Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor (Sony PlayStation 4, 2014)

Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor puts players in charge of Talion, a ranger of Gondor and guardian of the Black Gate, whose family was murdered when Sauron and his armies returned to Mordor. Talion is also killed, but resurrected by a mysterious spirit and given new Wraith Powers that let him exploit the memories, habits, and personalities of foes and bend them to his will. Players then set about exacting revenge by systematically eliminating high-ranking members of Sauron's army.

Shadow of Mordor employs the Nemesis System, which ensures that high-level enemies always have unique names, appearances, strengths, and weaknesses, and the personalities of these foes are shaped in part by previous interactions with Talion. This in turn can affect the way gamers approach their missions, as the open-world nature of the game allows for bloody and direct melee combat, and players can also scale walls to get to higher ground and perform powerful ranged assaults or precision stealth attacks. Gamers can also force their minions to go on Assassinate, Terrorize, Sacrifice, or Spy missions, and success lets players upgrade the skills and weapons of both Talion and his Orc and Uruk captives.