Because everything starts with what you pay to get something, at the current price it is borderline 4 stars. The continuation of Shadow of Mordor does not make it a better game in any way, but it shows us some additions that in my opinion remained at a fairly initial stage.
The story continues and is quite good, I played it on Nemesis difficulty as well as the cutscenes, the addition of Shelob is interesting. There are many weapons and equipment with upgrade capabilities, as well as the Skill tree. The sound and graphics are also at a good level.
I will agree that several stages become repetitive, the combat system even at a high level is quite challenging, especially with difficult Orc opponents who adapt to 2 things, then you don't know how to hit them and you pray for someone else to eliminate them in the heat of battle!
The fortresses, as an initial idea, are interesting to conquer or defend, but they could have been much better, as well as the Pit fights and the Online mode overall.
If they had given it more depth and attention to truly make it stand out, we would be talking about a different game.
Nevertheless, you definitely buy it and give it a chance.

This is the good version of a scandal!

The game continues where the previous one left off, with Talion and Celebrimbor creating a second ring of power to fight against Sauron. They don't have it for long, as the new ring falls into the hands of Shelob, (the spider from the third movie) who can still appear as a woman. As if that wasn't enough, the siege of Minas Ithil is happening at the same time, and Talion must postpone his mission to retrieve the ring in order to save her. During the game, there are no significant events, and the game saves the biggest twists for the end, closing this part of the story.

The graphics are better, but not by much, which is logical since this game focuses more on building an army and strategic sieges than the previous one. After the first chapter, your goal is to play as "Sauron 2" and recruit Orcs to conquer Mordor from Sauron himself. There are now 5 maps, although they feel slightly smaller, all with fortresses and a castle to conquer, and you will travel a lot between them. The Nemesis system returns, giving each Orc more personality than ever, and now you can command them from anywhere and assign them important offensive or defensive positions. It is very addictive to see the personality and weaknesses of each Orc in order to exploit them and recruit them.

When this game was released, it had many bad microtransactions, even though it was a single player game, and as if that wasn't enough, the difficulty of the endgame increased significantly to force you to use them. There were many reactions, and many months later they backed down and removed the microtransactions along with the difficulty of the endgame.

This version includes all the DLCs as well as the aforementioned patch on the 2 discs!

WARNING: The American version of this package has nothing on the disc except for the initial release. If you get that one, the DLCs are in Voucher Codes, and the patch that fixes the game needs to be downloaded!

A very nice continuation of the series. For those who enjoyed the first game, it is definitely a good choice. The main feature of the game is the Nemesis system and the effort to create an army. The main quests provide a pleasant change of tone, which is necessary to unlock certain basic abilities, but they could have been more substantial. In terms of online play, there are 3 modes, but none of them are real-time with other players, meaning it is not truly PvP. After completing the game, which can last up to 40-50 hours if you try to collect as much as possible, you have the option to continue recruiting, defending against the game's AI, or attempting to capture other players' fortresses, but not in real-time as mentioned before (essentially, you are still facing the game's AI without encountering other players). This can be as interesting or boring as each person evaluates it. The DLC adds extra content to the base game, and there are also 2 additional story DLCs that allow you to control other characters besides Talion, adding a few more hours to the gameplay. In summary, a very good choice for fans of the genre and the lore of the universe (although it is not considered canon, so approach some "initiatives" with some familiarity, as they are necessary for the story to be interesting)

Having almost reached the end of the game (in the middle of Act 4), I have to say that this is one of the top games of 2017 and here's why:
Gameplay: The game manages to combine stealth, hit and run mechanics, shooting, and monster control very well. This creates one of the most well-designed and addictive gameplay experiences I have ever played. The system with the orcs is very interesting, and the hierarchy mechanics will keep you glued to the screen until you find that orc who killed you twice.

Graphics & Sound: It's no surprise that the developers of the game managed to create Mordor like we've never seen it before in a game. Although the lip syncing is not very good and some textures have not been implemented as they should, I have to admit that they did an amazing job in reproducing the visual and audio aspects of Mordor.

