Shadow of Mordor is the single best Lord of the Rings adaptation to date, and one of the very best third-person action games in many years.

And now, there are two types of gamers, if we're talking about The Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, "Those who have play The Shadow of Mordor and those who are going to."

Solid action wrapped in a fascinating simulated Orc society. [Nov 2014, p.52]

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

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a strong foray into the Tolkien universe, backed up by popular combat from other major action series, with its own free-running style to boot.

At first glance, this is "only" some Assassin's Creed game from the Lord of the Rings world. When you look at it again you see an immersive action RPG relying on fun and fancy combats that are plentiful here. Tolkien is still waiting for that proverbial game that would find them and in the darkness bind them, however, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is close to it.

A highly polished and generally entertaining romp, but it's missing a vital spark to bring everything together.