Tomorrow(The 11th) the sequel for Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War, drops finally so what better time than today to review the game that somehow received universal acclaim and whilst Shadow Of War has been marred with controversy and shady business practices, lets take a trip down memory lane to 2014 and dust off our ranger blades and hunt some orcs in the review for Middle:Earth: Shadow of Mordor.

Plot and Setting.

Shadow of Mordor takes place, you guessed it, in Mordor the legendary tolkien creation of where the ultimate evil lives, however this game takes place before the lord of the rings trilogy in the 60 years between the hobbit and said franchise when Mordor was relatively under Human control after the evil king sauron had been defeated for the first time and the rangers of Gondor guarded the black gate.

You take control of Talion, a ranger of the kingdom of Gondor, after getting to know your family and train your son, your family is brutally cut down by invading orcs and you yourself are killed by the black hand of sauron and thrown away, however you awaken some time later in a death like state, confused and disorientated as to what has transpired when you are suddenly met with an elven wraith who explains your situation and guides you into the lands of Mordor to search for answers for the tragedy that just took place.

The wraith in question has a very long history in the world of Middle-Earth( I won't spoil it) but suffers from amnesia after centuries of being a wraith, he knows only that the answers lay within lands beyond the black gate and merges with Talion as they both begin to search for answers, in a barren inhospitable, hostile land he will serve as your only guiding light for the foreseeable future.

Story line

The story line of ME-Shadow of Mordor isn't the tightest of stories while there is an over arching story line to the entire game it mainly focuses around the elven wraith and thalion searching for answers, as such the events of the game don't really move forward until you do there are some minor plot points and side missions but overall as an open world game it's not structured in the way that linear games are in the sense that it's possible to go hours without learning anything new about your journey until you actively seek it out through missions.

However fans of the Tolkien universe will love every aspect of it as you visit places fully visualized for the first time and meet characters from books and transcripts that didn't make it to the big screen, you will also meet some familiar and not so familiar faces, again without spoiling it, the Elven wraith has played a significant part in the Tolkien universe and some say he is even the linchpin that ties all the stories of Tolkiens middle earth together.

However as for Talion you never really feel connected to him as a human, this is more to do with the fact that he's given no time at a backstory and the only thing that ties you to him is the here and now and as such you tend to view him as one sided in the sense that he's a Gondor ranger who destroys everything in his path to get answers, however this is also due to the fact that it's an open world game as they tend not to have the tightly knit story lines of linear games it still does a fair a job of connecting you to the story line insofar as that you can follow and be surprised and learn things but overall this game is meant for the game play aspect.

Graphics and Direction.

The game itself is absolutely stunning to look at, I remember getting it in 2014 and seeing the little icon that said "To play on Ultra you will require a 6GB card" and thinking to myself "Jesus 6GB?" however it does pay off, the graphics options blend together perfectly and add a very welcoming environment to look at, the environment itself may not always be attractive but even the unattractive parts are great to look at even just stopping and looking around in certain places shows the graphical fidelity of this game as the screen shots will show you.

The atmosphere is great for the game play itself as well as a ranger you will often be fighting atop high fortresses, in the depths of a cave or just in the mud with rain pouring down and thunder as you're surrounded by enemies on all sides, it breeds a unique environment for a game that is set largely in a barren land destroyed by marauding orcs and the machines of war they bring with them, however on the other hand there are lands that seem relatively unscathed, lush forests,plains and wild lands were vegetation grows unchecked and where nature has reclaimed the areas giving ruins and settlements a vibrant but downtrodden feeling to them, remember even though the scenery may look great, you're still surrounded by angry monsters on all sides.

Direction wise the game does a good job of giving you enjoyable set pieces and large levels to deal with as sometimes stealth is the only option you will have to climb beams and watch towers silently taking enemies out giving you full views of the war camps below and the land in general sometimes you'll have to climb spiraling mountains or the black gate itself and as this is an open world game you'll see everything involved in it on ultra, the barrels and supplies, ladders and crates, stairways and enemy fortification, overall it's a game that may of aged just a tiny bit but still looks amazing when you're immersed completely in the game.

