Middle-earth: Shadow of War launches on Xbox One and Windows 10

Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the follow-up to 2014's critically acclaimed Shadow of Mordor, is now available on Xbox One and Windows 10. If you're ready to assume the role of Talion in your fight against Sauron's army once more, you can pick up Shadow of War at Microsoft now starting at $59.99.

Shadow of War returns to Middle-earth, with the story building on the events of the first title in the series. Talion now has more powers at hand, complete with a new progression system, to take on Sauron's forces. The highlight of the first game, the Nemesis system, is back once more, allowing enemies to learn and adapt based on previous interactions with Talion. In Shadow of War, however, this has been expanded even more to give your decisions more weight across the whole world.

One of the biggest changes in Shadow of War is that you can now recruit orcs as your followers after defeating them in combat. This adds a bit of extra calculation to the Nemesis system, as you have to decide whether it would be more in your interest to kill or recruit enemy orcs. By recruiting orcs, you gradually build up an army of allies to help you take on the enemy fortresses that make up another large part of Shadow of War's new addition: Siege Battles.

What's new in Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Shadow of War seeks to take everything that was good about Shadow of Mordor and make it bigger and better. To top things off, the game is an Xbox Play Anywhere title if you purchase it from the Microsoft Store, meaning you only have to buy it once to play on both Xbox One and PC. And if you're planning on picking up an Xbox One X, Shadow of War will run with enhanced visuals and at 4K.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is available now starting at $59.99.

• See at Microsoft
• See at Amazon