game, which though is hardly revolutionary manages to be fun and even at times half-way intelligent with it's interesting characters, that in it's whole, I cannot complain too much about, though if you don't like killing orcs and doing little much else, avoid it like the plague, otherwise I recommend this to everyone. (Unless you're a **** killjoy who can't handle one minor inaccuracy within the mythology, in which case what are you doing here? There's a new hobbit movie to complain about)    … Expand
  15. SerialSeaguller
    Dec 10, 2014
    8
    Pros
    -Love the nemesis system
    -Good graphics -In-depth skill tree -Strongholds are fun to wreck -Great open world Cons -Short and mediocre story -No items or loot -No class system though you can focus more on ranger or wraith -Meh quests -Prepare to rage at some Uruks Overall The Shadow of Mordor is a great game worth the buy. Though I found myself more focused on the open    Pros
    -Love the nemesis system
    -Good graphics
    -In-depth skill tree
    -Strongholds are fun to wreck
    -Great open world

    Cons
    -Short and mediocre story
    -No items or loot
    -No class system though you can focus more on ranger or wraith
    -Meh quests
    -Prepare to rage at some Uruks

    Overall The Shadow of Mordor is a great game worth the buy. Though I found myself more focused on the open world and nemesis system than the actual story I still had a great time and can't wait for the dlc. My advice:Pick it up when its on sale on G2A or something. (I got it for $25 and have seen it go for $15)    … Expand
  16. Skagzilla
    Dec 10, 2014
    10
    Best game I have played in a long time I've played for 46 hours and I'm only 50 percent through all the side missions and everything. It's a game that you can put hours into without getting bored I love and I recommend this game to anyone who plays games
  17. snip4r
    Dec 10, 2014
    10
    Lord of the rings assassins creed minus the assassins creed glitches. Enough said? No. This game also combines what was great about not just assassins creed, but also the batman arkham games. Plus it adds in whole new ways to look at the lord of the rings universe. Great game recommended.
  18. Gbomb
    Dec 10, 2014
    8
    I enjoyed this game, it was fun, fast and frantic but with real style. Take the Lord of the Rings world and plonk everything that has been good in action games in the recent past and here's what you get "Lord of the Arkham Creed". I found that I could overlook the slight lack of depth within the story here as each time I picked up the controller I had a blast, great fun.
  19. Jarl_Redbeard
    Dec 8, 2014
    10
    It's been a while since I played a recently released game that has provided so much fun for me. In a day where we're flooded with multiplayer-focused games with thin stories and 6-hour or less "campaigns", Shadow of Mordor is really a breath of fresh air. Simply put, I can sit down and play this game and just have simple, unadulterated fun with it.

    The game is deep enough to provide    It's been a while since I played a recently released game that has provided so much fun for me. In a day where we're flooded with multiplayer-focused games with thin stories and 6-hour or less "campaigns", Shadow of Mordor is really a breath of fresh air. Simply put, I can sit down and play this game and just have simple, unadulterated fun with it.

    The game is deep enough to provide some interesting RPG elements (leveling up attributes, learning new skills, collecting runes to add different powers to your weapons and deciding which ones are the best to fit your play style, etc.), but stays simple enough to feel fun to play no matter what you choose or how you choose to play. You never feel hindered by choosing one attribute over the other or learning one skill first before another.

    The gameplay itself has been criticised for "being an Assassin's Creed rip-off". But hold on now...let's not forget a little game released in 2003 called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which came long before both. Uncharted also uses this leaping/grabbing/acrobatic-style gameplay to great effect. I am not a personal fan of the Assassin's Creed series (it has fallen victim to the CoD one-a-year treatment), but the point trying to be made here is this: although the games have similar mechanics, I feel Shadow of Mordor uses it to a greater, and more fun, effect. Simply put, don't let the haters detract you from at least trying the game.

    The core fighting gameplay is very fun. You can complete the game using button mashing if you desire, but certain unlockable skills later on reward you for timed combos. Fighting 1-5 enemies or so is an easy affair; however when you get ambushed by a Captain and they bring in 30 or 40 Uruks to aide them, the tides turn a bit and you are constantly kept on your toes by having to counter attacks and keep your combo counter up to perform executions. I especially enjoy the stealth gameplay; performing aerial takedowns and "brutalizing" Uruks which makes enemies flee is very satisfying.

