Two Worlds 2 'Review'

[Motoki]

I remember them saying a while back that they were going to do a DLC for 2W2 but then they took that and some of the ideas they had going for 2W3 and made the expansion out of it. It's possible they were working on 2W3 concurrently while working on PoTFF.

Anyway, since the engine is done, and I think it's a really good one, I'm not too worried. I wouldn't be shocked if it gets pushed back though. Hopefully this time around they do some decent marketing for it.

 

[Dhruin]

Can't vouch for the accuracy but…

On the downside, fans of Two Worlds II may be disappointed to learn that Pirates of the Flying Fortress is also a sort of last hurrah for the franchise—at least for a while. After it ships Reality Pump plans to move on to a new IP (intellectual property).

http://www.examiner.com/pc-game-in-...-the-flying-fortress-and-raven-s-cry-previews

 

[Nerevarine]

Ah, thanks Dhruin, that must have been the article I was thinking of. Seems odd that multiple sites have confirmed a '2W3' for 2012, but miscommunication seems to be the norm for those involved with the Two Worlds series.

 

[Dhruin]

I'm not at all sure that report is accurate...but I also haven't seen that multiple sites have confirmed 2W3. Certainly we've never posted it. Do you have any credible links?

 

[Nerevarine]

Sort of… it was never made "official" and this is coming from way back in February on just a few sites - and it's far from a standard announcement - but a Topware member said something about the "next Two Worlds game coming out in 2012" (This was amidst the PR nightmare, if anyone recalls that episode). On one hand, this doesn't amount to anything particularly accurate or official, but why would a Topware member casually reveal a 2W3 if it didn't exist?

http://www.ripten.com/2011/02/18/two-worlds-3-confirmed-amidst-topware-pr-snafu-coming-in-2012/
http://www.destructoid.com/two-worlds-iii-planned-for-2012-194642.phtml
http://gamerant.com/two-worlds-3-release-date-2012-spice-68944/

Another Topware miscommunication/communication snafu seems likely, but without anything being announced as completely official, it's hard to say just what's going to happen next with the franchise or the developer, Reality Pump. The two "almost official" rumors are pretty divergent, with one saying they're moving on to a new IP, and another saying there's a new Two Worlds in development - neither one has been made official, and yet both have been reported with no confirmation or denial from Topware or Reality Pump.

 

[Dhruin]

Ah, I remember. All those links basically go back to the same story. James Seaman was desperately defending against allegations of bullying the press...I honestly don't know how much credence to give it but you're right, he did say it. We'll see.

 

[rune_74]

Well, hopefully they hire a decent writer this time. And any emotion in the voice acting would be nice, any at all.

 

[Nerevarine]

Indeed, it's definitely not a standard, official announcement, which means that it must be taken with a grain of salt. I just have a hard time figuring out why someone fairly high up would say that off-hand if it wasn't true, given how specific he was about what the game was and the intended release window. But this is Topware, and they have developed an...interesting...reputation . I would personally guess that they are indeed making a Two Worlds 3 for a possible 2012-early 2013 release, but we shall see - it just seems like a waste not to after spending the time and resources to make an engine specifically for the Two Worlds series.

 

[Motoki]

I remember reading some rumblings about TW3 over at the Zuxxez forum too but it was definitely nothing like an official announcement. I'm pretty sure they at least had done some pre-production work on it and tossed ideas around.

From the comments I read about ideas of TW3 being rolled over into PoTFF and this new news article, I'm kind of wondering if PoTFF is TW3 and that it just got downgraded to an expansion before they got very far into it. It would explain why it's a separate campaign even though there's a lot of unused land area in the original single player campaign.

Anyway, I hope they do use this engine again even if it's for another IP. I'd be interested to see what sort of other IP they'd end up producing, but if it's something more mainstream like a shooter I will definitely pass.

 

[Ovenall]

Does TW2 get any better?

I haven't played for a while, but I've probably put in 6-9 hours. I'm still running all over the savannah starting area. I went back to the starting island and killed every enemy I could find there, which was pretty challenging, though mostly "pull one and run around like crazy"

I never find any interesting loot. The only interesting thing I found was the note from the archaeologist in the first tomb. Other than that it's piles of weapons to take apart and slightly upgrade your own weapons with.

I'm not trashing the game. The graphics are great as are most of the animations (except for my horse which glitches out from time to time, rearing up and running on its hind legs). The combat is OK but pretty simplistic.

But does it get more interesting, or is it just more of the same for the rest of the game? I'm just losing interest. Thanks.

 

[Motoki]

It depends what you mean by better. I think some of the quests in and of themselves are interesting and/or amusing but loot is 99% of the time random and leveled. I think I'm pretty much the only person here not at all bothered by that.

Anyway, if you want lots of specific, hand placed rare loot reward items then no you won't find it in this game. I would say beyond the Savannah the game gets, to me, more interesting in spots but the actual mechanics are the same all the way through.

 

[TheMadGamer]

I never find any interesting loot.

