La Terre du Milieu - L'Ombre du Mordor

This game is fantastic at making you go "Oh I just need to quickly do this...oh well that's only a moment away might as well get it also......hmmm I am very close to this next thing".

If you want to get lost in a game and forget the world, this one will suck you right in.

The enemy system is such a wonderful concept, they come back and change and grow. Their hatred for you is never tiring and your joy at their deaths only increases.

The combat is so fluid and comfortable plus you can set things on fire.

If you have not tried this game, 100% you should very much consider playing it.

MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR (2014) was definitely entertaining and as a hardcore, diehard Tokien fan, I'm glad to have a Middle Earth themed game to play. Since this game came out it has been both lauded and criticized, and I can honestly understand why. My opinion is often mixed as well. I tend to try 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 the game, 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 far more.

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.

A great action-RPG based in the Lord of the Rings universe. Wasn't expecting much from this one but it ended up being one of my favorites of the generation. Great gameplay and story propped up by TREMENDOUS graphics and character and environment design. Stellar game.

The game is a few years old, but the design looks crisp, detailed and smooth, the voice acting is top notch and the cut scenes are nicely animated. It has a detailed open world, not too large, with many orcs abound. MANY orcs.

There are enjoyable main and side missions in the open world system, a lot of which are very challenging early in the game.

The first couple of hours of gameplay are about as easy as taking part in the battle of Helm's Deep with only Samwise Gamgee and his potatoes for help. For this reason, it's best to get some orc kills and side missions under your alive/undead belt before tackling harder orc captains and main missions. Some of these are solid without upgraded weapons and health, and if you don't have enough points to enhance your Ranger and wraith skills.

The game itself features the usual RPG set-up: you start with not so many abilities but the more you progress; you get stronger. At a certain point, rather far in the game, you're allowed to create your own army. This is when Shadow of Mordor took a turn for me and became one of my all-time favourites. Combine this with the Nemesis system which forges mini-storylines between you and your enemies and you have a golden cocktail. I can tell you, this game is a game you'll love. The sequel is even better and more expanded. But this, this is the start. Have fun in Mordor!