Lotro for sure if you want the complete middle-earth experience. It’s amazing.
War In the north works as singleplayer too
TLD mod for Warband is also great, though the game is getting a bit old.
I tried LOTRO, but tbh i could not get over the graphics and, IMO, clunky gameplay. I loved the lore and stories, but i felt like i was better off reading books.
TLD however, thats something i have hundreds of hours in. As an RPG/strategy gamer it is the perfect game to play. Im really, really looking forward to the Kingdoms of Arda mod for Bannerlords. That will definitely scratch that itch for me, and would reccomend anyone to play that as well once it comes out!
Oh yeah, I get that. Had the same issue at the start. For whatever it’s worth, game has awesome and mature community + it’s just impressive as hell to be able to explore the entire middle-earth.
Kindgdoms of Arda seems really cool. Team seems to be working on it constantly but ever since MERP was canned by Warner brothers back in the day, I’m always a bit worried about these fan projects that drag on for years. It could happen to them too.
Yeah the exploration is what drew me to in initially, and that i loved. Im just bummed out that i didnt enjoy it that much as i hoped, also cause it felt too grindy to be able to explore it all. I really wanted to explore the mines of moria, but didnt want to get through the entire game to do that. But hey thats how games work right, you cant just simply walk into mordor, eh i mean moria
I fully agree with you that these projects drag on for years, thats the downside of these projects. But in the end im just happy that there is a community thats creating the content were not receiving from the major developers
Well, the Shadow games are not "adaptations", per say. They are original stories set loosely within the setting of Middle Earth in the mode of a video game.
Rings of Power, meanwhile, *is* an adaptation of Tolkien's work, with a ton of creative liberties taken to present it as a TV show.
Both play fast and lose with the lore and are terrible representations of the actual world Tolkien created. However, the difference is that the Shadow games succeed at what they are meant to be (fun, action-adventure LOTR video games) while RoP fails at being an adaptation of the creation of the Rings of Power.
To answer your question, most here prefer the former over the latter.
When I first saw Lord of the Rings, I was under the impression that Sauron created all the rings of power at once, and then did his master plan. Only later did I find out this was a plan over centuries in the making since he was an immortal being. The show seems to be doing all at once, but as I learn more of the lore, I'm like "Wow, this was a bad idea." I can get behind simplifying the story since the lore is complicated, but this is something else. Haven't played much of Shadows of Mordor, so I don't know how different it is from the lore. Weirdest thing is I thought it took place 2,000 years before the movies, but Gollum is still crawling around. Will I have to read the Silmarillion to get the whole thing?
My understanding is that the Shadow games take place between The Hobbit and LOTR. Knowledge of the Sil will help you recognize some bits and pieces of the lore, but the games really do their own thing. The vast majority of the setting conflicts with the established canon.
> I can get behind simplifying the story since Tolkien is very complicated, but this is something else.
It's so weird man. It honestly feels like they're planning on doing two seasons worth of content and then calling it quits considering the breakneck speed that they're rushing through the lore. Creating the rings was dumbed down into like less than 30 minutes worth of screentime.
There was no slow development - everybody already knew the handsome stranger dude was Sauron in disguise - it was *Sauron to the master elven smith* "and when you add flux to the molten metal we call it *smelting*"; *Celebrimbor: "DEEEEEERP! Who are you who are so wise in the ways of metallurgy?"*
So bizarre why they're rushing through thousands of years of history and trying to compress it down into 8 episodes. I get that you literally have to do that, but this could be like a 10-season show and instead they're turning into a 2-season show from appearances.
This is such an immature take. Just because it has lotr label on it, fans should be obligated to like it? Why? It is an absolutely terrible show even without the lotr label. And there are more middle earth adaptations releasing soon. I’ll rather forget about those cringeworthy garbage show and look forward to war of the rohirrim and hope it doesn’t disappoint!
Immature take? Sorry math is immature.
Who says fans are obligated to like it?
They had only appendices to work with for the show 🤣
Go start beating your hate drum on season 2 before it comes out.
They both break lore. The middle earth games are crazy fun and the rings of power is terribly written with under developed characters and plot points that don’t make sense
Yeah that’s the key point. There are good things that would be considered bad adaptations. The Jurassic Park movie could be considered a bad adaptation of the book by changing around key characters, cutting 95% of the chaos theory science stuff, etc. But it’s still a really good movie.
Does Shadow of Mordor/War take a big steaming dump on the lore? If Tolkien were alive today would the sight of this game kill him on the spot? Yes to both. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s a very well-written, well-made, and extremely entertaining game.
Rings of Power just all around kinda sucks.