Your above complaint is sort of a theme of my general criticism of Two Worlds 2 - there just isn't enough of anything intestesting or extraoridinary about what you find or the game world itself. Worse, the game engine clearly can support such intersting things and in fact does, but in too small of doses.

Not experiencing enough intersting things in TW2 make me REALLY REALLY MAD!

 

[Ovenall]

Hm. Guess I'm done with this one then.

 

[crpgnut]

One thing that does get better, at least in my opinion, is climbing the faction boards. You have the thieves guild, warriors, necromancers, mages guild, and merchants guild. If you do quests for these guys, you'll get better and better perks and also unique treasures. Are these treasures better than normal loot? Yes, and no. Unless you're actually a mage, then the willpower items aren't going to help your warrior much. Same with a strength boosting necklace for the archer. Still, I found completing the mage guild quests to be very beneficial for boosting my willpower/mana stat. Completing thieves guild quests lets you get up to a 30% bonus to everything you sell to them. If you do merchants quests, their items are purchased cheaper, etc. Completing necromancer quests is nearly identical to completing mage quests, you'll get stuff to boost your spellpower.

I found the main quest to be very interesting, so I must be easy to please. You basically find out what is behind Gandohar's rise to power and I thought it was a well told story. The actual voice-acting is weak, but not the plot.

 

[TheMadGamer]

I found the main quest to be very interesting, so I must be easy to please. You basically find out what is behind Gandohar's rise to power and I thought it was a well told story. The actual voice-acting is weak, but not the plot.

I found the story fairly interesting as well and very much enjoyed the twists near the end game.

Overall, I enjoyed TW2. But for me, personally, what I enjoy most in sandbox style games is exploratory discovery. Aside from very pretty graphics, there just wasn't enough (for me) interesting things about the game world.

Like Oblivion, TW2's game world doesn't provide enough of an incentive to fully explore it, beyond seeing the sights. Further, most underground areas felt like Oblivion's 'monster closets' to me - a gauntlette through linear corridors populated with enemeies. Where are the traps? Where are the puzzles? Where are the secret chambers with unique treasures and perhaps side quests? There are a few, but not nearly what I'd consider to be enough.

Games that did better in this department were Gothic 2 and Ultima VII to name just two.

 

[crpgnut]

Yep, we both like open world games, but I prefer TES and 2W2 to Gothic 2 or U7. I loved the dungeons in Oblivion, outside of Oblivion itself, but the dungeons in 2W2 are very lame. Most are a 5 minute waste of time with perhaps one chest or two. Why bother when the average house has 3-8 chests in it, sometimes even more? I prefer invisibility and thievery to the dungeons in 2W2. I love the little quests though:

Spoiler

I enjoyed the head delivery quest for the necromancers, killing the Captain's lover, trying to cure the one guy's mom but accidentally killing her, etc. There were a lot of fun side-quests.

@Mad-are you going to, or have you bought/played PotFF?

 

[TheMadGamer]

@Mad-are you going to, or have you bought/played PotFF?

I plan to buy it if they come out with a retail release here in the U.S.

If it stays digital only, then I'll pass. I love my guns n' boxes. I'm getting old and set in my ways and I NEED a box.

I too enjoyed the quests you mention in your spoiler. Like I said, TW2 is not at all a bad game, but like most games there are certainly some things that could have been better. For me, I was craving more discovery type experiences out of TW2 than what it ultimatley offered. Still a good game and will probably play it again someday.

 

[Motoki]

I think you'll have to import if you want a box. There is an 'international' boxed version of the expansion with English and other language installs on it, but it's not for sale in the US AFAIK. It may change at some point though, who knows?

As for the loot thing. I still don't get what the big deal is. Personally, I don't play games just so I can get handed the Uber Sword of Uniqueness, I play them for the experience. I feel like this game lets you build your own items with upgrades and gems and that's fine by me. I don't need to be given a specific item to make a quest worthwhile. The quest itself is generally worthwhile to me, particularly if it's unique, interesting, surprising or funny.

 

[TheMadGamer]

As for the loot thing. I still don't get what the big deal is.

I'm not just talking about loot - in fact the ho-hum loot of TW2 is really a minor issue for me.

I like exploring game worlds - every nook and cranny. But I need motivation to do it. Pretty graphics are a good start but if that's all a game has to offer then I will quickly lose motivation to thoroughly explore everything.

I'm looking for interesting experiences that are unique and perhaps even peripheral to the standard feature set of the game. This can be an experience such as manipulating objects or the game world itself in ways that are not standard given the game's mechanics that reveal secrets of some sort. Or stumbling across things in the world that provide clues to mysteries you can explore - all without words and no quest log. Manipulating objects that can reveal secret chambers or areas. And yes, it can also be experiences where simple, but thorough exploration yields a very nice hand-placed non-random piece of loot.

 

[crpgnut]

Oh, you mean like the island that has only an ostrich on it. When you kill the ostrich it drops 50 magic cards. Stuff like that?