Eurogamer Review: Two Worlds

Close this tab in your browser, leave this review, and never, ever consider playing Two Worlds. The alternative is that you become another videogame violence statistic, with Jack Thompson carping on about the rampage you'll inevitably embark upon at one of those bloody awful Medieval Banquet tourist-trap nights. Which, despite a few really promising ideas, is just about exactly what Two Worlds turns out to be.

[urban bohemian]

Did anyone buy two worlds?

[RadientFlux]

The game does take patience due to the unexpected slowdown. Even the plot was a letdown in the end. I would only recommend the game if you happen to be a big fan of RPGs and even then there are going to better RGPs released in the next months.

[fjtorres]

I rented it.
Then I bought it.
(Amazon has the "collector's edition" at the same price as the basic. Make of that what you will.)
Its not *that* bad.
Biggest problem is it isn't Oblivion.
Well, duh!
No Patrick Stewart or Linda Carter popping in for a few lines here or there. Its a b-flick; a Saturday night SciFi channel fantasy flick with second-tier production values. Its heart is in the right place but the actors and budget weren't up to the task.

Its actually closer in *gameplay* to Baldur's Gate, just not constrained to tunnels or quasi-3D.

I'm 20+ hrs into it and ignoring the main quest for now; I'm just running around, exploring, and whacking a way at any critter that pops up and running errands like a FedED boy. Not a problem.
There are a few decent puzzles (one quest requires you to get and *fail* at a another quest before you can succeed, another requires you to be a cold-blooded killer or very, very, clever, and stuff like that.)
Me, I'm not particularly sensitive to frame rate issues (Yes, the thing seems to run at a "steady" 25fps, but hey, its a european game! They have 50 Hz TV over there. ;-) ) and the graphics are not as bad as last gen; its just that the character designs make them look that way. The voice acting? Cheesy and I'd see where euros might be offended but after all the bad reviews I wasn't expecting better.

The magic and combat systems are simple but effective; you don't create spells or gear, but you upgrade both by getting more of the same item and stacking them (be they swords, shields, armor or spell cards); the alchemy system lets you brew your own potions, some with permanent effects. And you can either brew up or find elememtal damage boost crystals for your weapons that can be accumulated to very high levels.

I would beg to differ, however, about the game balance.
Yes, if you only play far enough to run into wolves, bears, or bandits, you'll quickly be invincible. But. Big but, here; if you keep moving around you'll find that as you move further away from the starting point you'll find tougher and tougher opponents that require strategy and tactics to beat. And bring really satisfying rewards for whacking them. For example, at level 40, I had strength at 102 and vitality (health) at 75 (8300 health points), with a two-handed sword that hacks 962-1900 slashing damage with another 1000+ points of lightning damage. I ran into these giant insect types that kill me with two swipes and swarm you in groups of two-to-ten. Time to run.

A bit of experimenting and I found that my adamantium Golem can tie most of the swarm down by offering them a bigger target for up to 8 minutes at a time. So I whacked from behind him, ran away and drew a pursuit party that slowly spread out--their AI is decent; they *will* flank you and take notice of the terrain; they *will* try to surround you and the weaker mages and archers will run from you and strike from afar.

In the end, I picked the bugs off one by one and with judicious health boosts in between killed ten. The reward was ten eggs that made a potion that boosted my vitality by a whopping 54 points, or two thirds forward. Next band of bugs I run into is going to be in trouble. :-)
Ditto for the cyclops that's been tailing me since I cleared the dwarf mine.
In other words, the game has its charms.
Yes, it desperately needs a patch.
Yes, its running on a dated graphics engine.
And yes, the plot and voice acting are strictly b-flick grade.
Best thing they can do for this game is re-price it to $39 and patch it. There is a decent enough entertainment value in there; its no masterpiece, but neither is it a 6-hour technology demo in disguise like some other, alleged AAA-titles out there. Its a game, Flawed but with a bit of a personality. (The hero plays bad practical jokes and get all sarcastic with the quest givers so you know you're not supposed to take it too seriously.) Its not BioShock. But its not Azurik or Gundam either.
Its about a 7-7.5, I'd say.
A solid b-minus.
And not a bad way to kill time while waiting for MASS EFFECT.
Rent it.
You might like it.
Your mileage may very, of course.

[Rowland]

I'm about 10 hours in & despite the pitiful inventory graphics & frame rate etc.. - I'm really begin to like this !

[Marc_Mitchell]

I really like this game and i disapointed with all the crap reviews its getting. one thing i must say is that it feels more like and old game with good graphics than a new game with not so good graphics(one problem with the graphics is that it can get a bit pixely now and then). only played like 8 hour so far but enjoyed it.

[BoneMagnus]

Ditto everything fjtorres said.

If you like Diablo, you will like Two Worlds. Its as simple as that.