Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

This game is so good that I replay it every year... The Nemesis system is awesome and makes it fun to do the Nemesis-things. After you finish the story, which clocks in at about 27 hours, you can go on in the Shadow Wars. The fun is literally never-ending... There's not much to add. The combat is perfect, the storyline is well-written, navigation in games is also without a fault and the characters (yes even the Orcs) are all interesting. I give this game a 9,3/10.

One of the greatest games ever made! I have never been this addicted to playing a game in a long time. The Nemesis is honestly the greatest innovation in any video game ever, to this day. The complexity and thought put into the system are truly commendable and needs to be implemented into games more. I know the game is very known and popular, but it is still underrated in my opinion. It is one of the smartest and most fun games I've ever played, and I have the upmost respect for the devs. Deserves an 11/10. I almost never write reviews for games, but I said for this one I need to do it. This game needs to be appreciated more. It should've been game of the year and in the top 10 games of all time just because of how intelligent of a game it is.

Yeah, it's a fun game. I had fun playing it. It's Fun. Yep.

It makes you feel like you're in Middle-Earth. But it also makes you feel like you're Batman.

MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR (2017) was definitely a worthy sequel to the Tolkien Middle Earth inspired ME: Shadow of Mordor and as a hardcore, diehard Tokien fan, I'm glad to have a sequel to the Middle Earth themed games to play. Since this game came out it's been both lauded and criticized, and I can honestly understand why. My opinion is often mixed as well. I tend to lean more on the optimistic side however, and remain just grateful to have a decent Tolkien-inspired game, and honestly because I did truly enjoy this series of games, I will rate it accordingly.

As other reviewers have said before, this game had strong similarities to Assassin's Creed series, as well as other similar parkour action styled games with elements of stealth, adventure, fighting, (i.e. Assassins Creed series, Watch Dogs, inFamous, etc.) however the unpredictability of the AI for the Orcs made this game really fun and much more strategic. I enjoyed the premise of the battlefield being the main focal point, recruitment of orcs, building your own army, all the while analyzing and dismantling the enemy army. Uber cool. And the revenge aspect often made it more enjoyable as well.

While it can still be a bit repetitive, (Aren't most games when you think about it?) the graphics are pretty great, cutscenes are visually praisable, and the story is compelling enough to drive the player onwards WITHOUT overstepping too much outside of the Tolkien lore and world. I really appreciated that the writers didn't want to diminish or tarnish an epic masterpiece world by adding too much of their own. Not saying everying here is cannon, per say, but just that it didn't really feel overdone or too butchered. I enjoyed how the many collectables offered room to share lore and background to players that might not know about it. Lastly, while Talion as a character was alright, I really liked the persona and portrayal of Celebrimbor as a main lead.

Overall, this game was really fun and offered a decent ammount of play time. While, not perfect, it was still pretty great for a Tolkien / Middle Earth inspired game and I hope to get more sequels in the future, as long as they don't stray too far from the literature or take too many liberties with the source material.

Shadow of War takes everything from its predecessor and improves upon it. It is everything the first game should have been. The nemesis system is incredible, the numerous large maps are amazing and provide plenty of beautiful locations to explore, and the combat is nearly perfect. The focus on warfare is really what make this game stand out from other action/adventure games. Where Assassin's Creed and Arkham focus on puzzles and solving mysteries, Shadow of War focuses on mass warfare between your army and Sauron's army. It also takes many elements from the wider LotR universe and gives them some screen time here, providing connections to the films and books. This is one of the greatest games I have ever played and that stands true as I play it a second time 2 years after release.