It has been a mere week since I wrote up my First Impressions of Monolith’s open-world Tolkien-based stab-’em-up Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. While I have not finished the game, I have opened up quite a bit of the world, engaged in a plethora of power struggles, learned a great deal about one of the darkest… Continue reading Game Review: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Tag: tolkien
First Impressions: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
At first glance, the concept for Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor seems like something you’d find on a fan-fiction site, aching for the sort of opportunity that was afforded to 50 Shades of Gray. An Illithen Ranger, one of the fabled Dunedain, falls victim to an untimely death but is resurrected thanks to the intervention of… Continue reading First Impressions: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The second part of a three-part story is often the trickiest. It can be hard to work the tale in such a way that it feels like its own complete story, yet works to connect the first part with the last. Even when a work is planned as a trilogy from the outset, the second… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Execution of Smaug
Previously I have discussed villainy in terms of how we relate to and perceive various villains. I’ve praised villains who achieve their aims through intelligence, charm, and guile. These traits tend to appear in villains who are not necessarily a physical match for their heroic counterparts, doing their dirty work through henchmen or other means.… Continue reading The Execution of Smaug
Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is a far more filmable piece of work than his larger work, The Lord of the Rings. It has a more simple narrative, its plot is contained to one volume, and its themes remain focused on the character of Bilbo Baggins and how he deals with his adventures. Yet, according… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
