I come from a Tolkien household; I say that in the same way that one might say their family is Pagan. My mother is a devoted lore nerd to the Lord of the Rings, and knows elf-speak to a degree that puts most to shame and awe. My childhood revolved a fair bit around the original film trilogy, book reports on The Hobbit were written, and I dressed as the ring-bearer Frodo for one halloween.

All of this to say that I think I know what made me love those stories, and what drew my mother to them, was not what this game contains. There's none of the magic here. Oh, it tries. It tries to FEEL like the movies, like the things you love, but in its trying it shows itself to be a giant poser, with its breathy pauses and grand posturing and manufactured discord between the characters.

So I don't consider this piece of software to be part of that golden portion of my life. And you know what? That's fine! Because this is a videogame, and videogames are very often over the top and not to be taken so very seriously. As this one is. So I won't take it seriously.

It's a fine videogame. The gameplay loop of hunting captains and warchiefs and getting into stupidly large brawls with the Uruk has kept me going for hours upon hours. Combat might get repetitive for some, but there's something about flurry-striking an orc using your Elf afterimage and making his head explode that hasn't gotten old for me. Figuring out the ideal way to take apart a tough enemy makes you feel clever, and getting your revenge on the one shield-toting vault-blocking jerk that keeps putting you into the grave is so very sweet. Upon writing this review, I think I'm finally reaching the limit of what this game can give back to me, though, so... it won't last forever. But while it did, it was fun.

Burn through the story missions, get a taste of greatness as you lead your army head-to-head with the elite forces of the Dark Lord (really, that moment is over too fast, hope that the "giant battlefield full of infighting with you spearheading the charge against the enemy captains" is expanded upon in Shadow of War), and you're looking at... fifteen, twenty hours. Go deep on the completionism, and it's more like forty-fifty. It's your money, so you make the call. Do buy the DLC, though. The Bright Lord campaign is pretty damn cool.

... In conclusion. This game is just what happens when someone says, "Man, Aragorn is REALLY cool. Let's give him a Stand and a vendetta and have him go to town on a bunch of orcs forever." Also Gollum is here, because they couldn't not use the brand power of the little creep.

I come from a Tolkien household; I say that in the same way that one might say their family is Pagan. My mother is a devoted lore nerd to the Lord of the Rings, and knows elf-speak to a degree that puts most to shame and awe. My childhood revolved a fair bit around the original film trilogy, book reports on The Hobbit were written, and I dressed as the ring-bearer Frodo for one halloween. All of this to say that I think I know what made me love those stories, and what drew my mother to them, was not what this game contains. There's none of the magic here. Oh, it tries. It tries to FEEL like the movies, like the things you love, but in its trying it shows itself to be a giant poser, with its breathy pauses and grand posturing and manufactured discord between the characters. So I don't consider this piece of software to be part of that golden portion of my life. And you know what? That's fine! Because this is a videogame, and videogames are very often over the top and not to be taken so very seriously. As this one is. So I won't take it seriously. It's a fine videogame. The gameplay loop of hunting captains and warchiefs and getting into stupidly large brawls with the Uruk has kept me going for hours upon hours. Combat might get repetitive for some, but there's something about flurry-striking an orc using your Elf afterimage and making his head explode that hasn't gotten old for me. Figuring out the ideal way to take apart a tough enemy makes you feel clever, and getting your revenge on the one shield-toting vault-blocking jerk that keeps putting you into the grave is so very sweet. Upon writing this review, I think I'm finally reaching the limit of what this game can give back to me, though, so... it won't last forever. But while it did, it was fun. Burn through the story missions, get a taste of greatness as you lead your army head-to-head with the elite forces of the Dark Lord (really, that moment is over too fast, hope that the "giant battlefield full of infighting with you spearheading the charge against the enemy captains" is expanded upon in Shadow of War), and you're looking at... fifteen, twenty hours. Go deep on the completionism, and it's more like forty-fifty. It's your money, so you make the call. Do buy the DLC, though. The Bright Lord campaign is pretty damn cool. ... In conclusion. This game is just what happens when someone says, "Man, Aragorn is REALLY cool. Let's give him a Stand and a vendetta and have him go to town on a bunch of orcs forever." Also Gollum is here, because they couldn't not use the brand power of the little creep.