Two Worlds II: PotFF - Previews @ GamesRadar, Worthplaying

Dhruin

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GamesRadar has a very short look at Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress from E3.
It’s okay to be surprised – we were too. But once we stopped saying “Two million? But we only know one person who played that game!” we realized we actually rather liked what we saw. The developer has been listening closely to a lot of the fan complaints and at this point it seems like they’re sparing no expense to improve the TWII experience. For example, they’re ripping out a lot of the dialogue and have re-cast some of the lead characters due to complaints. They’ve improved the combat engine, animations, and added an all-new facial animation system.
...and Worthplaying has an even shorter two-paragraph glimpse:
Coming out as an expansion for Two Worlds II, Pirates of the Flying Fortress will add a slew of new content and features. At the core of the game is the new story line that covers over 10 hours of gameplay, further bolstered by a multitude of side-quests and exploration. The plot stands alone from the original, so people who didn't finish the main story can still hop right in. In addition to the new plot content, the expansion will incorporate an all-new technology for facial animations, combat animations, lip-synching and voice-overs.
More information.
 
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I can't tell from the previews I've read (admittedly, not all of them): Does this DLC change/improve content in the main game?

Between Witcher Enhanced, Divinity 2: DKS, and now this, I'm thinking it's time to start a self-imposed rule that all purchases of Euro-RPGs should be delayed by 1-2 years until they release the "real" game...
 
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Well, TW:EE was absolutely necessary, as the game originally was not really playable. DKS is a marketing effort more than anything; original Div2 went by pretty much unnoticed, and was as bug-ridden as Two Worlds 1 upon release, had ABYSMAL ending etc.. Therefore, Larian decided to go the rebranding route; instead of making it Div2:EG+Flames of Vengeance(and new ending)+Patch+Game mechanics overhaul, they re-released the whole game as DKS.
Two Worlds II was released in much better state technically. Hardly any game-breaking bugs, most issues ironed out by version 1.2. However, because of the patch cert process, some of the updates didn't make it to PS3 and Xbox360 versions. I think the decision to make it an add-on rather than DLC stems from the decision to provide a level playing field between all platforms. They are "sneaking" all tweaks, upgrades, updates, patches etc.. It's not a re-release though, GOTY Velvet edition is the only one so far that will come with add-on bundled. Buying this particular game 1-2 years later in this case would amount to the same as, say, buying ME2 only after Lair of the Shadow Broker was released :D.
 
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If all this expansion offered is an excellent and elegant UI, I'd buy it.
 
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I assume US residents will have to import it if they want a retail copy.

I still don't have TWII yet. I passed on a chance to get it from GoGamer.com when they had it, and now it seems to be somewhat hard to find.
 
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That's weird that Amazon has the Royal Edition in the US, but not the regular version.

I see where I can get the non-royal version for around $30 on Ebay.UK, so I'll probably just end up importing that.
 
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I can't tell from the previews I've read (admittedly, not all of them): Does this DLC change/improve content in the main game?

Between Witcher Enhanced, Divinity 2: DKS, and now this, I'm thinking it's time to start a self-imposed rule that all purchases of Euro-RPGs should be delayed by 1-2 years until they release the "real" game…

At least European RPG developers listen their fans and try to improve their games according to this fanbase's tastes. Meanwhile American RPG developers tries to sell their games to wider audience with gradually cutting the RP aspects with each game, without having any concern about alienating their fanbase. Of course there're some exceptions, but when I look at the big picture I see this.
 
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Hmm, upon re-reading my post the next day, it does indeed read much more critical of European RPGs than I meant it to be. I was just making a casual observation, and in fact am quite fond of all the games I mentioned above (with the exception of Two Worlds II, which I haven't played yet, but now I'm thinking it looks like it's OK to jump in if they've made some improvements and added some significant new content).

But I have to admit, it does leave me wondering if a year from now we'll see an enhanced version The Witcher 2 with a meatier chapter 3. :D

And yes, I heartily agree that it's far better to get it right eventually than to never get it right at all, which far too often seems to be the case with the big American developers…
 
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Amazon has the "Royal Edition" for $50. Not sure you're willing to spend that much though, and honestly other than the cool box it's kind of a lame collector's edition.

I rather liked it actually. It was nicely packaged and came with a lot of stuff. I paid full price for it ($100) and don't regret it at all. Even if trinkety things aren't necessarily your thing, I think it's a great deal at $50. The game itself is worth that much imho.

At least European RPG developers listen their fans and try to improve their games according to this fanbase's tastes. Meanwhile American RPG developers tries to sell their games to wider audience with gradually cutting the RP aspects with each game, without having any concern about alienating their fanbase. Of course there're some exceptions, but when I look at the big picture I see this.

I completely agree. The European developers may release games in imperfect shape sometimes, but they seem to have a real desire to learn from their mistakes and genuinely want to make improvements based on feedback.

Lately with the US developers I feel as a fan I am being blamed for being dissatisfied the state of their games. They'll make comments that the old fans don't understand their vision and innovations and that they are getting newer fans that appreciate it. At best you just get some lip service about how they heard and understand the feedback they got, except it means nothing because they don't actually implement any changes based on that feedback.
 
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I rather liked it actually. It was nicely packaged and came with a lot of stuff. I paid full price for it ($100) and don't regret it at all. Even if trinkety things aren't necessarily your thing, I think it's a great deal at $50. The game itself is worth that much imho.

I mostly like documents, maps, art books, stuff like that. All TW2 had was an art book that was mostly renders with no commentary. The mouse pad, cards, statue... not my thing. I regret getting the Royal Edition because it's just not that great for my interests and I found out the regular version has a manual, which I would have preferred to have.
 
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Lately with the US developers I feel as a fan I am being blamed for being dissatisfied the state of their games. They'll make comments that the old fans don't understand their vision and innovations and that they are getting newer fans that appreciate it. At best you just get some lip service about how they heard and understand the feedback they got, except it means nothing because they don't actually implement any changes based on that feedback

Nope your not the only one. There pr departments put the blame on its veteran consumers. Just look at the recent article from EA. Its all the fans fault and never the developer and publishers.

We cant appreciate innovation. Toss a red flag and your labeled a hater. Its a convenient excuse to use that and the piracy excuse.
 
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