As far as licensed games go, most of them aren’t even worth mentioning. But there are some rare cases that fire on every cylinder and live up to their parent franchises. And once in a blue moon, you might get a video game that surpasses the quality of the film it’s based on. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a fascinating anomaly, then: a video game that fails to do right by its license but, at the same time, is a resounding success for the genre to which it belongs. In some respects, it can be accused of being derivative, but its most original components are so fresh and utterly brilliant that the developers of the games it uses for inspiration (Batman: Arkham and Assassin’s Creed) need to take note of what Monolith has accomplished here.

Mordor. The name alone inspires dread. If you’ve seen Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, you know it to be a blackened, foul, desolate wasteland corrupted by the absolute evil of the Dark Lord Sauron. Watching the heroic Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee struggle through the barrens in the second half of The Return of the King is almost like struggling through it yourself; between the oppressive atmosphere and the watchful gaze of the flaming Eye of Sauron, it is the most unpleasant region to spring from the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Technically, Shadow of Mordor doesn’t really make a strong case for the next generation of video game consoles. But in a game like this, that’s not really the point -- more on that later. Artistically, the game looks great; aesthetically, it’s right at home with the film trilogy. Talion looks like he could have been a stand-in for Aragorn, and the Wraith World (and all that it contains) showcases that creeping darkness punctuated by ghostly gray. The game’s setting of post-Hobbit, pre-Fellowship Mordor gives the development team some leeway, and this in turn gives the game two disparate visual styles: the first being the shoddy, crumbling pits of savagery the Uruk-hai use for slave camps and strongholds and the otherwise natural beauty of what Mordor once was.

The primary exception to the visual faithfulness is in the graphic violence. While The Lord of the Rings contains more than its share of war violence and bloodless decapitations, Shadow of Mordor sometimes feels like a showcase for all the ways in which one can slaughter an Orc. Countless heads fly, countless throats are slit, and a single finishing move might result in an Uruk receiving five stab wounds in his torso, two in his throat, and a final one through his skull. Is it cathartic? Absolutely; between the death of Boromir at Amon Hen, the subsequent capture of Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took, and all the assorted atrocities committed by the Uruk, it’s instantly gratifying to put them on the receiving end of their own savagery. But it, like the narrative elements of Shadow of Mordor, is guaranteed to rub some fans of the source material the wrong way.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor contains not a single cue from Howard Shore’s incredible soundtrack, but not even that could have saved this game as a legitimate Lord of the Rings product. The soundtrack is decent but not memorable in any way; there’s a vague theme woven in and out of all the tracks, but it doesn’t sound like something you’d instantly identify as belonging to this particular franchise.

Everything else relating to the sound design is absolutely fantastic. You don’t even have to be looking at the screen to be able to tell when Urfael and Acharn (Talion’s sword and dagger) chew through Uruk skin, flesh, and bone. It’s so grotesque that you will probably be wondering exactly how the team was able to produce these horrific crunchy and squelchy noises.

The voice acting is mostly decent, and in a few cases, outstanding. I’ve never been one to underestimate the talents of Liam O’Brien, but his performance as Gollum is a case study in emulation; it may as well be Andy Serkis himself. And while the Uruks are all bluster and chest-puffing, their lines are incredibly varied and their observations are completely accurate. It's amazing how much dialogue has been recorded to suit every situation. Whether Talion ran from battle, was defeated, or left a hideous scar to remember him by, they will not only remember, but they will have something to say about it. Of course, sometimes they just scream incoherently or click their teeth. Oh, and as I write this review, I am just now finding out that the two biggest voice actors in the industry (Troy Baker and Nolan North) play Talion and the Black Hand, respectively. They truly are chameleons, comparable to the likes of Gary Oldman. Brilliant.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, so Sauron’s influence has not yet completely permeated Mordor. Those who don’t know this going in may be surprised to see a very different kind of environment. Sure, the northern stretches of Udûn and the Black Gate are a taste of things to come, but the reconstruction of Barad-dûr is only hinted at in Uruk conversation.

Shadow of Mordor stars Talion, a Ranger of Gondor stationed at the Black Gate of Mordor with his wife Ioreth and son Dirhael. Naturally, this proximity to what would become the centerpiece of The Return of the King’s climax doesn’t bode well for the family; the Dark Lord Sauron, in recovery from his corporeal death at the hands of Isildur, dispatches his servant, a vile entity known as the Black Hand, to claim the Black Gate and all of Mordor. Over the course of a very hard-to-watch cutscene, Talion and his entire family are murdered. But at the moment of death, Talion finds himself bound to a mysterious amnesiac Wraith, and therefore "banished from death." The newly immortal Talion is none too pleased about this, but he learns that he may be able to earn his death by hunting down the Black Hand. While the scope of the journey is impressive and the cutscenes are a joy to watch, Shadow of Mordor’s story is quite poor. For such a man of action, Talion may very well be the most boring and one-dimensional character in all of Middle-earth. His ghostly companion is a far more interesting fellow, but you should experience that for yourself. The supporting characters don’t do much to help and seem to round the bases without doing anything to deepen the player’s connection with this already painstakingly-developed world. Elf? Check. Dwarf? Check. Witch? Check. Gollum’s involvement is also completely superfluous and gratuitous, even though I will readily admit that he is my favorite character in all of Tolkien. So all in all, the narrative is a bust. But thankfully, that’s not what Shadow of Mordor will be remembered for.