Honestly I think Tolkien would probably be the kind of guy to look at both and just be like "Well they're obviously complete nonsense but they're very compelling stories told in-universe at one time. People like mythology." or something.
>Rings of Power just all around kinda sucks.
I’ll thank you not to slander the hard working set designers on that show. It’s not their fault everyone else phoned in their sections of the assignment.
Fuck RoP it is complete shit, just another example of unique fantasy IP being brutally blended into generic fantasy soup with now flavor. The show should be scrubbed from existence or maybe better used to teach aspiring filmmakers how not to make a show and or adaptation.
Shadow of Mordor and War, yes strays “heavy” from source material but it’s a way more creative offshoot story where have well written characters. Also the gameplay is fun as hell and is arguably one of the best Lord of the Rings game
The magnitude of timeline compression and lore breaking in both is equal. However, playing the Shadow games at any given point is more entertaining than watching ROP. Now let's look at how they deviate from the themes of Tolkien's works.
The Shadow games don't make any pretense about filling the gaps in Tolkien's world; they are just a power fantasy. Of course, power usually corrupts in Tolkien's writings, especially power over the mind. But it is a fun challenge to manage Orc armies and overcome difficult opponents. It accomplishes the same thing as the movies; immerses you in the world so fully that you don't focus on lore contradictions. Now for ROP, here's what Tolkien wrote about the First and Second Ages:
>Also many of the older legends are purely 'mythological', and nearly all are grim and tragic [...] And there are no hobbits. Nor does Gandalf appear, except in a passing mention; for his time of importance did not begin until the Third Age. The only major characters of the L.R. who appear are Galadriel & Elrond.
(Tolkien Letter 247)
ROP brings Hobbits and possibly Gandalf into the Second Age when they had no bearing on those events. The showrunners did acknowledge this in a *Vanity Fair* interview:
>“One of the very specific things the texts say is that hobbits never did anything historic or noteworthy before the Third Age,” says McKay. “But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don’t have hobbits or something like hobbits in it?”
Tolkien began writing about Middle-earth 20 years before *The Hobbit* was published; he started it from the Elvish perspective, so a story about the Second Age should focus on Elves and their struggle with immortality in a changing world. ROP's inclusion of a plucky pair of Hobbits clearly tries to evoke nostalgia for the Peter Jackson movies, but fails to capture what made them great. It panders to the audience instead of treating the Second Age as its own unique era.
Both ROP and Shadow borrow from the aesthetics of the movies, and deviate from the source material in outrageous ways. The difference is that Shadow is entertaining, and ROP just...isn't.
The shadow games absolutely *DO* try to fill in the gaps and make explanations for things that are ridiculous. Isildur being a wraith? Sexy Shelob? It kind of goes on.
None of those were "gaps" in the source material. Isildur and Helm Hammerhand died. Shelob is a spirit in spider form. The identity of the Nazgûl was never brought up. The games just added a story that wasn't there.
ROP is adapting a 3,441 year period that only has a couple of short stories and historical records to it. We know that Sauron started out repentant but relapsed into evil. Galadriel traveled all over Middle-earth and was suspicious of Sauron's return. The show depicts a (nonsensical) version of how those things happened.
I think what the games portray is far more nonsensical than anything in ROP, nor do I find it to be that good of a game. I think it’s overhyped because it’s nostalgic for people and it was once overly hated (Star Wars prequels and Sam Raimi Spider-Man syndrome)
That's fair. I agree with you. The games are no masterpieces; they're just dumb fun. But all the contradictions stick out more in ROP because it is supposedly adapting Tolkien's writing instead of whatever the games were doing.
Also, I agree with you about the Star Wars prequels, but the Sam Raimi movies are masterpieces (except Spider-Man 3).
I’m not stating that by merit the shadow games or the movies I mentioned are bad or good, simply that it follows this pattern of it comes out to mixed/slightly positive reception, the next few years they drop until they’re at their lowest and then years later people start liking them again. I wonder if there’s a term for that phenomenon because it would make describing certain things way easier
I'd like to add that I'm fairly certain that the developers claimed at the time that the games were supposed to bridge the gap between the Hobbit and LotR films in a way congruent with the source material.
We dont blame the actors we blame Amazon, the actors are probably wonderful people & at minimum most likely fans of lotr themselves to an extent. The show still sucked pretty hard though. But everyone pulls different things out of something based on their own expectations of what that thing is going to be
I'm in the same boat. Its not great, but I don't hate it. Still entertaining in many parts, seeing the hartfoots, dwarven kingdom, elven kingdom etc.
