Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Xbox 360

INSTANT CLASSIC!!! The Shadows of Mordor is one of the BEST games I have played since Skyrim. My Wife and I are HUGE Tolkien fans, and even BIGGER LOTR fans. Due to the fact that most of the LOTR games really SUCK, we weren't getting our hopes up. We've had many disappointments in the past. But once it arrived we threw it into the BOX and got ready to play. It didn't take long to see the game for what it was, and that they had gotten it right this time! Having it have it on 360 is the only hang-up I've seen. The graphics are really low quality and it takes a bit too long (In this day in age) for simple screens to load up. (Simple Fix) So I see a new "ALIENWARE" in the near future. But, with the Bugs and Glitches aside, you will be sucked into the OPEN world of Mordor. And it is infested with all manner of EVIL crawling around. You play as Tallion, a Captain of Gondor and Guard of The Black Gates. During a Raid led by The Black Hand of Sauron, your family is slaughtered in a ritualistic manner, and you are banished from death. Soon after, you meet an Elven Wraith who has the same curse. He will be your guide in this evil place as you learn your abilities as a Wraith. You will infiltrate the hierarchy of the Captains and War-Chiefs of the tribes within Mordor. But, You need to remember one thing though, "You aren't going up against mindless Orcs,""These are, URUKAI! Their Armor is Thick and Shields Broad"...Gimli. There is a great level of intelligence with the Uruks, not just in the hierarchy, but individually too. The Uruks aren't stupid, if you fail to kill one, he will learn from this event. He may even get promoted in Rank. Take time to gain intel. Learn his weaknesses and his vulnerabilities. Know his strength too. You can even send a Minion to attempt assassination.

First of all, I didn't have any problems installing this game, and I was connected to the internet the entire time, so I don't know what all that is about.When I first looked at the game play for Shadows of Mordor, I was worried it was going to be an overly complicated system that I couldn't fully enjoy with our hours and hours of figuring out strategy and controls. What I found though, was a story line and game play that slowly unlocked features, not only keep the game interesting, but making it more complex and more involved, yet at a pace that allowed me to get used to everything and fully understand the system as I went. Now, I'm over halfway through the main missions and having a great time playing it as often as I can.The free flow fighting system is very familiar if you've played Batman Arkham City. If not, not worries, it's an easy to learn and very fun system to use.The story unfolds slowly, so don't expect a great story right of the bat. Basically, your first 10 hours or so will be simply learning the fighting system, Captains and options with them as well as missions types and other fun things. Once you move the the second map by completing main story line missions, the game becomes more involved.As for the graphics and details, I haven't found fault. If I was worried about those things I would have upgraded to the XBOX One and admired the graphics improvement.The only gripe I have is with the Map and loading screen. Any time you look at the map and return to the game, you'll have to wait as long as 10 seconds to begin playing again. But I consider this a small price to pay for the amount of fun I've had playing this gam.

Playing it a lot

I own over 300 games this is in the top 5. Right up there with Halo and the best of the best. This is just such and amazing game like none other that I find my self playing 8 hour straight without realizing it. If you like anything battle like this is swords, bows, hand to hand. Lots of planning and strategy. I cannot say enough about this game. I have had it for a week ad I have to pry my self away from it just to even stop to eat. BUY THIS GAME. You will love it. Takes a few days to get use to all the controller abilities. You will die all the time the first few days, but once you get used to it you can battle the same orcs for 2 hours straight. This is a Lord of the Rings prequel and you play a ranger that also has the been cursed with the powers to become a wraith at his will. A+++++++++++++++++++