OK, so it must be Middle-earth Monday over at Warner Bros HQ, which makes sense after the Friday theatrical release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Today, we have already seen the kinder, gentler side of Tolkien’s legendary fantasy universe in the debut trailer for LEGO The Hobbit. Now we get to see the darker, grittier side in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions’ third-person action game coming next year to PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One as a non-canonical story-filler between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Hmmm… I am cautiously intrigued by this game, as I did enjoy what I was able to play of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North before a game-breaking glitch brought progress to a permanent halt. (I want to get back to that game, but I have to start over from scratch and just haven’t felt like doing so.) The Snowblind Studios developers on that game were merged with Monolith Productions after its release, so Shadow of Mordor should be in good hands. I have my concerns about the storyline and the new made-up hero, but I’m willing to give him a shot.
Here are additional details about the game, accompanied by a new batch of screenshots.
Talion: Players take the form of Talion, a ranger who loses his family and everything he holds dear, only to be returned from death by a mysterious Spirit of vengeance.
Mordor: Set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor begins on the night of Sauron’s return to Mordor, throwing the region into turmoil.
Nemesis System: Discover a powerful and dynamic next-gen gameplay mechanic that allows players’ actions to shape enemy relationships and characteristics, creating personal and unique stories and gameplay arcs that remain persistent even after death.
Wraith abilities: Players command Wraith Powers to orchestrate and execute their vengeance to outwit enemies, infiltrate the ranks, and dominate within an adaptive world.
Melee combat: A multitude of enemies will require different tactics, encouraging the player to advance their skills, abilities and weapons to become legendary through a system of rune rewards crafted according to the player’s strategy.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
