It really is Oblivion lite, but people keep saying that like its a bad thing?
Two Worlds actually won me over, after all the mixed reviews I simply had to see what all the fuss was about and generally speaking I was somewhat surprised.
To make something very clear, if you are a huge Morrowind/Oblivion fan and are expecting to fill your need for a huge open end Adventure game and think Two Worlds is your fix, keep walking.
Maybe it's me, perhaps I am just not smart enough for games like Oblivion. I remember starting it up and debating the pros and cons of being one of the many races I had the option of making my character then painfully debating what other attributes to give my character then spent at least 30 minutes creating the outer appearance.
Once all that was done the game had started yet I had been sitting in front of my TV for more then an hour. The best way I can sum up Two World's is a simple yet huge open ended RPG.
When I started two worlds I had no choice, I was a Male Human. Sure I got to pick some of the more interesting aspects of his appearance but I was off to the races in less then five minutes, a very easy game to get into.
The gameplay is fairly simple to understand and in your first mission to "clear out" the temple you will generally figure out all you need to know to progress in the game in terms of opening doors drawing weapons and attacking enemies etc. My complaint however is the utter lack of explanation of how to use your very detailed and confusing menu.
Although if you press "select" you will be given some help. The control of your character is as simple or as hard as you want it to be, during an attack you can walk right up to the baddy and start swinging and let them swing right back or you can swing and move away and swing again, basically you can add some tactic to your battles.
The strength of the enemies varies greatly but unlike the Elder Scrolls franchise the gamer is not brutally punished for straying off the main path by running into enemies who are much faster and much stronger then you who will crush you before you can draw your weapon.
While there is variety you quickly learn who you can take on and who you should run from. Another perk I found is that in a way you are rewarded for exploring early because unlike many other games the difference between weapons is staggering as is the difference between armors.
I was hardly able to fight a single bandit let alone a half dozen but after acquiring better weapons and strong armors my character who had only increased by a single level was much more powerful and durable in battle. Leveling up at times can feel like a little bit of a chore.
While you have only four base stats to level up, you have MANY different skills you can opt to build up over time. It can be frustrating when you are debating if you should place your two skill points into lock picking so you can actually open the chest in front of you, Critical Hit so the Black Bear waiting for you outside the cave won't kill you, or swimming so it won't take another ten minutes to swim across the river.
Couple that with nearly everyone you meet offering to sell you MORE skills that you will have to debate upgrading; needless to say my character is a level 10 swimmer.
Another general comment is it seems the 360 almost struggles to play this game at times. Its strange I can have ten bandits all hacking at me and moving around like crazy and not a single slipped frame, yet when I am walking along a dirty path with a few trees it may require a few seconds to load the rest of the path and trees. Did not take away from my enjoyment of the game but should be noted.
Graphically it's not Oblivion, but it shouldn't have to be. While the latest Elder Scroll is the benchmark for what is considered perfection for such games it should not punish Two Worlds. The landscape is stunning, as I had to take a moment to just soak it all in when I was standing atop a fairly high hill looking over much of the eastern map. Each town, village, trapping community all look fairly different and are well done. The difference in the armor and weapons as they appear on you while you are progressing through the game are very well done.
The issue I have is that most enemies look the same; I fight the same three bandits: The guy with the red hat, the shirtless guy, and the guy with the leather helm. The Animals are all the same as well.
It should be noted however that the townspeople actually have a fair bit of variety which you would not expect after you have fought your hundredth shirtless bandit in a row. It should be noted that this game suffers from a disorder I call "Dead Rising Text" where if you are playing the game on a SDTV smaller then a 36" or an HD TV smaller then a 27" the text within your option menu can be very small and hard to see.
Biggest annoyance is clearly not being able to clearly see how many potions I have left. Even on a 61" TV I find that I at times need to focus to see some things are stand up and walk closer, nothing I have found thus far in terms of the small text can make the game harder (IE needed to read something in battle to save your life) but it is annoying, and was clearly designed for a PC user sitting a foot away from a monitor.
The Sound is interesting, your main character sounds like the guy who reads the text during movie previews that over the top deep voice. The attempted use of old English is at times WELL over the top and is almost comical. At times the "generic" yell of "Put your weapon down" that is called by any human you have to do battle with in the field can be somewhat tired.
Where the game really stands up is the voice acting of the extras and the supporting cast of the game. Every town person you go up to actually speaks to you and the major supporting cast is very well done and believable.
As for the Value of the title, If you play only the main quest the game will be fairly short and what was odd was the secondary quests were actually much more interesting then the main story quests, although the main story itself was interesting.
If you intend to beef up your character and you are a fan of "building up" this is the game for you a huge map a wide spectrum of weapons, magic, armor, etc and side quests as far as the eyes can see. If you intend to walk in play only the main story and be just strong and skilled enough to beat the game then you will hate it because the substance of the core game is good but not great, what makes it great is the options and the interaction and the secondary aspects of the game, much like Oblivion.
Overall, if you found Oblivion to just be a little too much then perhaps Two Worlds could act as your training wheels. Even if you are just not the type to be bogged down by having to recall and remember hundreds of things and side quests at a time Two Worlds may be your thing, because you can accept as many side quests as you want and through out the game play you normally stumble onto their solutions, there are no punishing timelines.
As I said earlier, if you live and breathe Oblivion then you will not enjoy Two Worlds, but if you are looking for a straighter forward Action RPG with some good depth and an interesting story then perhaps this will be up your alley.