With the release of Lord of the Rings action role-playing game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor less than a week away, now is a great time to catch up on exactly what this game is about and why it's been getting so much buzz.

In this new video, Warner Bros. walks us through the game's prologue, the alliance between ranger and wraith that forms the heart of the Shadow of Mordor and the weapons, runes, creatures and nemesis system that gives the title its wings. The game hits Sept. 30 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam and Windows PC and Nov. 18 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

And as a little bonus, whether you're into Middle Earth or not you really owe it to yourself to read this excellent history of the games of Lord of the Rings.