As mentioned, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor knows where its influences lie. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Assassin’s Creed and Batman: Arkham City should be blushing. This game has the freewheeling traversal of the former and the brutal combat mechanics of the latter. As far as those elements go, they are nearly identical to how they are presented in those games. But this cribbing doesn’t in any way detract from the experience; it’s done so well that only the pickiest of gamers will find fault with it.

Freed of his mortal shackles, Talion fearlessly treks into enemy territory with only one goal: to make the servants of Sauron (particularly the Black Hand) suffer as much as possible. Shadow of Mordor features two regions in Mordor to explore: the corrupted wastelands of Udûn and the comparatively lush Sea of Núrnen. There’s a lot to do in these areas, and your activities will continue long after you’ve completed the twenty story missions. Most of it will have to do with murdering scores upon scores of Uruks, but others will have you exploring and doing what Rangers do: hunting wild animals and harvesting helpful flora.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is more challenging than the games that serve as its main inspiration. That being said, I personally think the difficulty level is pitch perfect. It requires you to look before you leap, and even if you do that well enough, the game has a natural tendency to put you into unwinnable conflicts. You will die in Shadow of Mordor, and you will die often, especially in the first half of the game, when you’re a low-level fighter who is still learning the ropes. This is a very good thing, however; Talion’s immortality combines with the game’s most impressive innovation to fantastic results. I’ll get into more detail in the next section.

In Assassin’s Creed and Batman: Arkham Asylum, you’re more than capable of dispatching legions of enemies. In Shadow of Mordor, the barbaric Uruks don’t wait their turn to attack. They don’t care how they hurt you, as long as they hurt you. There will come several times when you have two choices: run or die. There’s no shame in either, though there are consequences for both. That being said, death comes at no cost to Talion, and he doesn’t lose anything if he’s put to the sword. He simply reawakens at the nearest Forge Tower and he’s good to go.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor could be described as Assassin’s Creed with Batman’s combat system. And on a base level, that description is apt. You move nimbly across the world, climbing tall structures, slinking around, and silently murdering your enemies. You also engage in close-quarters combat, building combos, countering enemy attacks, and executing devastating finishing moves. And the controls are almost identical, at that. But underneath the hood is Shadow of Mordor’s ace in the hole: the Nemesis system.

As selfish, violent, and horrible as they are, the Uruk-hai adhere to a rigid sociopolitical structure. Survival of the fittest, distilled into its purest form. Not all Uruks are born equal, and the strong are the only ones who are followed. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes this concept and runs hogwild with it, and the result may be the most revolutionary addition to open world gameplay in years.

In Sauron’s Army, the Uruks have a hierarchy. One that focuses on leadership and strength in the pack. The strongest of the Uruk soldiers become Captains. The strongest of the Captains become Warchiefs. Talion’s partnership with the Wraith gives him an incredible advantage: the ability to directly influence nearly everything within this structure.

The degree to which this is reflected in the gameplay is astonishing. For example: if Talion is killed by a run-of-the-mill Uruk, that Uruk will be promoted to Captain. His power will increase, he will gain an entourage, and he will become more difficult to kill. However, the Wraith’s presence allows Talion to essentially burn his way into the minds of lesser Uruks. Through this power of domination, Talion can gain Intel on Captains or Warchiefs. He can learn their strengths and weaknesses, and as a result, he can better prepare himself for the inevitable showdown.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg, so let’s continue this what-if scenario: after consulting the elegant interface that displays the hierarchy of power, Talion discovers not only the Captain’s current location, but that he is invulnerable to ranged attacks and deathly afraid of Caragors, the four-legged beasts that roam the wilds. Using the same power of domination, Talion mounts and assumes control of a Caragor and rampages his way to the Captain. The Captain immediately tries to flee, but his weakened state of mind renders him an easy kill. But wait? Do you strike off his ugly head or do you dominate him in an attempt to worm your way up the ranks and sabotage even more powerful Uruks? This is only a taste of the depth offered by the Nemesis system.

As Talion becomes more and more powerful, his options for political subterfuge expand and deepen. For example, you can send death threats to Captains and Warchiefs, which increase their power, but render them more likely to drop an Epic Rune (all dead Captains and Warchiefs drop runes, which, when slotted into your bow, dagger, or sword, net you passive abilities). And eventually, your influence over the Uruk masses becomes so formidable that they essentially become your brainwashed army of slaves. Through a series of well-designed side-missions, you can even assist an underling in his rise to power only to dominate him, get him to cozy up to a Warchief, and force the maggot to betray his master. There is so much more that I can say, but the joy of discovering this stuff on your own should not be spoiled.

Now you can see why I refer to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor as a curiosity. It fails as a Lord of the Rings property, but as a video game, it’s superb. If you can handle the rampant artistic license taken with this revered series, you should absolutely play this game. In some ways, you’ve played tons of games like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. But in other, more important ways, you really haven’t. All too often people look at the visual fidelity of video games as an indicator of how "next-gen" they are. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor can be described as "next-gen" for far more important reasons.