Shadow of Mordor isn't just an Assassin's Creed clone

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has been compared with Assassin's Creed over and over again, but this new gameplay video patiently explains why it's quite a different game.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor stars a ranger who shares his body with a wraith, and it's that interesting aspect of the story that opens up a huge wealth of gameplay possibilities. (If you'd like to know the wraith's backstory, Steph has explained in full).

Essentially, while our hero can cut through swathes of enemies himself, he'll be much more efficient and have greater impact on the growing power of Sauron if he turns them against each other - and that's something the wraith's powers allow him to do.

By discovering foes' weaknesses and using them to dominate, you can make a real difference in the ongoing fight against the forces of Mt Doom. All this makes much more sense in the gameplay trailer below.

It's good Warner Bros. is messaging this feature so clearly, because although it has myriad charms of its own, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has been unfairly criticised as an Assassin's Creed knock-off. This comparison probably kicked off thanks to claims that some of the animations had been lifted from Assassin's Creed, but has persisted long after that little fracas blew over.

It's probably something all melee-focused third-person action adventure games have to weather now, but I'm glad to see Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor striking out for originality. The Monolith Productions game is coming to PC, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One at the end of September - although the PC version will lag a few days behind.