Mario Bautista
Old John Tolkien was never one to look to the future so he’d no doubt be surprised at the sheer juggernaut his mythological creation has become. Since the arrival of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Lord of The Rings has taken over the world and while there have been entries with varying degrees of success there are a few adaptations that have hit the ball out of the park. Two of these, Lego The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor, are currently free to grab for yourself.
This celebration of Lord of the Rings-ness comes as Amazon winds up the hype engine for the upcoming release of season two of Rings of Power. The secretly brilliant Lord of the Rings prequel TV series is gearing up for launch in the coming days, simultaneously annoying Silmarillion fans while making me very happy. If you’d like to spend your time in a pair of great fantasy games instead of typing angry messages about the series online, Amazon Prime subscribers can claim Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor and Lego The Lord of the Rings right now.
Shadow of Mordor is one of those games that really doesn’t seem like it should’ve worked, but somehow everything came together. A LOTR prequel that sees you play as a ranger who’s haunted by the ghost of Celebrimbor has all the hallmarks of being a bit of a cash grab, but instead we received something far better than anyone could have imagined. The reason for that, of course, is its lauded Nemesis System.
As you adventure through the game’s open-world you’ll take down various enemies to learn information and weaken Sauron’s army. Some of the orcs you face will be hardier and nastier and the game will track how you encounter them, and what they do when they face off against you. These Uruks will sometimes return to the action after being killed in fine villain tradition, learning new abilities in their hunt to bring you down. If they manage to pull off a feat of their own – such as killing the player – they’ll be upgraded too. Even normal orcs can stand out from the crowd, making the world truly dynamic and reactive to your successes – and your failures.
In addition to Shadow of Mordor, Lego The Lord of the Rings is on offer, providing a far more cheery vision of Tolkien’s world. If you need a palate cleanser from the grimness of Mordor, filled with jokes, brick-breaking, and co-op chaos, then this is a brilliant way to get a bit more LOTR into your life.
Both Lego The Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor are free to Amazon Prime subscribers until Monday September 30. You can also play Shadow of Mordor’s sequel, Shadow of War, over on Amazon’s Luna streaming platform. Head here to learn more about how you can grab all these games.
Should you want to dive into something else, our guides to the best stealth games you can play and the best action-adventure games on PC should keep you in fine company for a long time to come.
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