Today I had the privilege of review Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, before reviewing this game, I had to make sure I spent a fair amount of time understanding this game. What I mean by understanding is, I played Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor a great deal; and with a sequel its nice to know whats different but also what has remained the same. So lets get started; in many ways this franchise reminds me of Assassins Creed franchise (only better since the sequels are not as frequent and the game has not yet become repetitive). What I mean by that reference is that Monolith Productions did not attempt to reinvent the wheel, they simply (understatement) improved on what was already a working formula. What is different ? Well to start, it would appear to be a much more interactive open world, with each area holding a particular importance in the side story-line of the game. The world is bigger, and seems to be populated by a lot more baddies; in my current play through I am already consistently being ambushed. There are more side missions to play through to help build your ‘Talion’ to take on the main story. The addition of ride-able drakes is also a fun feature to extend replay value; the replay value is just a compliment to the much improved story-line, which includes more cuts scenes. So far, for me this game has been the kind of game you don’t just pick up and play for a half hour. If you don’t believe that statement, check out my play through of Middle-Earth Shadow of War (literally my first play through, two hours worth):     So what’s the same ? The combat system is something that has remained the same from the first game (which isn’t a knock). I guess it isn’t entirely the same, the move set is slightly altered but over all very much the same. What else is the same ? The orc general rank system and general taunting is the same (the taunting is even more insulting lol). To summarize, everything you loved from the first game was brought back or tweaked for improvement in the slightest way. What is the verdict ?   Pros *Bigger open world *Better story-line *More enemies *More generals *AI saves (you’ll see what i mean) *Dragons *Monolith productions did not take from the game original game with creating the sequel   Cons *As a fan of the franchise, I found it difficult to find fault but if you did want to pin point a fault, the games repetition in the small ways overall impact the replay value   Conclusion *Play the first game, play this game, enjoy. In this day in age, people want to get what they pay for, Middle-Earth Shadow of War delivers.