10 Best New Video Game Franchises Of The Decade (So Far)

8. Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

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Monolith

What do you get when you cross Batman: Arkham with Assassin's Creed and place it in Middle Earth? A pretty stellar game, actually.

Whilst far from the first game based on the Lord of the Rings franchise, Monolith Productions' surprise hit of 2014 is a testament to portraying film licenses well in the medium, turning in an impressive release that managed to push genre boundaries, whilst at the same time adhering to the tried and tested gameplay of third-person action adventures gone by. The end result was a game that held an undying reverence for J. R. R. Tolkien's lore, as well as one that felt confident enough to carve out its own path within the mythos.

It was a little strange that we saw no mention of Mordor's sequel at E3, but here's hoping Warner Bros. are saving an announcement for somewhere later down the line.

Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.