But it’s got almost everything else in it – orcs, Nazgûl, Sauron, giant spiders, Palantir, the Dead Men of Dunharrow, a dragon, ominously deep voices, a creepy woman who you know is probably one of the bad guys because she has a posh English accent, and even a balrog. Oh, and lots of rings for some reason.
Where the first game told a story that could plausibly have worked somewhere in the appendices of the extended Lord of the Rings narrative, however, the sequel has apparently dumped the prescriptions of canon entirely. Tolkien must be having seizures in his grave, but hey, you get your own ring and it’s okay because you’re totally not like the others.
Game’s out on 10 October.