Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)((INTRO))
When the original Two Worlds was released back in 2007, it was bombarded with some of the worst criticisms any game has ever seen in the last decade and understandably so. The very name alone will still make plenty of disappointed angry gamers throw up and shiver in disgust. While some criticisms are well-deserved, many of them are not warranted.
Part of the animosity came from the shear amount of bugs from the initial release in Europe, where most of the lifetime sales came from. It took total of 5 major patch releases to fix the game and that's a lot. But luckily, U.S. release was patched with v1.5, which addressed most of the problems already and subsequent patches 1.6 and 1.7 were mostly toward the multiplayer stability and added contents for the online quests, which you can play solo (about 90 quests).
However, 360 version that was ported from PC version is still to this day half-broken and quite unplayable. Ugly textures, single digit framerate, long loading time, clumsy menu-layout and still plenty of bugs, every single criticism is well-deserved for 360 version whereas PC version runs well and looks great barring the ugly facial animation and facial texture.
The game was also ridiculed with use of archaic olde English vocabularies such as forsooth and mayhaps with generic and banal voiceacting.
But worst of all, the game was marketed by the most inept and idiotic group of people that should have been all fired. At the heel of successful launch of the biggest CRPG titan Oblivion, boxart boldly claimed Two Worlds to be 'Oblivion on steroid' when in fact the game was more like 'Diablo on steroid'. Either way, you simply do not stigmatize yourself with two of the most influential PC RPG which also happen to be two of the higest-selling and most critically-acclaimed PC RPG of all time. It's not hard to imagine the volatile reaction coming from many people who enjoyed Oblivion and looking for another fix by playing Two Worlds. Personally I love the original so much.
So the publisher SouthPeak officially apologized that the game was horrible yet the game still sold more than a million copies and Reality Pump decided to release the expansion pack, The Temptation. Instead it became a full sequel, which I've been eagerly waiting for along with plenty of people who hated the game so much and couldn't believe that the sequel for such an awful title was coming yet couldn't resist the curiosity behind the decision.
((PLAYTHROUGH))
SPOILER WARNING!!! THE WHOLE SECTION
The game threw me off from the get-go. What happened to the avatar from the first game? We now have totally different looking guy? No big deal, he was frankly really ugly. Then I find out that I am also under captivity along with my sister this time...again ...by Gandohar...again? Didn't I send him to hell in the last game? And what's with Gandohar's fixation with my sister? Since the ending in the first game didn't really make any sense (it was all a bad dream good ending vs. it was all a bad dream evil ending), once again no big deal. Then I am treated with the series of cutscenes that look like a cross between tiresome wire-fu and LotR cop-out as if the developers were trying too hard to wash the bad taste off their mouth with the first one.
I go through all the establishing cutscenes and turorials and I am finally off to the first of what looked to be the second biggest island of many islands from my in-game worldmap. The game world is fairly detailed and diverse with two small towns and two bustling big cities, and there are many sights to see and things to do. The graphics are quite impressive for CRPG and framerates are solid, all the whistles and bells of the current techs such as HDR, bloom FX, motion-blur, realistic physic, nice sound FX. Voiceworks are still somewhat awkward but improved over the first game. Quests are plenty and many are longer and more detail and diverse but ultimately all little too shallow.
On to the next island, one big city that is totally different asthetically and impressive, one big settlement and maze-like cursed region with abandoned ruin that looks like a evil twin of the aformentioned city. Again plenty of things to do.
I clocked in about 20 hours when I got to the biggest island that looks to be the size of small continent. I was all pumped up for the best was yet to come. Up until this point, I was enjoying the game but many things I liked from the first game were missing such as lack of completely open world freedom of exploration, changed crafting system from awesome stacking ability, more elaborated melee yet less-challenging from Diablo-esque combat taking 20 mobs at a time with melee and magic simultaneously, more maneuverable yet useless horse over traversing with stubborn yet useful and trusty steed of many variations. It will open up once I reach the main continent, right?
I am stuck in the swamp at the center of the land I was magically transported to. I finally find the way to free myself from the swamp, and then I find out I am still stuck for the rest of the land is still off-limit. At this point, I was screaming !@#$%^&*(&%$
Maybe if I kill that SOB Gandohar...again, then I will get to enjoy the rest of the continent. Now Gandohar, it's personal. (Having kidnapped my sister for the second time didn't really bother me precisely because she's my sister.) Gandohar, here I come.
Gandohar actually is...the good guy now??? And the only hot chick who is not my sister in the entire world is now the evil-incarnate??? *&&%$$#%%
Then when I finally save the world...again from the brink of doom, the game ends, so what happened to rest of the continent I wanted to explore? I went to the official website and I found out it's resereved only for online portion. #&^%$*!@^$@
((IMPRESSION))
So I finished the game at around 26, 7 hours. I haven't completed every quest available and I didn't venture a few other really small islands with boat because sailing involves nothing and steering the boat was actually a lot difficult for me than steering the horse from the first game. You can probably squeeze about 40 hours or more on single player portion and many hours more with online portion, which is refreshing and different but ultimately too restricted. But honestly at this time, I felt like one of the people who were angry after playing the first game. In all fairness, my expectation was totally and rightfully warranted; I expected a sequel to the first one I so much loved. Not other game it was not meant to be. That expectation was just and legit.
