Two Worlds

"Prithee! Forsooth! Covenant's Two World's Review!"

Two Worlds is a self-appointed Oblivion killer, a third-person, single character RPG with real time combat, horseback action, a huge open world, plenty of quests, monsters, and loot. Unfortunately for every one thing Two Worlds does well, it does two other things embarrassingly bad.

In Two Worlds you play a combat hardened mercenary (who is 1st level) on the run with his sister. She is quickly kidnapped by some strange fellows in robes, and in order to rescue her you need to find a bunch of lost artifacts and bring them back. There is also a backstory about an evil god who was sealed away and will return someday, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. It's a textbook generic fantasy story plot, complete with the visible-a-mile-away twists. The only interesting aspect of the overall plot is your character's gruff and cynical outlook on the world, constantly commenting that its all just a bunch of nonsense and superstition. The game's fantasy setting is reasonably fleshed out, and you'll hear plenty of people talking about past events, political turmoil, etc. Too bad none of this really factors into the game, all you need to worry about is those pesky artifacts.

One of the first things you'll notice about Two Worlds is its graphics; from the vast, open landscapes, to the neat depth-of-field effects, to the highly detailed and intricate weapon and armor designs. Then you'll see the awkward, stiff, doll-like animations and character models with lips that look as if they were stuck on a Mr Potato-head. Yes, they're that bad. Then you'll cringe as the characters speak; all the dialogue is voiced... poorly. The actors sound like they're trying to play their parts well, but with the laughably garbled script, what's the point? Its possible to forgive this as English is not Two World's native language, but the localization is simply terrible. The language is filled with goofy medieval-isms like the word "Forsooth" and it completely ruins every scene in the game, making them all unintentionally funny, even when they're trying to be serious.

The game's world is quite large and sprawling with an impressive view distance. Towns and settlements are spread across the land, connected by roads for you to follow. You'll need to journey far and wide to finish your task, and naturally everywhere you go, people have problems for you to solve. There are usually a number of quests available in any given town, and they tend to be quite standard "kill all the monsters" or "find the item" types. You can pursue different quests for different guilds and factions, which will give you access to special benefits such as cheaper shop prices. Some of the factions are opposed, such as the king and the rebels, so some quests are mutually exclusive. There are few real meaningful choices here though, as none of your actions will have a true impact on the gameworld.

But there is plenty of combat to keep you busy. Everywhere you go you will find monsters and bandits trying to kill you. Combat is fluid and simple, just draw your weapon and mash away at the mouse button, and watch your dude swing with impressive style. You'll often fight multiple enemies at once, and you can hack and slash through more than one at a time. There are also numerous special combat skills you can learn as you gain levels, such as kicking dirt into your opponent's eyes to blind him; or several weapon specific attacks, like using an axe to break their shields or using an off-hand dagger to disarm them. Too bad none of these skills are really useful, since most enemies die so fast, and there are so many of them, the most effective tactic in every battle is to simple wade in and click until all the enemies are dead. This is mostly due to the game's "stacking" mechanic.

For no explained in-game reason, you have the ability to merge weapons and pieces of equipment together. Doing so requires you have two identical items (there are usually 5-10 different varieties of each item) and then you simply drag and drop on onto the other. The resulting item has boosted stats and gains all the abilities both of the original items had. So you can keep finding new swords and "stack" them into your old one, boosting its power indefinitely. You can combine all your items this way, eventually ending up with ludicrously powerful equipment, making all your stats godlike and allowing you to kill every enemy in a single hit (even the final boss!) This whole mechanic sucks any challenge out of the game and makes every fight boring and pointless.

But if melee isn't your thing, you can be equally devastating with a bow, become a master of stealth and backstab your enemies, or learn numerous spells to blast all your foes. Character development is completely open in Two Worlds, and you'll gain plenty of skill points to be able to do pretty much everything. In theory you would devote yourself to one style or another, but it's completely possible to master pretty much every ability you have, becoming an unstoppable warrior-archer-mage. There are also horses you can ride around and fight with, but the controls are so touchy, and the horses so difficult to control, there's really no reason to bother.

Depending on how much you wander around or stick to the main plot, Two Worlds can be relatively short or quite long. There is plenty to see and do, and the enemies scale to match you level (though not your stacked-up equipment). A nice map and adequate journal chart your progress through the game. The music is enjoyable; and though brief and predictable, the endgame is satisfying. And while the stacking mechanic does mostly ruin the game, it's still addicting at first to try to get better equipment. Two Worlds isn't a bad first try from an unknown developer, and if some of the script and voice acting problems had been solved, it might have been a whole lot better.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/07

Game Release: Two Worlds (US, 08/23/07)