E3 06: Two Worlds Impressions

LOS ANGELES--Reality Pump is a developer that's known primarily for the popular Earth 21xx series of real-time strategy games, but the company is currently working on Two Worlds, a fantasy role-playing game that's looking to improve on the current king of the role-paying hill, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Like Oblivion, Two Worlds features a beautiful graphics engine that will let you explore an open world that's alive with monsters and adventure, and you'll choose to be good or evil as you chart your own path.

The game takes its name from the fact that its fantasy setting is divided into two. There are the civilized races and then there are the hordes, led primarily by the orcs. When an ancient temple is discovered, it threatens to reignite simmering hatreds. You'll be caught in the middle of all this, and it's up to you to decide what to do next. The gameworld is entirely dynamic, which means that your decisions have an affect on everything. For instance, you may join a guild to get skills but then discover that to join another guild later on you'll have to betray your existing guild. Do you? These kinds of situations will lead to all sorts of possibilities in terms of story, and we're told that there are more than 200 different possible endings.

We only got to see glimpses of the game in action, but the combat looks intense and more immersive than the combat in Oblivion. You can switch between first-person and third-person perspectives to suit your tastes, and combat will involve everything from swordfighting to martial arts and hand-to-hand battling. The combat system also sounds intriguing--it'll be based on a Magic: The Gathering-style card system with up to 400 different spells.

The online component also sounds cool. Apparently Xbox 360 and PC players will be able to play together online, though we'll wait for further details as to how this will work. Two Worlds will also ship with various editors, so you will be able to create your own adventures or, if you're really dedicated, entire expansions.

Visually, Two Worlds looks really good, and arguably better than Oblivion in terms of graphics. We saw beautifully rendered forests, picturesque villages, and plenty of fearsome creatures to battle. Reality Pump showed that it could play around with the latest graphical effects and shaders with last year's Earth 2160, but we were still impressed by how Two Worlds looked. The developers are also looking to provide some top-notch audio as well--the game's orchestral music is being written by composer Harold Faltermeyer, of Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun fame. It's easy to see why Digital Pump is pumped for the game. Two Worlds is scheduled to ship this holiday season.