Why I Love the Game: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a delight to play, in spite of the fact that the game basically has no story, and what story it does have is mostly told through annoying load screens. The key is simply this: the routine combat of the game is the best I've seen. It reminds of the best of Assassin's Creed and also the FMV combat of God of War. The environment is gorgeous. The game takes place almost entirely outdoors, in a green countryside filled with orcs, their human slaves, and the ruins of human and elven fortresses that were built to keep Sauron at bay. There are a few caves.

Orcs are stupid, which explains why you can sneak around them without being seen, why they will lose you quickly if you run away, and why their own fortresses are not terribly secure. Orcs are lazy, which explains why dozens appear when there's an alert, but there are relatively few standing guard (perhaps 50 in an entire fort).

Two very small quibbles with movement, both of which have to do with the fact that one key has multiple uses (due to the fact that it's a console port): 1) I stand next to walls trying to climb them and tumble instead of climbing the wall, and 2) the controls for sneaking while riding a caragath can be confusing.

As RPS said, "Unlocking more abilities doesn’t make the combat simpler, nor indeed does the game make itself more difficult. It does something so damned rare: it becomes more interesting."

I love this game. In order to enjoy it you, you need to know that, early on, you'll have to run from combat (the game does not tell you this).