Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor stands out from other open-world action games by putting a great new layer on top of the trail that Batman blazed. I was surprised at how well it integrates its excellent combat with rewarding feedback and progression not just for me, but also for my enemies. I’ve had many more memorable and unpredictable battles with its randomized Warchiefs and captains than I did ...

It’s natural to be sceptical about licensed video games, and everyone has the right to feel this way about them, especially when a blockbuster-sized one comes around with a burden of expectations and hype to live up to, despite having a broad ancestry of mediocre releases. Of course, we’re referring to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and the many Lord of the Rings titles before it. Much of this pr...

A triumph of emergent gameplay, slightly let down by a heavily scripted ending.

So many orcs, so little time! Here's our review of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor...

Shadow of Mordor is without doubt the best Middle-earth game available on consoles. Though not entirely original (then again, what is nowadays?) all of the elements which it borrows flow in sync with Monolith’s intuitive Nemesis system, creating something both immensely fun and replayable. That’s not to say the game doesn’t start to lose steam, especially once you’ve hit the thirty-hour mark, long...

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is the biggest "pleasant surprise" of 2014. A solid side-story from an established universe with spot-on gameplay makes this a surprise contender for one of the year's best games.

Shadow of Mordor is an extremely fun action/adventure game set in middle-earth. Fans of the books and those who want to learn more will both enjoy the experience that this game has to offer.

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Lord of the Uruk.

That's right — you can add Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor to the growing list of stellar licensed games that deserve your consideration. While it does blatantly borrow from both Arkham and Assassin's Creed, there are enough meaningful and innovative layers — like the Nemesis System, wraith abilities, and mission freedom — piled upon familiar mechanics to keep things feeling fresh. And with a dark ...

“Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor nears perfection, but the demands of a scripted narrative work against its freeform structure.”

Shadow of Mordor is influenced by other games, but not defined by them. Instead it takes pieces from some of the best games of the last few years, augments them with RPG mechanics and the new Nemesis system, and integrates them all so well together that it's sometimes hard to tell where one system begins and another ends. It's a remarkable achievement, and should justifiably establish Monolith as ...