Story: Where the game loses ground is in its story. The characters do have personality, but you don't really care about them. The same goes for the plot. They could have created a much more interesting story, taking into account the lore that the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien hides.

In general, the game is very good, although it has its negatives. I highly recommend buying the game and NOT any of the lootboxes, as you can easily finish the game without them.

Open world, 3rd person, stealth, primarily, and hit and run, and an amazing sequel to Shadow of Mordor are the reasons why the game is a must. As for mirian (the in-game currency), don't waste your money buying virtual currency like others say. The game gives some golden mirian upon completing missions and some extras, not a lot but enough to buy golden chests that contain 2-hour XP boosts which, if managed correctly and saved for the end, will easily reach the level cap (60), along with a lot, a whole lot, of farming. And here I want to emphasize that farming for XP and gear/weapons is done through online vendetta, which not only gives XP but also golden chest gear. I didn't bother with Online conquest at all, I found the idea quite repulsive, while with online vendetta, I definitely surpassed 130, at some point I stopped counting.... Some other tips, like letting an orc kill you so that they level up and then seek revenge, there are also some cheated death orcs that appear a maximum of 4 times, each time with a higher level that ensures you powerful weapons and gear, you will read about it on several sites. And I conclude with the last act of the game, the shadow wars, where you have to protect the fortresses against orc attacks. Act 4 has 10 stages and I found it extremely enjoyable in terms of farming. There I used the 2-hour XP boosts and reached level 60, in these sieges I obtained a lot of gear/weapons, etc. Before starting the sieges, level up your orcs, put many captains as bodyguards for the warchiefs, find a high point with plenty of arrows around you and enjoy a wonderful ending.... As I wrote at the beginning, the game is very good.

I have had it since the first day of release and I consider that I have reached a pretty good point to record some of my thoughts on this particular title. First, I will present the positives. The graphics are charming, although they are somewhat repetitive in the human cities of Mordor. On the contrary, as we approach Sauron's mountain, things change and the graphics become even more interesting. The sound effects are at a very high level, offering the maximum in the magic of Shadow of War. Many hours of gameplay, providing abundant gameplay, even for players tired of open world games. The enemies are well-crafted, with their own personal character, movements, abilities, etc. The sieges are a visual delight, while the battles with the balrog are simply epic! Of course, riding a Drake adds a lot to the overall gameplay, and the control of the dragon does not remind in any way of cases like LAIR, as a lot of good work has been done during flight, resulting in battles flowing smoothly. However, there are also several negatives that diminish some of the magic. In the initial missions, the game is very difficult, resulting in leveling becoming tedious, if not annoying. The enemy orcs are never alone and the control suffers in cases where Talion faces more than 5 or 6 enemies (which happens constantly). On the other hand, the stealth movements are well-crafted and help to smooth out the chaos that occurs when several enemies gather in the area. Unfortunately, it takes at least 6 hours of gameplay for the player to understand and comprehend the Nemesis system, and many times, the simultaneous ambushes and retaliations carried out by the enemy orcs of the system tire the player and force them into continuous retreats. On the contrary, towards the end of the game, Talion is so loaded with skills that enemies cease to pose difficulties, resulting in the game becoming quite easier, to the point of absurdity. Also, the pronunciations of the orcs are strange, as they often speak with an English accent or make dark humor, which does not match their race as we know it from The Lord of the Rings books. Of course, there is no mention of loot boxes, which really isn't worth bothering with! That's why I believe that the extra money for the Silver and Gold editions is simply wasted. Buy the standard edition that offers everything and don't fall into the trap of marketing and overconsumption. In general, it is a very good game, but it loses points due to its high initial difficulty and repetitive action. Unfortunately, it is probably slightly inferior to Horizon Zero Dawn. If you are torn between the two, it is better to choose Horizon... Personal review here: https://youtu.be/CHixAcibPtU?list=PLXqL7jBICukIJkbtlRY8nh9_PnE_IMoGF