Shadow of Mordor is an open world third person action game based on the Lord of the Rings franchise, following the story of Talion who seeks revenge on Mordor.

The story in Shadow of Mordor takes a while before it gets interesting, but the further you come, the better the story gets. This together with the fantastic cinematic and voice acting, can make the game really immersive. You are free to choose how you approach missions, whether it's going all-in, playing it stealthy or using enemies against each other. While playing through the game, you'll notice the scenery in this game is gorgeous, there's 2 different worlds for you to explore and they look amazing. Thanks to Photo-Mode it's really easy to make great screenshots as well, this is an editor that pauses the game and enables you to apply filters, move the camera, change fov etc.

Shadow of Mordor introduces the Nemesis system. The Nemeses also known as Sauron's Army, are the Uruk and Olog leaders that are generated uniquely with each playthrough of the game. Each nemesis has their own personality and will rise or fall within their social structure as the game progresses. They are affected by Talion's actions, and each will react differently to Talion's actions in Mordor, be it fight, flight, or some other reaction. Resulting in enemies reacting differently when you meet them after they've already killed or almost killed you. Enemies also have unique fears/strengths to discover which will be important in battles.

Combat is really well done and comparable to the Batman series, it looks amazing and plays great. The combat in general is quite easy (making the game easier as well) but is just really satisfying. You will have 3 options for combat, either go in with your sword and slice through orcs and finish them with some brute finishing moves, stealth kill them through sneaking or keep your distance and snipe them with your bow. Next to combat, movement is really well done. Sneaking over buildings, climbing and hanging on the side of walls Assasins Creed style, everything feels great, smooth and just works. However controls can feel a bit wonky at times.

Throughout the game you'll earn points to upgrade your weapons and skills. From movement to combat abilities. Everything can be upgraded and it's really fun to discover all the new upgrades. This gives motivation to keep on playing even after the Story mode(Which has a decent length of 10-15 hours). Cause there will be enough to do in the world of Mordor. Even after finishing the main missions, there's tons of things to do like: Taking down warchiefs/captains, rescuing people, Doing challenges, finding collectables and more! After you're done with everything, there's DLC that adds more missions/outfits.

Some downsides of the game however, are for example: some missions can feel a bit unnecessary because of repetitivity, some battles are really anticlimactic and the game can be quite easy due to its easy combat at times. Side characters could've been used better as well, some of them are easy to forget.

Overall, i would highly recommend Shadow of Mordor. It's a great game with lots of content, a decent story, satisfying combat and great scenery! However, the game is more oriented towards stealth gameplay, so make sure you like that.

Shadow of Mordor is an excellent third person action game that takes the best parts of the Batman Arkham games, places it in Mordor, throws in a little (of the best of) Assassin's Creed and some outstanding voice work and out comes an excellent game.

Here's the tl;dr Pros/Cons:

Pros
+ Looks great. Sounds great.
+ Exceptionally optimized. Don't be fearful of the requirements. I came across no bugs whatsoever.
+ Takes one of the best combat systems in recent gaming history and applies it to a world that it really excels in. Combat animations are brutal (in a good way). Sneaking up on orcs and/or mauling a large pack of orcs is fun throughout the entire game. Some awesome "orc death" animations. The sight of an orc head flying away never gets old.
+ Strong story in a world that is teeming with stories.
+ A TON of stuff to do. Sidequests, hunting, collectibles, challenge modes. Nemesis system essentially creates a neverending enemy hierarchy.
+ Encourages further reading of Tolkien.
+ Stealth is fun and easy to get the hang of.
+ Fun with Carigors! When you hear an orc say "It's a carigor!" Climb up high, and have fun siccing them on orcs.

Cons
- Story can be finished quickly unless you take your time.
- An absolute fart of a final boss fight. Total copout in terms of design.
- A smattering of quicktime events that are annoying and take you out of the immersion.
- Some forgettable supporting characters. Lack of Middle Earth races represented. Mostly just men and orcs.
- Respawning of enemies in areas cleared prior happen almost immediately and is another immersion killer.
- Game map (there are two sections, one opens later in the game) seems small for a game that is a 35 gigabyte download.
- A bit easy. Lack of a choice of skill level hurts replayability.

I'm writing this review shortly after completing the story. According to Steam, I have 20.3 hours invested into it. I did not do everything there is to do and I imagine had I taken more time I could easily have gotten 50 hours into it. However, I found myself into the story and enjoyed the missions a lot, so I kept at it especially after gaining one particular ability. I won't spoil it, but it starts with a "B" and you get it roughly 60-70% of the way into the story and can totally change how you approach any skirmish in the game, big or small. Needless to say "B" is awesome and plays a key role in the lead up to the final confrontations. I am on the fence as to returning to the game to finish the plethora of side missions and I am probably going to wait until story DLC before I do so.

