Playing Two Worlds now... and loving it. I know I will get some kicks in the ribs for this... but I am enjoying it more than Gothic 3. Now keep in mind... I'm not enjoying it more than I did G1 or G2, not by a long shot.
But so far Two Worlds is more coherently designed, and basically more fun than G3. Plus I had really looonnnnggg load times in G3 which made it a pain in the a$$ to play... every time I had to reload I could go get a sandwich and eat it before the game was up again. Two Worlds loads in about 3 seconds... very nice.
I think the world looks great... and the character models are very nice (first time I've seen chest hair on a NPC in any first or third person perspective RPG that I can remember... and it looks real... not that I'm into chest hair... just an observation
).
One thing I loved about G1 and G2 was how the living creatures in the world would react to each other. If you were being pursued by wolves and you ran by an animal that was easier prey, the wolves would change course and attack that animal. In G3 I only saw that in the first village. As the game progressed, especially in Nordmar, animals would all be standing in big clumps acting as if they didn't even know that their natural enemies were standing right beside them. I had several occasions where there were a group of wolves, a group of bison, a group of rhinos, and a group of goblins all standing within meters of each other... and they would just all stand there until I got close... and then the would all attack ME... what? That really broke the immersion for me.
In Two Worlds I see wild animals attacking Groms or Bandits all the time. That's just one example of how the world feels more realistic to me compared to G3... then there's combat...
Combat in G3 was pretty good once you got to where you could do combos... but it never felt like I was actually hitting anything. There was just that almost silent *thud* sound for every creature you attacked. But in Two Worlds it sounds like you're in battle. Blood splatters and the creature/person recoils when you hit them... the screen freaks out when you get hit... etc. AND the fights in Two Worlds are not an exercise in "chase the foe".
EVERY creature in G3 just continually backs up when you are attacking them... from Orcs to wolves to rhinos... they're all the same... it was just awful. In Two Worlds your enemies don't back away from you (unless they are archers or spellcasters which makes sense due to the fact that they are trying to stay at ranged attack distance).
So... I'm very pleased with Two Worlds so far. I know it's not perfect... but it sure is fun. I truly had to force my way through G3... but I don't feel that way with this game...
Okay... you can all start slapping me now