Two Worlds - Review @ PALGN

Dhruin

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Australian site PALGN has a shortish review of Two Worlds, with a score of 6.5/10. Here is a clip on the "bland" combat:
Far from the oft abused adjective that is ‘visceral’, combat in Two Worlds is a fairly bland affair. The developers have chosen to go with a system in which much of the dodging and precision of your sword swings are handled behind the scenes. Strength, dexterity, other key attributes and supplementary skills that assist in dodging and hitting all coming together in the background to determine the outcome of each second of battle. Unfortunately the programming alchemy that occurs behind the wizards curtain leaves you as the player simply clicking over and over again to randomly swing your sword and run from enemies as your health depletes. This results in some pretty unappealing gameplay. Along with this there are times when the enemy’s AI seems slightly below par, giving up the chase quickly, or standing still as you hack away at them.
More information.
 
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Interesting scoring system. I quite like it except I can't figure out why their overall scores have nothing to do with the average of the categories individual scores.

I guess no one ever said that overall scores have to be an average so why am I complaining? :)
 
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I think that sometimes there should be a reviewer's tilt so that the overall scores can be better justified. If you look at the 4 scores for the reviewer has judged the game by, you will see that if you add the individual scores together, you will get 29:4 which is 7.25 or so, maybe even 7.5. And having been, both to zuxxex's forums and two-world's website, I think 7 or 7.5 is a much more fair score than 6.5.
The game is really not that bad. (and they are already at patch 1.4!).

However, if you compare Two Worlds to Oblivion and say that Oblivon gets maybe a 9.5/10, and you then look at Two Worlds, yes, then Two Worlds is lacking in many aspects compared to Oblivion. But, I have always felt that a game should be reviewed on its own premises, not as a comparasion between two, or more games.
 
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But, I have always felt that a game should be reviewed on its own premises, not as a comparasion between two, or more games.


This is the thing I absolutely HATE : In ANY German gaming mag an C-RPG will sooner or later be compared to what Blizzard did ... even in a small side-note.

This was the thing that in the end made the "Armalion" RPG project of Ascaron (what they had bought up from the bancrupt developer Icarion) disappear into the action-game called Sacred : German editors not stopping comparing the C-RPG with Blizzard's games ... They are notorious in that.
 
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It's the product of laziness!! Which is easier:- compare each aspect of a game to a set of criteria and then balance a collection of disparate scores into a meaningful gestalt, or compare the whole game to a different one and rate it on a sliding scale!!
 
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He is complaining that things get decided behind the scenes, rather than... well, Oblivion's way? Whatever the definition of RPG is, I'm sure everyone will agree that it involves numbers, rather than just reflexes, which is in the definition of FPS instead.

I actually like the game quite a bit, though it gets too easy after a while (even on Hard where you don't get free respawns) so I've yet to finish it.
 
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I'd like the opportunity to start it!! We're still awaiting its release!! :(
 
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I'd like the opportunity to start it!! We're still awaiting its release!! :(

Yep, here also - and it just got pushed back again ...

On the review side, product comparison is the oldest form of 'drawing context', but there is a difference between using it to supplement critical analysis and using it *instead* of critical analysis ...
 
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And yet again, a site that refers to Oblivion as near perfection, comes down on a game for things that Oblivion does worse. Combat, for example, is as shallow in Oblivion as it is in Two Worlds. The graphics are pretty much the same. The world in Two Worlds is bigger than Oblivions', and offers far more variety in terms of landscape, cities and NPCs.

Sidequests are pretty much the same, you have the same amount of freedom, and the main quest is not worth mentioning. Overall I'd give Two Worlds a slightly higher score than Oblivion due to more variation. I really don't understand how a site can give Oblivion 8,5 and Two Worlds 6,5 when they are so similar.
 
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Yes, count me in too, especially, if it's not as good as "that console action game" according to fanbois. since that would move Two Worlds into the 80% + range which is worth trying to me. :)

I had two problems with it, seems he is using the orginal EU release, since he doesnt mention (unless I missed it) the new unreleased version, why review a 3-6 month old version of the game, when the new verison is out soon?

Next look at his Sound, only one problem he complains about and take 30 point off for it, BS, never had a single issue kill a game for 30 poiints, well at least I recall atm.

Plus I dislike intensly games with annoying constant PC barks, possibly my biggest grip with old school RPGs since BG started, damn auto barks like battle crys, sigh how depressing to just think about it. :p
 
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Mmm...I really haven't played much but my early impressions are that Oblivion's combat is better, the quests more inventive and the dialogue much better. Two Worlds may have other advantages that become more obvious with time but I'm not surprised by this sort of score.
 
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Zuxxez just announced a massive 1.x GB patch, including an option to send it per snail mail for those without DSL.
 
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Zuxxez just announced a massive 1.x GB patch, including an option to send it per snail mail for those without DSL.

Last spring they proudly claimed the game is so well finished that they have free time to make it into a mmog.

So far two towers has received only bad reviews. One guy told he finished the game in 24 hours and he had to force himself to do it. Id sure like a review of the patched version.
 
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Zuxxez just announced a massive 1.x GB patch, including an option to send it per snail mail for those without DSL.

I wonder if that is part of the delay into August here.
 
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I wonder if that is part of the delay into August here.

It probably is. It seems like they want the next version to be the final one since they sort of need final code for the X360 version due to the fact that console games can not be patched very well. Some guy from the Polish developer said at the official forums that the X360 version will be version 1.5 (the current PC Euro version is 1.4) so maybe they are aiming at making 1.5 the truly, ultimate final version for Europe, the US and the X360 version so they can fully focus on an expansion or sequel when they are done with it.
 
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Hey Dhruin, how did you get a copy? I've been on pre-order for months?
 
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Dhruin
"Mmm...I really haven't played ...."
Oh, well it really doen't have to great.

Gorath
"Zuxxez just announced a massive 1.x GB patch"
Damn that will be possible be the biggest patch, on record.

zakhal
"Last spring they proudly claimed the game is so well finished that they have free time to make it into a mmog."
Hehe, I remember that too, but it was plain multiplayer wasn't it, not mmo?
It's hard for me to complain about a game that adds Coop, even if they had to spend less time on combat and quest.

Moriendor
"(the current PC Euro version is 1.4) so maybe they ......."
Nice, maybe with a little success they can afford to spend more time on the things Dhruin mentioned.
 
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Patch 1.5 will be released on 21. August 2007. It will be more a Service Release, bringing many new features to the game, here are a few of them:

* Supporting Games for Windows (Vista Game Explorer, UAC, Media Center)
* Improved AI Behaviour
* Improved Trading System
* Redesigned Faces and Animations
* Realistic lipsync
* Improved support for Mods
* Fast looting for animals
* Summoned creatures are following hero
* Possibility to do manual magic aiming
* Content of a chest depends on the difficulty of the lock


The Update will be already included in the UK/US/AUS version, this counts also for the Xbox 360.
 
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Hey Dhruin, how did you get a copy? I've been on pre-order for months?

A visiting German work associate brought his Royal Edition copy with him for me when he came to Australia. We were talking before he left and I discovered he was a gamer.

I think I got it when 1.3 came out and then 1.4 was released and required a restart for some of the features. The opening didn't grab and I have so much other stuff going on (Depths of Peril preview, Nethergate beta, etc etc) that I just never really got going with it.
 
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