    The Nemesis system is also done very well. Enemies will remember you if you fight them, do not kill them, and come back to them later. Scars from the battle will remain on their bodies. You can gain intel from lower-ranked Uruks to learn the weaknesses of the Captains which will help you defeat them quicker (example: some Uruks might be able to be killed instantly by a stealth attack, or a charged bow shot to the head). Learning intel also tells you their strengths; some Captains, for example, are enraged when they are on fire and will become stronger and regenerate health. It makes for some very interesting fights.

    The gameplay missions are varied by objectives of different kinds; you have the main story missions which progress the overall plot, but there are also side missions, which range from upgrading your weapons to participating in helping one Captain overthrow another, and more. There are also various things to collect inside the game world that reveal lore and backstory in the game, and small "missions" that add to the overall game percentage completion (collecting herbs, hunting).

    In all, the game is very well done. I don't usually give any game a 10, but I've had so much fun with this one that even an occasional minor glitch (which I personally haven't experienced yet but have heard about) doesn't detract from the fun I've had. If you're a fan of LotR, or you just want a fun, action-packed game in general, definitely pick this one up and give it a shot.    … Expand
  20. mearlam
    Dec 6, 2014
    9
    I played this game for 50 hours and enjoyed everything it had for me to do.
    I will warn you that the game is a little harder than the average game these days but with a little patience you get rewarded for it.

    A serious quality game that is bug free (a new concept these days), if you want to chop off orcs heads then there is no better
  21. Heater
    Dec 4, 2014
    5
    Played the game for two hours, unlocked a few abilities, and didn't find a new respawn point. I'm not sure how people rate this highly for the combat or for the LoTR feel but this game feels a lot like AC with all the sneaking around and stealth kills. The combat is mashing the attack button with an occasional special move or blocks. Button reuse means you'll accidentally do the wrong movePlayed the game for two hours, unlocked a few abilities, and didn't find a new respawn point. I'm not sure how people rate this highly for the combat or for the LoTR feel but this game feels a lot like AC with all the sneaking around and stealth kills. The combat is mashing the attack button with an occasional special move or blocks. Button reuse means you'll accidentally do the wrong move 50% of the time when doing anything other than mashing attack. You can easily get overwhelmed by enemies if you're not careful and if there are ranged enemies in a large group you'll need to hide until you can get a smaller group.

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

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

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

    Would have rated this higher if the game showed new spawn locations on the map, made combat a little more complicated or less buggy, and had no bugs in critical story missions. Not restarting the tutorial popups so often would have been nice too.    … Expand
  22. behnammatin
    Dec 4, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game is not bad,but is too hard and boring after 3 hours play,and same misson(go there and kill and again go there and kill)
    i think shadow of mordor in look like AC    … Expand
  23. ravennoir
    Dec 3, 2014
    10
    Just finished the story for this and its great. Good pace and game mechanics. Ill be continuing to play to get 100% completion, and might even replay it from the start :). Highly recommend. Lets hope for a sequel
  24. dazerb
    Dec 2, 2014
    0
    Awful.
    Imagine mashing Batman and Assassins but doing it all far worse. Sound is the worst, bad, inconsistent - after guys are dead on the ground and you've walked away, you hear them scream in death. sound never seems to match gameplay.
    Story line is nonexistent. You can only figure out what's going on by reading ALL the little background pieces. the awful "save" moments - even a    Awful.
    Imagine mashing Batman and Assassins but doing it all far worse. Sound is the worst, bad, inconsistent - after guys are dead on the ground and you've walked away, you hear them scream in death. sound never seems to match gameplay.
    Story line is nonexistent. You can only figure out what's going on by reading ALL the little background pieces.
    the awful "save" moments - even a quick look at the map takes 10-15s to get into the map and another 10-15 s to get OUT of the map. You really have to decide how much time you want to stare at a black screen to review boss weaknesses.
    the 'nod' toward strategy play is about a complete farce.
    graphics are really bad. FAR worse than Bman or Assa, I get the limitations of open environment, but you never even get visual 'treat' in the lame cut scenes.
    My game froze several times over the weekend mid - mission, causing me to have to reboot and lose progress.
    The overall play is repetive and boring. After fooling with it a lot over the holiday, I am bored and don't care if I pick it up again.
    I feel like a fool for paying $59.99 for this TURD! Maybe I can sell the game now and get some $ back for ANYTHING else!    … Expand
  25. Murredly
    Dec 1, 2014
    8
    This game could easily have been a 9 or 10 but the sheer fact I can tell (or at least in my opinion) that this game was originally intended for last gen holds me back.

