stands out from other open-world action games by putting a great new layer on top of the trail that Batman blazed. I was surprised at how well it integrates its excellent combat with rewarding feedback and progression not just for me, but also for my enemies.

Great combat; Enemy progression; Losing matters; Mind control

Unexciting campaign missions

Monolith and Warner Bros. Interactive risked a lot in creating Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. They obviously risked the ire of diehard Tolkien fans around the world (I'm looking at Vader), since they created new characters and wrote a story outside of Tolkien's words.

Solid gameplay that requires real strategy and planning and really forces players to be against dying; as crazy as that sounds

Generic protagonist and safe-ish storyline walk a very fine line to prevent hardcore Tolkien fans from rallying against the game too much; and at the same time; it's not entirely open to those who know nothing about Lord of the Rings

I scale up a tower I have never climbed before and survey the land. There are new events in which to participate now, and new adventures to undertake. I leap to the ground below from this dizzying height, landing safely and breaking multiple laws of physics in the process.

Challenging combat encounters make every skill feel useful; Fluid locomotion makes interacting with the game a joy; Nemesis system is fun to mess with; Outstanding sound design enhances the sense of otherworldly peril

Erratic story that concludes with anticlimactic battles; The most interesting mechanics don't appear until halfway through the story

Considering the reputation licensed games had in the early 2000s, the Lord of the Rings movie games made out fairly well. The Two Towers and The Return of the King games were, at the very least, good action games that made decent use of their license and delivered something fans of the films could...

As far as licensed games go, most of them aren't even worth mentioning. But there are some rare cases that fire on every cylinder and live up to their parent franchises. And once in a blue moon, you might get a video game that surpasses the quality of the film it's based on.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the big surprises of 2014. During a crowded release time in gaming, Shadow of Mordor is able to offer an interesting experience due to its Nemesis system, combat, and stealth mechanics.

When Talion, one of the last Gondorian Rangers keeping watch at the Black Gate, and his family are brutally executed the night of Sauron's return to Mordor, he awakens to find himself inhabited by an Elvish Wraith, "banished from death" – trapped between the worlds of light and dark – and bound to...

With stealth, platforming and similar assets and animations, Monolith's Lord of the Rings title Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has more than a little Assassin's Creed flavour to it. Its counter and combo focused fighting also echoes the free flowing combat of the Batman: Arkham games.

I've been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien since I was a boy. The fantastical world he created never disappointed, regardless of the entertainment medium it was presented in. His books kept me awake long into the night and Peter Jackson's film adaptations often left me breathless.

Similarly to last year's less than stellar Lord of the Hunt DLC, the Bright Lord takes the action outside of Shadow of Mordor's main campaign, this time giving us a new protagonist altogether. Celebri

Celebrimbor is a badass; Branding enemies never gets old; A proper boss fight

Even more difficult; Still doesn't feel wholly essential