Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

VideogamerJamie Trinca

9/10

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

VGChartzVGChartz Staff

9/10

Valiantly bringing Middle-earth to the current generation. Crafting a quality game based on either The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit is no easy [...]

Capsule ComputersJamie Laike Tsui

9/10

No summary available

TheSixthAxisJim Hargreaves

9/10

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 after you’ve finished the story and explored the world. Still, when you eventually come to that milestone you will undoubtedly have had your fill.

Gaming NexusJeremy Duff

8.8/10

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.

Impulse GamerDakoda Barker

In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, you play as grizzled ranger Talion as he fights to protect Middle-earth and avenge his murdered family. Despite the Tolkien

TechRaptorAndrew Stretch

8.5/10

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.

NoobFeedDaav Daavpuke

83/100

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is worthwhile on the sole basis of its unprecedented orc hierarchy. It borrows heavily from other franchises for ideas, but the one notion it fleshed out for itself did so with unparalleled care.

StuffBen Tarrant

It’s been said that a man seeking vengeance should dig himself two graves, but perhaps that doesn’t apply when said man is already a bit dead?

Pure XboxDave Letcavage

8/10

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 fantasy setting based on the Lord of the Rings universe, the open world has a distinct presence, even if there isn't much environmental variation. We can easily recommend Shadow of Mordor to fans of e...

Digital TrendsAdam Rosenberg

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

Press StartUnknown

Unscored

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor provides the player with about 20 main story missions, though there is a wide array of side-missions available that will make your gameplay experience much more robust and lengthy experience. But the Nemesis system will probably be a more attractive reason to revisit the game for some players. The side-missions offer a decent variety, and sometimes it may be nice to take a breather from the story and simply cause some havoc amongst your enemies, which is pretty rewarding in its own right.