Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

The Nemesis system is what made this game unusual. Orc captains have names, ranks, strengths and weaknesses. A captain who defeats you may rise in the army; one who survives you can return with a memory of the encounter. This means the enemy hierarchy is more than a static list of bosses. Look at a captain's information before charging into a camp. An enemy afraid of fire or vulnerable to stealth is a different problem from one who counters the approach you normally use. The wraith interrogation image in the gallery shows one of the ways Talion extracts information about the people above an ordinary Orc.

You can approach a stronghold quietly, isolate a target or fight openly. The screenshots show both close combat and the larger landscape. The open view helps you spot routes over walls; the tight fight view shows how quickly Orcs can surround Talion. There are also large creatures that can turn an encounter chaotic. A beginner can start by learning where enemies are and finding a way out, rather than treating every crowd as a fair fight. Progress gives Talion more abilities, but the basic pattern stays: gather information, choose a target and adapt to what that captain actually does.

Monolith Productions developed the game and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment published it. The Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions launched September 30, 2014; PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions followed later that year and are not the same day-one technical release. A later sequel, Shadow of War, is a different game. In the United States and Canada, Shadow of Mordor carries an ESRB M (Mature 17+) rating.