WITH an experience that is tailored to the way you play and set in Lord of the Rings’ fantasy realm, games do not get much more epic than this.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is the long-awaited follow-up to 2014’s Shadow of Mordor and, like all good sequels, it improves upon its predecessor in almost every way.

You again play as Talion, a ranger who joins forces – quite literally as they share a body – with the wraith (ghost) of elf lord Celebrimbor.

This grants Talion almost god-like powers with the ability to climb towers in a few bounds, fall from great heights without a scratch, take on waves of enemies and also come back from the dead.

How this plays out is like a cross between Assassins Creed’s parkour and stealth gameplay and the Batman Arkham series’ combat.

Shadow of Mordor’s innovative ‘nemesis system’ has also been improved upon. This sees your every move remembered by the orcs you square off against.

So, for example, if an orc kills you he will be promoted and become one of your main enemies. You can also choose to defeat rather than kill your foes which gives you the chance of brainwashing them and having them fight alongside you or cause chaos behind enemy lines where they can betray their war chief.

This becomes essential for the new siege missions where you build an army before attempting to conquer a stronghold.

For a third-person action game it becomes a rather tactical affair and it does require patience – but there is a great deal of pay off for this.

Making your battle plan before having a brawl and then finally planting your flag in a fortress feels really satisfying. There is also bigger open world to explore but, fear not, because this does not dilute the plot which is a lot more cinematic this time around.

The story missions are varied, engaging and make good use of the games mechanics too. It feels like the team at Monolith have put a great deal of energy into building a bold sequel. And even the smallest details which improve the core gameplay have all been considered. Prepare for war.

RATING: 8.5/10

DAVID MORGAN