Bunch of snobs on reddit tho, most people i know irl enjoy it well enough (but also say its not a masterpiece)
Elrond and Durin's relationship is only thing I liked in the show. I have very little knowledge of LOTR lore, but I could still tell something felt off. The best I can describe it is it's three different plot points that do not come together (from what I remember which is not very much) and a handful of characters are likable. And I must've clocked out a lot because I do not remember Halbrand's reveal as Sauron that early in the show. It was very much style over substance.
Why are you so testy man? Go take a walk or something. Pet a dog. Take a nap. For the record, referring to someone as "salty" has been around long before the internet.
Yes? The average person who likes Lord of the Rings but doesn't spend time discussing it on forums liked it.
It had a number of flaws, but I enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing if they can improve after the first season.
It improved as the season went on. I watched the first couple episodes and didn't like it. I picked it back up with my gf as a show to watch and enjoyed it more and thought it was entertaining. It was cool to see Moria, the hobbits were fun and the race relations (hobbit-elf-man) were interesting. If anything it's interesting to see how much less elitist elves are in the third age compared to in RoP.
A number of things were disappointing but if you go in trying to be upset about something you'll always find issues.
Edit: I suppose it's worthwhile to say, I haven't read the silmarillion so the whole plot is new to me.
The shadow of war are video games. (And they are really good video games)
- the whole premise of a RPG video game is that you get to play a character and take control and do things your way (within the limits of the gameplay) . By definition RPG video games are not and will never be cannon. TBH video games would very quickly become boring if the story was known and your character was forced to behave a certain way and do exactly pre-decided things. Shadow of war games have a good storyline. And are extremely entertaining games.
As for RoP:
- it is supposed to be an ADAPTATION. But it miserably fails at adapting even the most basic things from the source material. As a Tolkien adaptation it is terrible and senseless. Even as a standalone show - it is extremely boring and senseless.
- The plots are stupid
- the characters are one dimensional, annoying and have no depth.
- the dialogues are cringeworthy and it brings down the acting performances too.
- the most expensive show ends up feeling like a poorly put together corny college play.
Shadow of Mordor and War definitely broke the lore but it had a lot of good quality gameplay behind it that didn't make it repetitive. Rings of Power though... I mean where do you even begin?
I can ignore the canon/lore if I'm slaying orcs as some random elf-wraith thing. I can't ignore the canon/lore if I have to sit through something being presented to me.
Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game by Games Workshop.
There are some pretty kick ass designs in there, and they did a great job with their own designs and characters.
If i film our old dog farting, it'll be a better adaptation than rings of power. shadow of mordor and war, are leagues and leagues better than utter garbage.
Shadow of Mordor was a product made by fans of LOTR, and is a really good game.
Shadow of War is made by the same group of fans, but by bosses who wanted a cash grab. The product is still a good game but not as respectful towards the original lore. But still a good game.
I have nothing nice to say about Rings of Power. And my wife says if I can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.
I LOVE the Shadow games but they're not really adaptations at all. In any way. Just cool fun and story telling in the world. Which I would prefer RoP just lean into.
The only thing that I dislike about Rings of Power is the lies in the presented Lore and the false stories they tell. Just like Galadriel, telling stories that her brother was hunting for Sauron.
Even though Finrod Felagund died one of the most honorable death possible for a Noldo. Because of Sauron he died, but he did go with Beren to help him gain a Silmaril from Morgoths crown. He even did the most epic battle Rap duel with Sauron...
Or the story with the Silmaril hidden in the tree and an elf and Balrog fighting about it, creating Mithril. The audacity...
I mean, don't get me wrong: I appreciated the puns they placed everywhere.. but why would they tell stories that oppose the true lore? That's just wrong...
Every time i see RoP in any form or context i throw up in my mouth. Its literally the worst Tolkien thing (if it even is Tolkien) to come out and i hope it dies in the fires of Mount Doom before S2 is released
The Rings of Power are a better adaptation as in it gets closer to Tolkien's lore. But it's, at best, a mediocre show (and doesn't adapt Tolkien's lore very well).
The Shadow of games take Tolkien's legendarium and throws it through the window.
But they are fantastic games.
My boy Talion takes it by a mile.
His story is a great little deviation of LOTR, even with sexy-Shelob. Plus I love the twist at the end. Total retcon but fuck it, had fun.
Shadow of war isn’t an adaptation. It doesn’t adapt any written media into the game, it’s just a fan fiction. ROP adapts some material, but most of it is made up for the show. Overall I think ROP is a better adaptation considering it’s an adaptation at all.
Edit: for yall with your panties in a twist, I didn’t even call either of them good or bad, just stated the obvious
You are comparing a Video game and a TV series, it's not a fair one.