Without going into too much detail of the story, the game is one that grabs you immediately. Put simply, the Shadow of Mordor is a story of revenge and the opening is done so exceptionally well that I was immediately engaged and wanting to destroy orcs within minutes of taking control of the main character, Talion. While the game does a decent job of keeping this interest, I do feel there were some shortcuts taken in almost every respect. The story is not immediately predictable, but does run into some typical cliches that may have been unavoidable. The big bad guys that are your true "targets" (they're not orcs) are more fearful in terms of their look than their bite once you fight them.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the game is what's being termed as "the nemesis system". What this means is that when you are defeated in battle, the orc that defeats you grows in power, remembers you, and you are encouraged to seek him out to exact your revenge. There is almost a neverending limit to orcs that get promoted, so as you kill one, another will take his place in the power hierarchy in essence creating a constant power struggle amongst the orcs of Mordor. They will even fight themselves, plot against one another, and you can essentially push this one way or another by the choices you make. Unfortunately, this system does not have an effect on the story and could almost be considered a meta game as the story missions are mostly unaffected by this system until nearer the end. Despite this, the nemesis system is one that I imagine will be copied and perfected by other games. I am already imagining something like this in a game of political intrigue, or with a terrorist mastermind who becomes stronger via the choices you make. This is an excellent mechanic that deserves to be explored more fully.

QuickTip: Focus on Ranger abilities first. They are integral to strengthening Talion.

Most of the enemies in this game are run of the mill orcs. Some are stronger than others (i.e. Captains) and require some aspect of a mission (kill X number of guys a certain way) before they appear. It is very Arkham-esque in certain respects as most of the foot soldiers are complete pushovers. That said, I found most of this game entirely too easy. The only times I felt truly challenged by my enemies was when they were completely overwhelming or I was stuck in a chokepoint unable to defend myself. You will die, but I guarantee you will feel "cheated" at times regarding your manner of death. The lack of a skill level selection hurts this game's replayability.

QuickTip: Run a benchmark when you first launch the game and experiment with the settings from there. I was able to Ultra everything even if the benchmark put me at high on everything!

All in all, I am extremely impressed by Shadow of Mordor. It's an engaging and fun third person action game in a familar world with great mechanics and some new ones that should be staples in future games. It's technologically sound, and while I felt extremely let down by the final boss "fight", the journey was worth it. I wanted Talion to succeed and that is half the battle in a game like this. When the player cares about the "avatar", you've got yourself a great starting point. If you are at all a fan of this world, you owe it yourself to play this game.

Overall: 8/10

I am 68 and love rpg. This is my first action game. Once I learned the controller keys it was so much fun. Beat
a lot of games on Steam and have had a blast. Did not want it to end. Going to try mote.

The experience that stands out most for me was encountering an Orc named Zakadush The Warrior. This bastard showed up everywhere. He was also immensely terrifying. Not just because of his insane strength, but because of his personality. You see, Zakadush never spoke. He would only breathe heavily, giggle, and scream. There were many times I found myself with the upper hand in an intense combat situation, only to hear heavy breathing from behind -- and BAM -- Mr. Giggles (Zakadush) would ambush me, fling me around (literally), and beat me to a pulp. When I finally bested him during one of his many ambushes, I felt sweet relief and satisfaction. I was finally done with that psychopath.
NOPE.JPEG.
Zakadush somehow found his way back from beyond the grave and hunted me down again. This time, scars covered his face and gave him the look of an all-familiar clown villain from another series we're all familiar with. Mr. Giggles continued to be a pain in the ass for the rest of my game. I finally threw him off a cliff about an hour ago. Since I didn't cut off his head, there's no way to know for sure if that's the last I'll see of him. I want to believe he's dead, but I've learned that this game is cruel.


Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor may be one of the most surprising games of the year. My expectations were hugely surpassed by this gem -- and a shiny gem at that, the game is gorgeous and smooth. The main storyline is alright. The overall plot is interesting, but it feels disconnected between missions and has odd pacing. You can tell it isn't the main focus of the game, which is fine as I spent all 32 some-odd hours crafting my own story.


The combat flows smoothly and is incredibly brutal. There is weight behind every sword swing, stab, leap, throw -- you see where I'm going, it feels good to control. The combat is heavily borrowed from the Batman: Arkham games, but I feel it adds its own flavor to it as well. The animations are amazing through and through and make the combat, movement, and just about everything else feel very immersive and smooth.


