Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Let me ask you two questions: do you like Lord of the Rings? Did you enjoy the fun gameplay aspects of Assassin's Creed? If you answered "yes" to either of these, this is a game worth checking out.
"But Goblin Squire, what if I said 'yes' to both of these questions?" - Stop what you're doing, cause this game is THAT GOOD!
---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{Gameplay}---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ All
---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☑ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{Grind}---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding
---{Story}---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life
---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

Real Life has been really tough on me for the past 2 years and I haven't been playing any games on steam for 2 years.
This is the first major title I tried since my return 2 weeks ago. Reason I picked this game because from 2020/12/31 the online leader-board server is coming down and 3 of the achievements cannot be unlocked after that. Thanks to my friend RVK I am informed and really enjoy this game.
This game focus on the last ranger captain of Black Gate before the Dark Lord took over Mordor. He had his family killed before his very eyes before he was killed also. Lucky or Unlucky for him one of the eternal enemy of the dark-lord, Last Mordor's elf king and master ring smith that made Rings of power was there. That Elf Wraith seeks only vengeance against dark lord and together with ranger captain they became being that's a shadow of living and death.
Thus u cannot really die in this game and each time u lose you will start back at one of the white wraith tower again. In this action RPG environment you have to do many Main missions and side missions to gain control of the land and raise an army to battle against the dark-lord.
Certainly is a interesting game and kinda remind me Viking battle of Asgard. Which you eventually fighting in battle that became army versus army. Graphics is still very nice and game engine performed very smoothly. There are quite a bit of Beheading and brutal kill in this game. Story wise it's smooth but really lacking quite a bit. Music and combat sound is nice and difficulty is not too hard. Cut Scene and Animation is very nice and enjoyable but it's all kinda short of AAA title.
Only 8.5/10 for this title and i deduct point for story being too simple and the shortness of the game. Even through this game have a bunch of dlc and side story it's still feel quite a bit lacking. Consider I finished everything in only a few days except certain achievement that will keep me trying for a while after I write this review.

This game saved my life.
I am 27.
My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and adopted our son together. They are now both 4 years old.
When we were going through our separation, I found myself lost and miserable. I was self destructive. I got so mad one day from everything spiraling out of my control that I punched some concrete in a moment of overwhelming emotion. That caused me to break my 5th metacarpal in my right hand... my working hand... my games hand.. the hand that I held and carried my children to bed with.. The hand I desperately needed to make sure I could continue to provide.
After learning of the severity of my self-inflicted damage, I was borderline suicidal. Keep in mind that just a few months before this, I was the happiest man with no history of depression or anxiety. I have never had fits of rage, or been one to break down and cry, but I was in a low spot that just really buried me from being able to see the light on the other side.
Having nothing better to do, I searched for a game I could play, ONE HANDED while I recovered. I somehow stumbled upon this game and read some of the reviews. I decided that it had to be worth a shot... I must admit, I didn't beat the game, or play nearly as long as some of you. In fact, I may have only played this game a day or two.. With that being said, after doing so, I had a new found joy and hope for life. I was able to put behind me the pain and suffering that had been cast over me. I was able to experience other peoples joy and happiness. I was able to see the fruits of my "labor". I relaxed for 5 ♥♥♥♥ing minutes to this music long enough to realize that I was going to be okay.
After coming to that realization, I turned the game off, and I went back to work. It hurt my hand like hell but I was motivated. I stopped feeling so damn sorry for myself, and I became the father I needed to be in that moment, not the weak boy I was behaving as.
Today, I am close friend with my kids mother. We don't fight, or argue, or say hurtful things to each other. We are parents, and friends.
I now have 3 kids. My third child is, wait for it, ALSO 4 YEARS OLD. The woman I am with was going through a very similar situation at the time of my own separation, and we just stumbled in to each others life unexpectedly. We have been in a relationship for a year now, and are very happy together.
Moral of the story, you never know what life holds in store for you, and if I would have given up when all the odds were stacked against me, I wouldn't be where I am today. This silly little game helped me realize that.
Thank you

PROS:
+ Nemesis system
+ captains & warchief battles
+ great stealth & ranged combat
+ good melee combat
+ plenty side missions & collectibles
+ (now) default GOTY edition has all DLCs
CONS:
- couple of glitches
- takes a dump on Tolkien lore
- disappointing ending & bosses
- online features turned off in 2021
Comment:
Straight up gotta mention the story is wildly inconsistent with Tolkien lore. If you are a hardcore LOTR, Hobbit or Silmarillion fan this could outright insult you. However, if you treat it for what it is, silly fan fiction, you might get over it and start enjoying the good things the game has to offer. The story is really short anyway (just 20 missions) but the real thing the game is built around is the Nemesis system. A hierarchy of orc/uruk captains with warchiefs at the top. While in the first map it is mainly about killing them you really get into it in the second map after acquiring the brand skill. This makes captains/warchief work for you (once you fight and dominate them) and suddenly elevates the whole system. It makes you care about them more and is loads of fun to manage. Now about combat - melee is not bad and after you get some skills it is pretty decent. But ranged combat (especially combined with stealth) is just fantastic. Yeah it may seem too easy but I preferred the ranged and stealth approach in the vast majority of the time. It does even seem like the game was supposed to be played this way based on the optional tasks in each mission. Shadow of Mordor came out during the open world mania and has all the tropes that come with it - towers to unlock map icons and fast travel, picking up collectibles and side missions not related to the story. One thing not mentioned yet are the bosses (black captains) which are separate from the Nemesis system and are mediocre to terrible. While I do not consider this a spoiler (and I wish I knew it before buying the game), others might, so the following section is viewed upon your discretion: The last missions are extremely underwhelming with both bosses being rushed in development and the last one literally being five quick-time events. It is clear they reached a deadline and already planned Shadow of War so they left this game with a cliffhanger and two bad boss fights. The game has a lot of good and fun sides so it is worth checking out. But the mediocre "ending" and loss of some features push it towards the sales bin. So best to pick it up for cheaper then...
P.S.: Vendetta missions, where you avenge the death of someone from your friends list by killing a captain/warchief from their game, are no longer available as of 2021. Same goes for other online features as the servers are shut down.
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If you liked this review you can find more on the Curator page or in my Review Corner.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a very well crafted adventure that will keep you hooked for hours on end.

GULARIC THIN BONES. My arch nemesis, has poison spears that wipe you out with one touch, and is a combat specialist so finishers don't work. his health does not go down when standard attacks hit, only ghost punches. He always rolls with at least 7 orcs and can only be found in strongholds. Took me 6 months and countless battles to murder this arsehole. I will never forget his name, best grudge ever in a videogame 10/10 would duel again

Shadow of Mordor is a tie-in with stellar production values, a very well-executed action game and a sandbox that shows to the whole genre a new way to dynamically create interaction and storytelling.
9/10