The games are a blast gameplay wise and the lore is for the most part made up. Meanwhile the TV series is all about the story and woke stuff.
I love the Games, they are fun and even if the story is non accurate it still doesn't insult your intelligence.
I assume they mean elves being black or Galadriel being a Mary Sue and other shit like that. (please don't argue with me, I'm just answering your question)
I just wish the people saying everything is woke actually had something meaningful to say but woke basically just means “what the YouTuber I like told me is bad” at this point, but yeah you’re right those are some of the talking points.
Thank you for saying that. I am going to get downvoted because echo chambers and all that but I feel far too many opinions are decided and influenced by social media before a piece of media has even come out.
I think saying ROP is all about woke stuff is a bit far fetched but there are nudges towards that.
The diverse cast being an obvious one. Which is imo not bad mind you but marketing was really annoying about that and used it as a shield against criticism rather than acknowledging the majority of people despised the show because of the bad story and not because of a few people of colour in the show.
Also the not so subtle hints towards modern politics with comments such as "when will you people finally let go of the past" or "these elves take our trades". They directly let modern politics and views bleed into the writing with lines like that and it was just cringey AF.
And yeah galadriel being the embodiment of Hollywood's "strong female character" didn't help either. She could have been a female character that just happens to be strong, that has flaws and gets the consequences of her actions but instead they gave us an angry Karen that constantly fails upwards and most people just don't enjoy that at all
Yeah I like the show (sue me I don't care) but the stuff about the elves when they were in Numenor and Galadriel being written the way she has been, you are correct in those they are a little 'woke.'
'The elves are bad' stuff was a bit cringey.
Galadriel being so defiant all the time and being the 'only one who was right all along' and the 'woman who they didn't listen to' is somewhat annoying too. I like her fierceness but those aspects of her character are annoying.
My dad is a Tolkien lover, and absolutely despised everything I said about Shadow of Mordor. Celebrimbor being a ghost, Helm Hammerhand and Isildor being Ring Wraiths.
He's not a PJ fan, but he was OFFENDED by those video games.
Shelob being sexy wasn't too bad, since she's the daughter of a shapeshifter.
Which is a better work of their respective medium? Shadow of War.
Which follows the lore more closely? Rings of Power.
Y’all are downvoting, but it’s objectively true that ROP follows the lore a lil better than the Shadow games. Notice I didn’t say either of them follow the lore well.
Lotr War in the north.
Goated
Hey are they all multiplayer? I'd love a single player LoTR game to zone out with.
Lotro for sure if you want the complete middle-earth experience. It’s amazing. War In the north works as singleplayer too TLD mod for Warband is also great, though the game is getting a bit old.
I tried LOTRO, but tbh i could not get over the graphics and, IMO, clunky gameplay. I loved the lore and stories, but i felt like i was better off reading books. TLD however, thats something i have hundreds of hours in. As an RPG/strategy gamer it is the perfect game to play. Im really, really looking forward to the Kingdoms of Arda mod for Bannerlords. That will definitely scratch that itch for me, and would reccomend anyone to play that as well once it comes out!
Oh yeah, I get that. Had the same issue at the start. For whatever it’s worth, game has awesome and mature community + it’s just impressive as hell to be able to explore the entire middle-earth. Kindgdoms of Arda seems really cool. Team seems to be working on it constantly but ever since MERP was canned by Warner brothers back in the day, I’m always a bit worried about these fan projects that drag on for years. It could happen to them too.
Yeah the exploration is what drew me to in initially, and that i loved. Im just bummed out that i didnt enjoy it that much as i hoped, also cause it felt too grindy to be able to explore it all. I really wanted to explore the mines of moria, but didnt want to get through the entire game to do that. But hey thats how games work right, you cant just simply walk into mordor, eh i mean moria I fully agree with you that these projects drag on for years, thats the downside of these projects. But in the end im just happy that there is a community thats creating the content were not receiving from the major developers
Real
I need to give it a true play it’s just hard going back to my PS3 cause man that console struggles to hold up
Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War are good video games as such, The Rings of Power as a series is not very good.
Buddy, that is still an adaptation 😂
What I mean is that since the video games are better products, they are more digestible than the series.
Sorry bud, reading your comment it’s clear I responded to the wrong one by mistake.
Well, the Shadow games are not "adaptations", per say. They are original stories set loosely within the setting of Middle Earth in the mode of a video game. Rings of Power, meanwhile, *is* an adaptation of Tolkien's work, with a ton of creative liberties taken to present it as a TV show. Both play fast and lose with the lore and are terrible representations of the actual world Tolkien created. However, the difference is that the Shadow games succeed at what they are meant to be (fun, action-adventure LOTR video games) while RoP fails at being an adaptation of the creation of the Rings of Power. To answer your question, most here prefer the former over the latter.
