7.5. Initially as easy as joining the battle of Helm’s Deep with only Samwise Gamgee and his potatoes for help, but it’s a rewarding game and welcome addition to Tolkien’s world

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an open world action-adventure video game by Monolith Productions and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

The game is an original story set within the world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. You play as Talion (voiced by the excellent Troy Baker, a character not in the books/films), a Ranger of Gondor stationed at Mordor’s Black Gate, whose fate becomes entwined with a mysterious elf’s spirit, after a battle with dark forces, led by the Black Hand of Sauron. Talion and the spirit work together and you control both characters through out, with differing strength/magical abilities. On the way, you will encounter a familiar, pesky face looking for his “precious”…

The interesting storyline continues in an authentic Tolkien vein as you navigate trecherous areas surrounding and within Mordor. The game takes place sometime between the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This new addition to the world of Tolkien lore is welcome and it’s enjoyable even though we’ve been to this place many times in books, film, and games.

The game is a few years old, but the design is crisp, detailed and smooth. Voice acting is top notch and cut scenes are nicely animated.

The first couple of hours of gameplay are challenging, with MANY orcs, so it’s as easy as joining the battle of Helm’s Deep with only Samwise Gamgee and his potatoes for help. 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, requiring points to enhance your Ranger/wraith skills.

Because… if you die, the orc that kills you gets stronger, is promoted in the orc army ranks, and are more difficult to kill - which can spell carnage for you. I found out the hard way by blindly challenging the same orc, he promptly dispatched me repeatedly until he got so hard he was one of the last enemies I could defeat. This is due to the unique Nemesis System, which allows the AI of the non-playable characters to “remember” their prior actions against the game's protagonist and react accordingly. Infuriating, but a great game dynamic.

Combat is enjoyable and varied once you upgrade skills and unique abilities. Eventually, your acquired skills make things much easier, such as mind controlling orcs to fight for you. It’s a challenging yet rewarding game and you meet interesting characters and foes along the way, to test different skills of stealth, sword play and bow and arrow accuracy.

There is also a sequel, Shadow of War, information on which indicates you can carry over your skills / army? That would make starting the sequel far less challenging!