This is a solid game that is fun to play from start to finish, no major shortcoming but nothing really stands out either. You also find some improvements over the first one such as cutscenes, facial animation, voicework, variety of quests that are more drawn out. Main story was presented with better tempo. However nothing in the game really scream top-notch quality like other great CRPG such as TES or Fallout series and The Witcher series or Dragon Age Origins. These improvements to me are at best minor facelift in presentation department.
What made the first game special for people who really liked the game was it was open-ended game with one huge continuous diverse environment to traverse (about 20 square miles, in comparison Oblivion was 16, Morrowind was 9, Sacred 2 was 23 square miles), many more types of mobs to fight, mountains of loots with stacking ability to play with them, diablo-style combat system.
In Two Worlds II, the world is substancially smaller and segmented, linear, no dynamic NPCs, much less mob types, less possibilities with weapons, armors and items, the list of changes goes on. It feels as if the developers was so ashamed of the first game, they decided to change more than they really had to. Honestly, the template for the first one was excellent. All it needed was some cosmetic tweaking and better storytelling. I cannot say the storytelling in the second one is, even with the better tempo and presentation, any better than the first one and it's essentially the retelling of the same story in even more far-fetched way. The new crafting system is not really bad at all and breaking down the elements and recombining into something else is different kind of fun. Magics are once again aplenty.
((OUTRO))
What we have here is another RPG, next to Dragon Age 2 and Dungeon Siege III, this year that was tailored to please the people who didn't like the first game instead of the people who actually loved it. By doing so, it abandoned its unique charm of being an excellent clickfest Diablo-clone with depth of CRPG rather than straight-forward copycat of Diablo, the founding father of shear action RPG where everything in game serves for combat and combat only. Ironically, Two Worlds II inadvertently became a second-tier knockoff of Oblivion by abandoning its root and changing the template, it ultimately fails to be a unique RPG; the sum of each improved parts from the rough original doesn't quite gel into a better game.
Two Worlds II is not quite story-focused as the likes of Dragon Age and not quite open-ended as the likes of Oblivion or even the first Two Worlds. What we have is, despite my disappointment in comparison with the first one, a solid video game RPG that has charms of both CRPG and console RPG, a good game that offers lots of things to do and fun to play. It's also a disappointing sequel to the original that should have gotten much better treatment. The sequel definitely regressed compared to the first one in my eyes, but to many who were enraged with the first one, the sequel is definitely a huge improvement.
I would...Read more›
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Story After the downfall of Aziraal, God of Fire, the Dark Lord Gandohar has nearly achieved his objective to disrupt the balance between the elements. Dark magic surges into the land to fill the void. Recognizing the potential for complete control over the dark powers, Gandohar starts to use the power of Aziraal trapped within Kyra, the descendant of the Orphans. Despite her ancestry, Kyra cannot endure the strain. With Antaloor already in his clutches, Gandohar concocts a new plan from his stronghold in Oswaroth, yet there are still those who struggle against the tyrant, hoping to shift the balance of forces in their favor. Five years have passed since dramatic events brought the whole world to the edge of the abyss. "The Hero" is a prisoner in the dungeons of Gandohar's castle. His hopes of saving his sister vanished with his freedom. Just as despair threatens to overcome him, hope comes from where he would have least expected. The Orcs, a race the Hero had always hated, have put together a rescue squad that frees him from his bonds. He emerges into a land desecrated by evil. He embarks on a journey to shed light on Gandohar's dark past, hoping to discover a weak point in his enemy's defense. If he fails, he will lose his sister forever. Gameplay Two Worlds II is a perfect blend of classic and innovated RPG features, atmosphere, and technology. A complex quest system and an exciting main story draw you into the world of Antaloor, made richer by secondary quest scenarios. Rich gameplay and engaging atmosphere propel the story and captures attention, promising danger and exploration throughout the many quests and video sequences. Enhanced AI, balancing standards, experienced authors, an active combat system, the innovative "Demons Magic" management, and the "Papak Alchemy System" guarantee enjoyment for new and experienced gamers. An artistic system of attack and defense moves has been integrated into the game. Parries and changing hit results creates a real opportunity for tactics and excitement, as the AI engage in combat and employ strategy of their own. The game also offers extreme flexibility in the weapon and armament design possibilities. The cornerstone of this is the newly created "Craft Tool." With this players can break down items into their basic materials and create new unique items. Two Worlds II is also graphically superb. The powerful Grace engine offers technological highlights such as an unlimited number of dynamic light sources, 24 bit HDR post-processing, and Real Eye Adaptation. It will drastically reduce loading times, improve general game performance, and enable full gameplay with only moderate hardware requirements. Key Game Features
A flexible combat system with variable attack moves, parrying and special tricks.
State-of-the-art technology, thanks to a powerful Grace engine and special tools.
Lots of mini-games for breaking up gameplay.
Intuitive user interface for the Demons Magic system and the Papak Alchemy system.
Mercenaries and magically-created beings accompany the player.
Complex object management with movable and usable items.
The special Craft Tool enables individual configuration of armor and weapons.
Many boss opponents, including special combat strategies and unique rewards.
Flexible MoSens system guarantees realistic everyday and combat movements.
Various ways of moving, like walking, running, sprinting, riding, swimming, sailing and teleporting.
Captivating background story with numerous cutscenes.
Extensive multiplayer options including building/setup simulation.
System Requirements:
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