The Council of Elrond in Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings |
Hello and thank you for stopping by! I have been on a bit of a hiatus from 2019-2020 but am planning a return in 2021. In the meantime, please follow me on Instagram: @tolkienbritta!
25 October 2014
Today in Middle-earth: October 25
24 October 2014
Today in Middle-earth: October 24
09 October 2014
Today in Middle-earth: October 9-20
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Flight to the Ford by John Howe |
06 October 2014
Today in Middle-earth: October 6
02 October 2014
Guest Post: 'Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Review'
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is now available on PC and all next-gen consoles. While I can't wait to check this game out for myself to see how well (if at all) the narrative fits into Tolkien's canon, I'm stuck waiting until the game's PS3 release on November 18 (I think I'll prefer console to PC, in this case). In the meantime, I am enjoying the game vicariously through friends' reviews and YouTube videos.
Corey Brooks (@LOTRHobbit93 on Twitter), a friend and fellow gamer/Tolkien fan, was kind enough to allow me to host his review of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor here on my blog.
Corey Brooks (@LOTRHobbit93 on Twitter), a friend and fellow gamer/Tolkien fan, was kind enough to allow me to host his review of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor here on my blog.
(Note: may contain spoilers, depending on your familiarity with Tolkien's writings)
Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor Review
by Corey Brooks
One does not simply walk into Mordor. Unless you're the Gondorian ranger
Talion. Then it's as easy as Legolas taking down orcs in Mirkwood.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor is the Middle-earth game many have been waiting
for. While Middle-earth in the format of video games has had a rich history
(ranging from great to not-so-great outings), none but The Lord Of The Rings
Online have truly been amazing and fun games to play for hours on end while
vividly bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's world to life. And while I've enjoyed every
Middle-earth game that's been released, some have been waiting for a truly
great virtual experience set in this world. Shadow Of Mordor has changed this,
and definitely set the bar pretty high for future outings of Middle-earth
related games.
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Photo: Corey Brooks |
The game follows Talion, a ranger of Gondor who, along with his family, is
slain at the Black Gate of Mordor, where he has been stationed to keep watch
over the cursed land. Some SPOILERS will follow on the story, so if you haven't
played yet or do not want to be spoiled, then look away! Right off the bat the
tone, very brutal and sad as Talion one moment spars with his son, then is
being beaten bloody by an orc. I've never actually cried playing a video game
before, but the moment Talion and his family are killed, and how he tells his
son "I'm right here! Look at me!", really had me balling my eyes out,
and matches the emotional scale of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth films. After a
heart wrenching opening, Talion is brought back from the dead by a wraith, who
after regaining memories of his past, finds out he is Celebrimbor, the greatest
smith of the Second Age, and forger of the Rings of Power, and together, they
try to find out why this has happened, along the way also avenging the death of
Talion's family by the Black Hand, a servant of Sauron. The story is
fantastically done, having a nice cinematic feel to it, with brilliant motion
capture and voice work by Troy Baker, who portrays Talion. Players will
encounter Gollum, and I love the Frodo/Sam relationship that Talion and
Celebrimbor have with the gangly creature. Talion also aligns himself with a
cowardly orc called Ratbag, who'll do anything to become a warchief, which also
will play in Talion's favor amongst the ranks of Sauron's army. Talion and Ratbag's
relationship is pure gold, and had me laughing many, many times.
01 October 2014
Today in Middle-earth: October 1-3
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