I am not familiar with the books or game. If I had started watching this cold I would have been delighted ! However, I saw something about it then looked into the reviews and I was all twisted with expectations and distraught over the first scene , assuming that I had missed something or should have known something , but anyway - I took a breath and started watching it. It's well done , has all the middle earth type elements and explores appropriate legend. people mention GOT well IMo this story could easily live In that universe , yet still , there is no reason to compare the two. I was slightly disappointed by a few cgi things, confused by a flashback and found myself wondering how much better the books might be, but that's to be expected when watching this genre and in no way does it detract from the story.