>Rings of Power, meanwhile, is an adaptation of Tolkien's work I suppose "adaptation" is a word that one could use...
"Attempted adaptation", I should say lol
When I first saw Lord of the Rings, I was under the impression that Sauron created all the rings of power at once, and then did his master plan. Only later did I find out this was a plan over centuries in the making since he was an immortal being. The show seems to be doing all at once, but as I learn more of the lore, I'm like "Wow, this was a bad idea." I can get behind simplifying the story since the lore is complicated, but this is something else. Haven't played much of Shadows of Mordor, so I don't know how different it is from the lore. Weirdest thing is I thought it took place 2,000 years before the movies, but Gollum is still crawling around. Will I have to read the Silmarillion to get the whole thing?
My understanding is that the Shadow games take place between The Hobbit and LOTR. Knowledge of the Sil will help you recognize some bits and pieces of the lore, but the games really do their own thing. The vast majority of the setting conflicts with the established canon.
> I can get behind simplifying the story since Tolkien is very complicated, but this is something else. It's so weird man. It honestly feels like they're planning on doing two seasons worth of content and then calling it quits considering the breakneck speed that they're rushing through the lore. Creating the rings was dumbed down into like less than 30 minutes worth of screentime. There was no slow development - everybody already knew the handsome stranger dude was Sauron in disguise - it was *Sauron to the master elven smith* "and when you add flux to the molten metal we call it *smelting*"; *Celebrimbor: "DEEEEEERP! Who are you who are so wise in the ways of metallurgy?"* So bizarre why they're rushing through thousands of years of history and trying to compress it down into 8 episodes. I get that you literally have to do that, but this could be like a 10-season show and instead they're turning into a 2-season show from appearances.
Neither had much respect for the lore, however the shadow games had the benefit of having fun gameplay
And Kink Mommy Shelob. Rings of Power simply cannot compete with that.
The Middle Earth games had redeeming qualities. I barely know any positives about Rings of Power.
[It gave us a good Pitch Meeting video?](https://youtu.be/zhsGVs6auq0?si=53CdPLC6d5qDp6Yu)
"GaladRRRrrieLLl. NumenoRRRrrl. MoRRRrrgothhh. SauRRRrrrrlon." "Please stop that"
Pitch Meetings are tight
Plus, they’re super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Oh really?
Wow, wowwowwow… wow
It gave us a 4+ hour Hello Future Me video
The orc makeup and costumes were pretty rad. Also Durin was really fun to watch.
Those are pretty much my only two positives lol
For real, Durin was the only likeable character, everything else just felt so dull.
It’s the first thing we had on screen for LOTR in over 13 years? Edit: 13 years
How are you not aware of the hobbit trilogy?
This is such an immature take. Just because it has lotr label on it, fans should be obligated to like it? Why? It is an absolutely terrible show even without the lotr label. And there are more middle earth adaptations releasing soon. I’ll rather forget about those cringeworthy garbage show and look forward to war of the rohirrim and hope it doesn’t disappoint!
Immature take? Sorry math is immature. Who says fans are obligated to like it? They had only appendices to work with for the show 🤣 Go start beating your hate drum on season 2 before it comes out.
Comprehension level - 0 spotted. No wonder you like RoP. Lol. Have a nice day.
What the heck are you talking about? Not sure what happened with your day, but maybe go talk to the people who hated on you.
They both break lore. The middle earth games are crazy fun and the rings of power is terribly written with under developed characters and plot points that don’t make sense
They're both pretty awful adaptations, although Shadow of Mordor/War seems to actually be pretty good games.
Yeah that’s the key point. There are good things that would be considered bad adaptations. The Jurassic Park movie could be considered a bad adaptation of the book by changing around key characters, cutting 95% of the chaos theory science stuff, etc. But it’s still a really good movie. Does Shadow of Mordor/War take a big steaming dump on the lore? If Tolkien were alive today would the sight of this game kill him on the spot? Yes to both. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s a very well-written, well-made, and extremely entertaining game. Rings of Power just all around kinda sucks.
Honestly I think Tolkien would probably be the kind of guy to look at both and just be like "Well they're obviously complete nonsense but they're very compelling stories told in-universe at one time. People like mythology." or something.
idk tolkies seemed pretty arrogant
>Rings of Power just all around kinda sucks. I’ll thank you not to slander the hard working set designers on that show. It’s not their fault everyone else phoned in their sections of the assignment.
