Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West! Prepare your thumbs for a return to Middle-Earth this week, as the Shadow of War draws forth!

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is Lord of the Rings turned up to 11. Improving on nearly every idea from the original Shadow of Mordor game, it’s a gargantuan sequel in both size and scope.

Examined on its own, Shadow of Mordor was about as average as a sandbox could be. Its saving grace was that delightful Nemesis System, a series of mechanics that allowed you to nurse a grudge with a particular set of Orcs until they ran after you with throbbing haterections. For a game that liberally borrowed many ideas from other entries in the sandbox genre, Shadow of War returned the favour by introducing one of the freshest new ideas ever seen on the screen.

With just over a month left on the calendar before Middle-Earth: Shadow of War hits the ground running, the current marketing push for Monolith’s follow-up to 2014’s Shadow of Mordor has been…odd. Sometimes amping up the usual sequel values of bigger and orkier, sometimes producing comedy gold with trailers highlighting an Orc faction hellbent on having enough bling to attract a dragon over, Shadow of War does have the habit of sending out mixed messages to fans. And then there are the more touching moments, like the reveal of a brand new character within the sequel. Not just another new face, or a reimagining of a literary character but with an X chromosome, Shadow of War’s latest trailer is more personal for Monolith.

In Shadow of War, there’s a faction of Orcs who are more than happy to contribute to the war chest. Orcs who have banded together to form the Marauders and now run around Middle-Earth, ransacking villages of their wealth. They also look complete baller in all that bling, according to the lastest trailer for the sequel to Shadow of More Doors.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is following the reward box trend with loot chests of its own. In a new stream, developer Monolith detailed how new gear could be unlocked from the following chests.

Mordor is home to plenty of Orcs who want to skin you alive and wear your hide as a trophy. Meet the latest captain who has an axe to grind in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, who goes by the name of the Agonizer.

I now have mixed feelings, because Shadow of War has spiders. Big ones. Attractive ones. Tolkien is probably spinning so furiously in his grave, that he’s about to drill his way into the mines of Moria when his spirit see’s how Shelob has been tweaked.