Game play

This, this is what sets the game a part and why you buy this game, the game play is amazing the combat is extremely fluid there are enough mechanics and the like to keep you interested for hours and allows for differing types of game play so lets break down some of the main points of the game play below.

• Fluid combat
  
  If you have ever played any of the new batman games this is what you can expect a free flowing non stop assault, faced with multiple enemies it will be up to you on how you control your character and timing, attacking head on will result in enemies surrounding you and it will be up to you to deflect,parry and dodge your way to victory, sometimes you may only face two or three enemies at a time but as your confidence in the game grows you'll find yourself wanting to test yourself against multiple units to the point you think you can endlessly take on a horde of orcs(you can't but you can try!).

Coupled with the Elven wraiths bow and spirit attacks it also consistently changes with your upgrades and combat will either get more intense and fluid or you can change it to become methodical and calculated as to how you take enemies on and inevitably out, coupled with the upgrade system you will also unlock special abilities and other various things to help you in combat, as well as environmental factors such as fire and traps set by the orcs themselves.

• Upgrading
  
  Upgrading in Shadow of War is great, it allows you to choose which weapons and skill you want to prioritize as well as giving you missions to train and earn them in as i stated above your game play will change to how you prefer it and the game does a great job or giving you multiple paths to achieve your game play style whether it be full frontal, ranged or assassinations.

As you progress in the game without spoiling anything, you'll unlike certain items and game play changes that completely change the landscape of how you do all three and how hard or easy you want the game to be, upgrading is done primarily through side quests but also through main quests and upgrade quests it has a lot of content within it so exploring the world never feels like a chore but a chance to unlock more and more.

• The Nemesis System
  
  The nemesis system is great, there is a hierarchy in Mordor and they're coming for you, as you travel through the lands you'll inevitably meet stronger orcs with different strengths and weaknesses they come in all shapes and sizes and will test your skills against them however they also act like a player character because if you die they level up and become that much harder to fight, they will also rank up in the sense of the hierarchy and become more equipped and gain strengths and lose weaknesses so make sure when you take on a nemesis orc that you're ready for it, because it can easily spiral into an ungodly boss if you dying or it manages to get away.

But there is an upside as the enemies level up so too do the items they drop often runes and inscriptions for your weapons, also a part of the upgrading system and in some comes forcefully promoting weaker orcs into the higher echelon can make your game easier or can even give you a helping hand later on(again, no spoilers) either way the nemesis system is a very great addition to the game that gives you an overall sense of progression as too how far you've come in your travels.

Some downsides

In the interest of objectivity, this game isn't without it's floors there are some things that will annoy you, one of them is the progression of the story line it does take some time to get into it and as things unfold some of your characters actions won't make sense, as well, the side objectives can become pretty useless in mid-late game but will require you to do them solely for slight upgrades or to progress an overarching side plot to fruition,but again these are things that may just bug me.

For example the Witcher 3 does these things but i couldn't get enough of it even when there was no clear cut bonus for me and would take me out of my way, this may just be me talking as to not liking these things, as always don't just take my word for it go out and make your own mind up.

Critical Review

Overall Shadow of Mordor is worth your money, it's a beautiful looking game with more than enough content to keep your interested, the game play is sleek and enjoyable and not repetitive even though technically it is repetitive you'll never approach a group of enemies the same way every time and sometimes you will need to adjust your strategy to achieve your goals, running into a fortress of a hundred orcs may seem like a good time but eventually you're going to get swarmed and die.

Story wise it's not the strongest game and the boss fights leave a bit too be imagined but as i stated before this game is about game play and the boss fights do offer you some differing ways to play it, as for the story line if you want to focus solely on it you can however you will miss some things in your play through and as such i'd suggest that you complete as much content as you can if you want to get the most out of it.

In summary, Shadow of Mordor is a game that stylish, adaptable and enjoyable and definitely worth a play if you enjoy open world combat games, especially if you're a fan of the Tolkien universe or Lord of the Rings in general.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, feel free to up-vote or resteem my article, also feel free to leave a comment or question on this review or about the game and i'll get back to you, thanks for your time!