Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

From Tolkien Gateway
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Video game
DeveloperMonolith Productions
PublisherWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
PlatformPC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Release date30 September 2014
GenreAction role-playing

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a video game, released in 2014. The story takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, acting as a bridge between the two eras. The protagonist's name is Talion, a Gondorian Ranger stationed at the Black Gate. Talion's family is slain the night the Dark Lord Sauron and his Uruk-Hai forces return to reclaim Mordor, setting the Ranger on a quest for revenge after he is possessed and sustained from death by a mysterious Wraith.

Gameplay

Shadow of Mordor is an open-world action/adventure game that is set entirely within Mordor. The overworld is mainly populated by Uruks, as well as never-before-seen creatures, such as the cat-like Caragors and troll-like Graugs.

One defining feature of the game is the Nemesis System, which allows the game to remember Uruks of a certain notability and track their progress as they rise from lowly soldiers to high-ranking captains and even war-chiefs. Most of these Uruks are randomly-generated and can vary in appearance, name, personality, and strengths/weaknesses. the Captains can randomly be found among the anonymous masses, though the war-chiefs can only be encountered by completing certain objectives to draw them out of hiding.

There are a number of tactics and strategies that can be exploited to kill Uruks: In addition to killing them in normal combat, one can also poison a nearby barrel of Grog (an alcoholic beverage popular among Orcs) and let Uruk-hai drink from it, grapple them and throw them over the edge of a cliff or platform, set Caragors loose on them by breaking open their cages, launch sneak attacks from above or behind, or "brand" Uruks with the Wraith's powers to brainwash them and pit them against other Orcs.

Voice cast

Role Actor
Talion Troy Baker
The Wraith Alister Duncan
Black Hand Nolan North
Ioreth Laura Bailey
Gollum Liam O'Brien

External links

Licensed video games set in Middle-earth
 Melbourne House: The Hobbit (1982) · Lord of the Rings: Game One (1985) · Shadows of Mordor (1988) · War in Middle Earth (1988) · Crack of Doom Software Adventure (1989) · Riders of Rohan (1990)
 Interplay Productions: The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (PC) (1990) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers (1993) · The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (SNES) (1994)
 Vivendi Universal: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) · The Hobbit (2003) · War of the Ring (2003)
 Electronic Arts: The Two Towers (2002) · The Return of the King (2003) · The Third Age (2004) · The Battle for Middle-earth (2004) · Tactics (2005) · The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006) (The Rise of the Witch-king (2006)) · Conquest (2009) · Heroes of Middle-earth (2023)
 Turbine/Standing Stone Games: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007-) (Mines of Moria (2008) · Siege of Mirkwood (2009) · Rise of Isengard (2011) · Riders of Rohan (2012) · Helm's Deep (2013) · Mordor (2017) · Minas Morgul (2019)) · War of Three Peaks (2020) · Fate of Gundabad (2021) · Before the Shadow (2022)
 Warner Bros: Aragorn's Quest (2010) · War in the North (2011) · Guardians of Middle-earth (2012) · Kingdoms of Middle-earth (2012Armies of The Third Age (2013) · Shadow of Mordor (2014) · Shadow of War (2017) · Rise to War (2021)
 Glu Games: Middle-Earth Defense (2010)
 Traveller's Tales: Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game (2012) · Lego The Hobbit (2014)
 Daedalic Entertainment: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023)
 North Beach Games: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria (2023)