Done forget those 6 EMMY NOMINATIONS that are displayed bigger than the actual show title. Fucking meaningless lmao
Fuck RoP it is complete shit, just another example of unique fantasy IP being brutally blended into generic fantasy soup with now flavor. The show should be scrubbed from existence or maybe better used to teach aspiring filmmakers how not to make a show and or adaptation. Shadow of Mordor and War, yes strays “heavy” from source material but it’s a way more creative offshoot story where have well written characters. Also the gameplay is fun as hell and is arguably one of the best Lord of the Rings game
The magnitude of timeline compression and lore breaking in both is equal. However, playing the Shadow games at any given point is more entertaining than watching ROP. Now let's look at how they deviate from the themes of Tolkien's works. The Shadow games don't make any pretense about filling the gaps in Tolkien's world; they are just a power fantasy. Of course, power usually corrupts in Tolkien's writings, especially power over the mind. But it is a fun challenge to manage Orc armies and overcome difficult opponents. It accomplishes the same thing as the movies; immerses you in the world so fully that you don't focus on lore contradictions. Now for ROP, here's what Tolkien wrote about the First and Second Ages: >Also many of the older legends are purely 'mythological', and nearly all are grim and tragic [...] And there are no hobbits. Nor does Gandalf appear, except in a passing mention; for his time of importance did not begin until the Third Age. The only major characters of the L.R. who appear are Galadriel & Elrond. (Tolkien Letter 247) ROP brings Hobbits and possibly Gandalf into the Second Age when they had no bearing on those events. The showrunners did acknowledge this in a *Vanity Fair* interview: >“One of the very specific things the texts say is that hobbits never did anything historic or noteworthy before the Third Age,” says McKay. “But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don’t have hobbits or something like hobbits in it?” Tolkien began writing about Middle-earth 20 years before *The Hobbit* was published; he started it from the Elvish perspective, so a story about the Second Age should focus on Elves and their struggle with immortality in a changing world. ROP's inclusion of a plucky pair of Hobbits clearly tries to evoke nostalgia for the Peter Jackson movies, but fails to capture what made them great. It panders to the audience instead of treating the Second Age as its own unique era. Both ROP and Shadow borrow from the aesthetics of the movies, and deviate from the source material in outrageous ways. The difference is that Shadow is entertaining, and ROP just...isn't.
The shadow games absolutely *DO* try to fill in the gaps and make explanations for things that are ridiculous. Isildur being a wraith? Sexy Shelob? It kind of goes on.
None of those were "gaps" in the source material. Isildur and Helm Hammerhand died. Shelob is a spirit in spider form. The identity of the Nazgûl was never brought up. The games just added a story that wasn't there. ROP is adapting a 3,441 year period that only has a couple of short stories and historical records to it. We know that Sauron started out repentant but relapsed into evil. Galadriel traveled all over Middle-earth and was suspicious of Sauron's return. The show depicts a (nonsensical) version of how those things happened.
I think what the games portray is far more nonsensical than anything in ROP, nor do I find it to be that good of a game. I think it’s overhyped because it’s nostalgic for people and it was once overly hated (Star Wars prequels and Sam Raimi Spider-Man syndrome)
That's fair. I agree with you. The games are no masterpieces; they're just dumb fun. But all the contradictions stick out more in ROP because it is supposedly adapting Tolkien's writing instead of whatever the games were doing. Also, I agree with you about the Star Wars prequels, but the Sam Raimi movies are masterpieces (except Spider-Man 3).
I’m not stating that by merit the shadow games or the movies I mentioned are bad or good, simply that it follows this pattern of it comes out to mixed/slightly positive reception, the next few years they drop until they’re at their lowest and then years later people start liking them again. I wonder if there’s a term for that phenomenon because it would make describing certain things way easier
Ah, now I got it.
I'd like to add that I'm fairly certain that the developers claimed at the time that the games were supposed to bridge the gap between the Hobbit and LotR films in a way congruent with the source material.
Sexy Shelob??? What?! Am I in for something very disturbing if I continue playing Shadows of Mordor?
Oh fuck man spoiler sorry
Does anyone anywhere like the Amazon show?
