Two Worlds II - Review @ AtomicGamer

Two Worlds II has been reviewed at AtomicGamer, with a score of 8/10 - although the reviewer seems to have a mixed opinion of the single-player game:

The engine powering Two Worlds 2 has been much improved over what we saw last time, and while it rarely shows us finely detailed environments on a small scale, the wide-open vistas you’ll often see can do a lot to make up for it. Frankly, the introductory dungeon shows us that the game is perfectly capable of detailed small spaces, but it seems the developers simply didn’t have the time to put this level of charm and sophistication into every little hut and village. I think that both newcomers to the franchise, as well as Two Worlds veterans, will find themselves pleasantly surprised at the visuals presented here.
The epic single player mode does seem to go on forever, as the progress is slow, completion of quests can feel very dull sometimes, and the story isn’t really designed with those hooks that entice you to keep playing. And hey, it’s an action-RPG made in Europe, so this style is par for the course with these games - from Gothic 3 to Risen, The Witcher to even something like STALKER, it’s exactly what these developers go for: a wild disregard for quality assurance, unique atmosphere, hardcore gameplay, and a late-game payoff that comes at the cost of the instant gratification that American game developers are always striving for.

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And hey, it’s an action-RPG made in Europe, so this style is par for the course with these games - from Gothic 3 to Risen, The Witcher to even something like STALKER, it’s exactly what these developers go for: a wild disregard for quality assurance, unique atmosphere, hardcore gameplay, and a late-game payoff that comes at the cost of the instant gratification that American game developers are always striving for.

An interestign, and remarkably keen observation. Not sure if "a wild disregard for quality assurance" is universally true, but I could sign the rest of it.

Yes that was the insightful part of the quote. Agreed. Never thought of it exactly that way.

Europe. The Birth Of Cool :P

European RPGs are keepin' the faith!

I just got a notification my US "Royal Edition" of this has shipped, looking forward to cracking that sucker open.

And hey, it’s an action-RPG made in Europe, so this style is par for the course with these games - from Gothic 3 to Risen, The Witcher to even something like STALKER, it’s exactly what these developers go for: a wild disregard for quality assurance, unique atmosphere, hardcore gameplay, and a late-game payoff that comes at the cost of the instant gratification that American game developers are always striving for.

What??? Made in Europe but intant gratification for American developers. Huh???

As far as quality assurance, I absolutely loved Fallout Vegas but it was the buggiest game I even played. And I'm not talking stupid voice over actors with lame scripts or incomplete quest, I'm talking full blown crash to desktop or crash the computer bugs that happened just about every play session. There was even a former Gone Golder reviewer whose review copy did not even work. I think the Fallout folks did a cost analysis and just put the game on the market regardless of it huge bugs. Thank god for the Euro RPG developers that gave us Gothic/Risen/Withcer/Stalker becasue the American RPG developers for the most part have went to MMOs.

I dont think american games in general are any better in quality assurance excluding som triple A games that have big marketing budgets also.

Dragon Age was super solid, but so was Drakensang. A comparison of recent American vs. European "action-RPGs" games, however, seems bogus as I really don't know of any recent (read: in the last year) American entries…

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Dragon Age was super solid, but so was Drakensang. A comparison of recent American vs. European "action-RPGs" games, however, seems bogus as I really don't know of any recent (read: in the last year) American entries…

How about Mass Effect 2, Alpha Protocol, and uummmmmm, hmmmmmm????

Hmmm, good point about ME2. I almost don't even consider that an RPG from what I've read.

But AP as an action-RPG? it has good role-playing choices apparently. So did Deus Ex, but don't call it an action RPG. Where is the line? BTW, I haven't played either ME2 or AP…

For me an action RPG is more about killing stuff than actually making roleplaying choices. I know that is vague but that is about the best I can do.

EDIT: Back to the original point. Even if AP is considered an action PRG, it is/was very buggy, no?

Originally Posted by Thrasher
EDIT: Back to the original point. Even if AP is considered an action PRG, it is/was very buggy, no?

No actually, as far as the original point about Bad Euro RPG developers and placating American RPG developers, it was your point (and my point) that there just aren't that many American RPGs. Even if you totally neglect the sub genres within. AP is sitting on my desk waiting to be installed. I guessing that its old enough that there are some patches out there to get it going correctly. Of course I did say I'm guessing. . .

Well. it is still reputably very buggy (it's the Obsidian way, after all), although I haven't played it. And AP is considered a recent AAA American RPG. The article seems to implicate that American RPGs are less buggy, which is obviously not always the case, but that may not have been the writer's intent…

What does he mean with this "instant gratification of ? by ? american developers" ?

I don't quite understand this sentence …

It's poorly written, so yeah, it's confusing. I think he meant that US devs make games that dole out regular rewards to the player to keep them engaged. This includes things like levels, equipment, achievements, etc, given just for playing. An opposite approach would be the promise of a big payoff near the end of the game.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
What does he mean with this "instant gratification of ? by ? american developers" ?

I don't quite understand this sentence …

I think Dhruin purposely picked that poorly constructed paragragh to demonstrate the guy didn't know what he was talking about. I mean, consider the sentence you adderssed, first he runs off a stream of Euro RPGs, slams and indicts them and then states they would have been better if they copied the American style of instant gratification . . .

Ah, I see … now … Well, I'm actually glad that there are different approaches anyway. I most certainly don't want any monoculture …

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Ah, I see … now … Well, I'm actually glad that there are different approaches anyway. I most certainly don't want any monoculture …

Most definitely, me too. But the way that thing was written, that guy was simply putting down some nouns, verbs, an article here and there and close it off with a period and viola instant sentence.

here watch me do it just with the words on the RPGWatch Header:

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