    It is a fantastic game and an excellent open world. The dark gloomy atmosphere really pushes the idea of Mordor being a dark and scary place but also holds it up on the PS4. The world is big, but there is a lot of empty    This game could easily have been a 9 or 10 but the sheer fact I can tell (or at least in my opinion) that this game was originally intended for last gen holds me back.

    It is a fantastic game and an excellent open world. The dark gloomy atmosphere really pushes the idea of Mordor being a dark and scary place but also holds it up on the PS4. The world is big, but there is a lot of empty space filled sparsely with 3-person patrols or just plain empty space. Maybe it was as intended but I assuming this was done because older machines would not be able to handle the clutter. But based on the combat and lack of demanding graphical pieces, I am guessing this was done to make the game accessible.

    My only other beef with this game is that the "main quest" chain is not intuitive. Maybe I am old but it took me a bit to get into it because the main quests were so far apart and setting waypoints to target them required a lot of back and forth between map-options-map-sauren's army etc.

    That said, the dynamic enemies make the game a treat. If you aren't paying attention you can run into a mob of captains and followers - resulting in a brutal and fast death.

    There is plenty of trophies for the trophy peoples and there is some replayability with the challenges and different combat styles.

    Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone. If you see on sale (like boxing day or week long black-friday) - GRAB IT.    … Expand
  26. jonnykemp
    Dec 1, 2014
    9
    Brilliant game. Finally there is a game from LOTR franchise worthy of everyone's time. Really we done, you find yourself getting immersed into the game and leaving the story on the side. This is a game I cannot get enough off.
  27. Jozefow
    Nov 29, 2014
    5
    I dunno, just rather unremarkable and repetitive to me. Once you find a routine that works for killing multiple enemies it will work every time. Fighting the Captains can be interesting but I was pretty much on auto pilot for the entire thing. This going to a spot on a map and finding stuff has to stop. They keep doing for all sorts of games and it's so ridiculous. It's certainly not badI dunno, just rather unremarkable and repetitive to me. Once you find a routine that works for killing multiple enemies it will work every time. Fighting the Captains can be interesting but I was pretty much on auto pilot for the entire thing. This going to a spot on a map and finding stuff has to stop. They keep doing for all sorts of games and it's so ridiculous. It's certainly not bad but I doubt I'll do it again. Not as good as a game as Destiny but certainly fewer problems.… Expand
  28. Dlindenberg
    Nov 27, 2014
    9
    Good game with a new perspective. Liked the side missions and main story is verry fun. You have much freedom and can do whatever you want and that makes it verry ammusing. WORTH MY MONEY
  29. ToFewViews
    Nov 26, 2014
    7
    Lord of the Rings hasn't released a game in awhile so, We have "Middle-Earth:Shadow Of Mordor" to keep it all going. Shadow of Mordor has the same game engine as the Batman Arkham series so it will feel very familiar to some people. The game throws tons of enemas at you at once and gives you some fun and flashy moves to use in slaughtering your foes. The story is alright, It's nothingLord of the Rings hasn't released a game in awhile so, We have "Middle-Earth:Shadow Of Mordor" to keep it all going. Shadow of Mordor has the same game engine as the Batman Arkham series so it will feel very familiar to some people. The game throws tons of enemas at you at once and gives you some fun and flashy moves to use in slaughtering your foes. The story is alright, It's nothing amazing but keeps you interested.There was a very interesting system of Generals/Warchief you assassinate and progress through. On PS4 the game looks quite nice, big open spaces with tons of destruction and up close things don't lose there beauty. The addition of a Photo Mode in game is also nice,It give's people the ability to capture amazing kills.
    At launch the game had a few bugs but with a couple updates released it's smoothed out the game-play a lot. If you enjoyed the Batman games or the Lord of the Rings Universe you'll find this game quite enjoyable with it's fast paced and brutal combat.    … Expand
  30. TheReviewNinja
    Nov 26, 2014
    7
    This game is really, really good until it isn't.

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

    I'll be the first to say, the combat in this game is amazing, the graphics are great, and its stealth is good. However, I found after just a few hours, the game starts to grow repetitive. The first problem is that the story is a huge drag. I often found myself just waiting for the missions to be over. The other problem is that when trying to accomplish the task of killing the five war chiefs, the game falls into a pattern of doing the same stuff over and over again, and never really adds anything new to the game for a significantly long time.    … Expand
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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.
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  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.
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  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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