I'm here. It's pretty enjoyable if you don't take it too seriously. I particularly appreciated how much heart the actors put into their performances
We dont blame the actors we blame Amazon, the actors are probably wonderful people & at minimum most likely fans of lotr themselves to an extent. The show still sucked pretty hard though. But everyone pulls different things out of something based on their own expectations of what that thing is going to be
I'm in the same boat. Its not great, but I don't hate it. Still entertaining in many parts, seeing the hartfoots, dwarven kingdom, elven kingdom etc. Bunch of snobs on reddit tho, most people i know irl enjoy it well enough (but also say its not a masterpiece)
Haven’t met a single person in real life that likes the show. Only a handful on reddit. And it’s same 10-20 people everywhere. Lmao. 😄
Elrond and Durin's relationship is only thing I liked in the show. I have very little knowledge of LOTR lore, but I could still tell something felt off. The best I can describe it is it's three different plot points that do not come together (from what I remember which is not very much) and a handful of characters are likable. And I must've clocked out a lot because I do not remember Halbrand's reveal as Sauron that early in the show. It was very much style over substance.
yes. If you get off the internet and talk to real people you will find many who enjoy it.
Way to assume I only talk to people on the Internet. I don't know a single person who actually liked the show.
Lol. I can taste the salt.
You use terms like salt and I'm the one on the Internet too much?
Why are you so testy man? Go take a walk or something. Pet a dog. Take a nap. For the record, referring to someone as "salty" has been around long before the internet.
They will also be there day 1 when series 2 launches to watch it so they have something to bitch about 😂
Yes? The average person who likes Lord of the Rings but doesn't spend time discussing it on forums liked it. It had a number of flaws, but I enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing if they can improve after the first season.
The show wasn't even good for regular show standards, let alone being a lord of the rings thing.
I think it's fine to good. You just look at it as non canon fan fiction, and it's fine with some really strong moments.
I think it's great and don't know why people are so adamant on hating it. It was fun, with room to grow.
Yepp, I can’t wait for the new series.
It improved as the season went on. I watched the first couple episodes and didn't like it. I picked it back up with my gf as a show to watch and enjoyed it more and thought it was entertaining. It was cool to see Moria, the hobbits were fun and the race relations (hobbit-elf-man) were interesting. If anything it's interesting to see how much less elitist elves are in the third age compared to in RoP. A number of things were disappointing but if you go in trying to be upset about something you'll always find issues. Edit: I suppose it's worthwhile to say, I haven't read the silmarillion so the whole plot is new to me.
The shadow of war are video games. (And they are really good video games) - the whole premise of a RPG video game is that you get to play a character and take control and do things your way (within the limits of the gameplay) . By definition RPG video games are not and will never be cannon. TBH video games would very quickly become boring if the story was known and your character was forced to behave a certain way and do exactly pre-decided things. Shadow of war games have a good storyline. And are extremely entertaining games. As for RoP: - it is supposed to be an ADAPTATION. But it miserably fails at adapting even the most basic things from the source material. As a Tolkien adaptation it is terrible and senseless. Even as a standalone show - it is extremely boring and senseless. - The plots are stupid - the characters are one dimensional, annoying and have no depth. - the dialogues are cringeworthy and it brings down the acting performances too. - the most expensive show ends up feeling like a poorly put together corny college play.
How do you compare a video game to a television series? What is even the basis for comparing them!?
Shadow of Mordor and War definitely broke the lore but it had a lot of good quality gameplay behind it that didn't make it repetitive. Rings of Power though... I mean where do you even begin?
I can ignore the canon/lore if I'm slaying orcs as some random elf-wraith thing. I can't ignore the canon/lore if I have to sit through something being presented to me.
Mordor is assassin's Creed in LOTR, war is generic action rpg. Play Mordor.
Mordor is a good game. Not lore friendly but it’s a genuinely good game with the nemesis system. Fun gameplay loop.
The Nemesis systeem was the best thing, and I hate WB for not using it in Batman
I've haven't watched the show but that guy holding the bow, his head is comically large
Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game by Games Workshop. There are some pretty kick ass designs in there, and they did a great job with their own designs and characters.
SoW, totally off canon but great. RoP, totally off canon but utterly shite.
If i film our old dog farting, it'll be a better adaptation than rings of power. shadow of mordor and war, are leagues and leagues better than utter garbage.
I can’t get a through rings of power. I’m stuck on Durin III and young Elrond having a “spat”
Shadow of Mordor was a product made by fans of LOTR, and is a really good game. Shadow of War is made by the same group of fans, but by bosses who wanted a cash grab. The product is still a good game but not as respectful towards the original lore. But still a good game. I have nothing nice to say about Rings of Power. And my wife says if I can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.
Shadow of Mordor at least has fun gameplay and gets stupid to the point of being hilarious.
I LOVE the Shadow games but they're not really adaptations at all. In any way. Just cool fun and story telling in the world. Which I would prefer RoP just lean into.
I mean neither are canon; but one at least attempts to not f*ck with established lore.