The open world exploration is heavily reminiscent of the Assassin's Creed franchise and a bit of the Far Cry series. Movement feels good and climbing is nowhere near as clunky as it is in Assassin's Creed. Climbing isn't without its faults though, there are a few hang ups with the parkouring system, though they aren't big issues and are hardly worth commenting on. The stealth system is a nice mix between what is found in the Batman and Assassin's Creed games -- overall, there is a bit to be desired, but the mechanic is satisfying nonetheless.


I have beaten my enemies and have been bested brutally many times. The game isn't a cakewalk and rewards quick-thinking as well as slow tactic. You can be easily overwhelmed if you're not careful and sometimes you can't bounce back. As you get used to the controls and systems at play, the game naturally gets a bit easier -- especially when leveling up. As a difficulty junkie, I was still experiencing death in the late game, though significantly less often.


Death is satisfying in Mordor -- it's the main way you build stories with your many enemies. The Orcs who slay you will grow in power, they'll taunt you the next time you meet, and they remember every meeting. They'll recall their defeats and your demise. You develop an enemy -- a nemesis. The system is dense.


The nemesis system is probably one of the most dynamic, deep, and satisfying AI tech I've seen in quite awhile. The stories that unfold through the gameplay are amazing -- they're also unique, in that they're YOUR stories and experiences. The replay value is absurd. It's incredibly hard to stress just how great this game is, but it may be one of my all-time favorites now. The potential this game has met, and the systems it has introduced, are immense. I very much look forward to experiencing more of Middle-earth and I'm going to be playing in this world for quite some time.

(1994 - 2025)

Here rests a dev, their code now still,
Not by bugs, but corporate will.
Shot down by bosses, blind yet bold,
Who trade in dreams for stacks of gold.

Many have fallen, more will too,
As greed keeps thriving—nothing new.
Yet players cry, their voices loud,
Will change arise, or stay unbowed?

R.I.P.

Fight like Batman,
Climb like Assassin's Creed,
Conquer the map like Far Cry,
All of that but with its own personality.

Positives
+ Excellent graphics
+ Combat is fluid and extremely fun, with lots of options
+ Open World
+ Interesting story in the LotR environment
+ Nemesis system is innovative and fun
+ Stealth
+ Very well optimized - I was worried about this, as my graphics card is at the very low end of the system requirements, but the game looked great and game play was extremely smooth

Negatives:
- A few of the side characters could have been fleshed out more
- Melee combat is extremely fun, but I found ranged a bit underwhelming and difficult to use
- While the combat is excellent, it gets a little repetitive after a while
- Caragors are annoying!

Overall:
An extremely fun and enjoyable game. This is my personal game of the year, and one of the best games I've played recently. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

You can get very easily distracted in this game by just chasing down side missions and captains, but the combat is enjoyable. The story I felt fell a bit short, but the ending wasn't bad.

I'm hoping they do more with the story in Shadow of War.

All in all 9/10. Very fun game.

I finished this game after about 33 hours of playing.
Was that good fun? Yes, for sure, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.
I started playing this because I thought it will be mix of RPG and action in open world of Middle Earth. And all of this is true besides one thing. RPG element is very, very small in that game, what was a problem for me on the beginning. But when I gave it some time, I realised that even without RPG, this is still really good game. Not so great as I expected, but really, really good.
So action part is just great. There is probably best melee fighting I've ever seen. You can slay orcs and sometimes monsters in many spectacular ways. You won't be bored of slaying for hours, that's for sure. You will kill them in open sword battles vs. superior forces, you will stealth and kill them silently and you will shoot them using your deadly bow. All of this is perfect and you will be delighted of this.
But to be honest there is not much more than fighting. Of course, you can collect herbs and some hidden items, but all of this is just irrelevant and not very engaging. In second part of the game you will be able to control orcs and other creatures, which is definitely great idea and it's implemented also very good. But besides this, there is nothing more. Don't expect any dialog options, any hard choices or things like that. If you're expecting this is RPG game, let's say it straight, it's not. It has little RPG elements like quests (filled with fight and stealth only) and character progression, but that's it. Nothing more.
To be honest for me it's something like unfinished game. On the one hand, everything what is implemented here is perfect. But on the other hand all the time I had feeling that this should be something more, some epic RPG with great story and all that stuff. But somebody just forgot to implement this second part.

VERDICT:
If you expect good action game in open world and you want to slay few thousands of orcs, this is it! You will be delighted.
But if you expect something more than action, I'm afraid this is not the game you're looking for.

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Highly recommend this game because it was one of my favorites out of 2014. The summer sale is perfect time to buy as you get the GOTY edition for only $3.99! Even if you're mixed on this game surely $4 is a good price to try out a game that is usually $20. You should definitely check out this incredible game.