Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor gets an October release date and an extremely gloomy trailer

Shadow of Mordor dated for October

My name is Talion. Ranger of the Black Gate. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. 

So Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s protagonist Talion has a proper Russell Crowe thing going on. But with wraiths and orcs and not a Roman in sight. He’s a bit miffed because the Black Captains of Sauron carved up his family, and now he’s bonded with a spirit of vengeance. So he’s got to kill loads of orcs – which he is meant to be rather good at. 

Monolith and Warner Bros. have announced that Shadow of Mordor will be darkening our screens in October. In the mean time, take a look at the story trailer below. 

Let’s ignore the rote, silly story – because the game does actually have quite a bit of promise. There’s more than a hint of Assassin’s Creed, with acrobatic shenanigans, a dash of stealth and flashy combat.

What’s especially interesting is the way Talion works his way through the ranks of orcs, slicing and dicing. It’s systematic. He aims for the leaders; first the captains, then the lieutenants and so on. But he can choose what to do with them once he gets them. He can have them spread fear or dissent throughout the army, simply kill them, or turn them into one of his agents.

Let’s hope it lives up to the promise of its more intriguing features.