 Middle @-@ earth : Shadow of Mordor is a third @-@ person open world video game , where the player controls a ranger by the name of Talion who seeks revenge on the forces of Sauron after his family , including his wife , are killed . Players can travel across locations in the game through parkour , riding monsters , or accessing Forge Towers , which serve as fast travel points . Though Talion is mortally felled in the game 's introduction , the wraith of the Elven Lord Celebrimbor is able to use his power to keep Talion alive , along with gifting him wraith @-@ like abilities to exact his revenge . Missions in the game feature main story missions that follow Talion 's quest for revenge , side missions that involve following Gollum as to find artifacts that are tied to Celebrimbor 's past , missions to free the human slaves that have been captured by the Uruk armies and forced to work for Sauron , and additional quests to help forge new abilities for Talion 's sword , bow , and dagger . The player also has the freedom to pursue side quests and roam around Mordor , with special activities to collect specific flora or to hunt certain creatures , or to find old artifacts or Elvish seals . Completing quests earns the player a number of rewards : experience points that are used to unlock new abilities for the player from both Talion 's ranger and Celebrimbor 's wraith skills , a Power value that allows the player to access more powerful abilities to unlock , and an in @-@ game currency called " Mirian " that the player can use to improve Talion 's health , wraith skill capacity , or forge new slots on his weapons to add additional runes ( as described in the Nemesis System below ) . 