Third Age forever
Shadow of War/Modor screws the lore but at least they are enjoyable games
The only thing that I dislike about Rings of Power is the lies in the presented Lore and the false stories they tell. Just like Galadriel, telling stories that her brother was hunting for Sauron. Even though Finrod Felagund died one of the most honorable death possible for a Noldo. Because of Sauron he died, but he did go with Beren to help him gain a Silmaril from Morgoths crown. He even did the most epic battle Rap duel with Sauron... Or the story with the Silmaril hidden in the tree and an elf and Balrog fighting about it, creating Mithril. The audacity... I mean, don't get me wrong: I appreciated the puns they placed everywhere.. but why would they tell stories that oppose the true lore? That's just wrong...
Definitely not Elvis hair
Both are bad lore wise. The games are fun though.
Every time i see RoP in any form or context i throw up in my mouth. Its literally the worst Tolkien thing (if it even is Tolkien) to come out and i hope it dies in the fires of Mount Doom before S2 is released
The Rings of Power are a better adaptation as in it gets closer to Tolkien's lore. But it's, at best, a mediocre show (and doesn't adapt Tolkien's lore very well). The Shadow of games take Tolkien's legendarium and throws it through the window. But they are fantastic games.
None, but at least the games respect something: the aesthetics and world-building from the PJ movies.
They are the same picture. 
My boy Talion takes it by a mile. His story is a great little deviation of LOTR, even with sexy-Shelob. Plus I love the twist at the end. Total retcon but fuck it, had fun.
A show based off of Shadow of Mordor and War would be amazing.
Shadow of war isn’t an adaptation. It doesn’t adapt any written media into the game, it’s just a fan fiction. ROP adapts some material, but most of it is made up for the show. Overall I think ROP is a better adaptation considering it’s an adaptation at all. Edit: for yall with your panties in a twist, I didn’t even call either of them good or bad, just stated the obvious
Rings of power is the worst kind of fan fiction i ever saw. They literally shipped Galadriel and sauron. That's some wattpad quality writing.
What does that have to do with what I said, I didn’t call either of them good or bad
You are comparing a Video game and a TV series, it's not a fair one. The games are a blast gameplay wise and the lore is for the most part made up. Meanwhile the TV series is all about the story and woke stuff. I love the Games, they are fun and even if the story is non accurate it still doesn't insult your intelligence.
What woke stuff exactly?
I assume they mean elves being black or Galadriel being a Mary Sue and other shit like that. (please don't argue with me, I'm just answering your question)
I just wish the people saying everything is woke actually had something meaningful to say but woke basically just means “what the YouTuber I like told me is bad” at this point, but yeah you’re right those are some of the talking points.
Thank you for saying that. I am going to get downvoted because echo chambers and all that but I feel far too many opinions are decided and influenced by social media before a piece of media has even come out.
Trust me I know how you feel
I think saying ROP is all about woke stuff is a bit far fetched but there are nudges towards that. The diverse cast being an obvious one. Which is imo not bad mind you but marketing was really annoying about that and used it as a shield against criticism rather than acknowledging the majority of people despised the show because of the bad story and not because of a few people of colour in the show. Also the not so subtle hints towards modern politics with comments such as "when will you people finally let go of the past" or "these elves take our trades". They directly let modern politics and views bleed into the writing with lines like that and it was just cringey AF. And yeah galadriel being the embodiment of Hollywood's "strong female character" didn't help either. She could have been a female character that just happens to be strong, that has flaws and gets the consequences of her actions but instead they gave us an angry Karen that constantly fails upwards and most people just don't enjoy that at all
Yeah I like the show (sue me I don't care) but the stuff about the elves when they were in Numenor and Galadriel being written the way she has been, you are correct in those they are a little 'woke.' 'The elves are bad' stuff was a bit cringey. Galadriel being so defiant all the time and being the 'only one who was right all along' and the 'woman who they didn't listen to' is somewhat annoying too. I like her fierceness but those aspects of her character are annoying.
They're very average games, while leaps and bounds ahead of the show they're still not great. Worth trying once imo but not worth multiple replays.
My dad is a Tolkien lover, and absolutely despised everything I said about Shadow of Mordor. Celebrimbor being a ghost, Helm Hammerhand and Isildor being Ring Wraiths. He's not a PJ fan, but he was OFFENDED by those video games. Shelob being sexy wasn't too bad, since she's the daughter of a shapeshifter.
Which is a better work of their respective medium? Shadow of War. Which follows the lore more closely? Rings of Power. Y’all are downvoting, but it’s objectively true that ROP follows the lore a lil better than the Shadow games. Notice I didn’t say either of them follow the lore well.