Why a Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Threequel Has to Happen
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor bore a significant burden on its shoulders as it ambitiously aimed to refurbish video games set within J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings IP. The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular fantasy IPs, but its games have generally not quite lived up to that popularity. The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy adaptations, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, and The Lord of the Rings: War in the North are only a handful of titles familiar to fans of the IP, but none may have had such an impact on contemporary AAA titles.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an open-world action-adventure game with linear missions. Its combat echoes that of Rocksteady’s Freeflow combat in the Batman: Arkham franchise, but what made it truly unique was it blended wraith abilities and Monolith Productions’ patented Nemesis System. Monolith’s Middle-earth franchise has seemingly ceased after only its second installment, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, but there is much more potential in the series if non-canon narrative threads are followed and if its superb gameplay features were expanded upon.
Elden Ring Clip Shows The Lord of the Rings' Frodo and Sam Journey Through the Lands Between
Middle-earth: Shadow of War concludes with a surprising twist that ties it directly into The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In its non-canon lore, Talion becomes corrupted as a Ringwraith after his separation from Celebrimbor. While this has significant effects on Middle-earth: Shadow of War's narrative, it also allowed for some unique sequences and gameplay in the third act; such as dark armor representative of the hooded and black-clad Nazgul. This made for some of the most rewarding armor sets found in Middle-earth:
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