What happen when Sacred and Oblivion are mixed? Unfortunately, this mix leaves much to be desired...
Antaloor is an imaginary world, full of magic with strange and mystic creatures. Many years ago, the god of the orcs, called Aziraal, lead them through the land of Antaloor seeking for world domination. But he was defeated in the war and was sealed in a magic casket and condemned to be there for all eternity. The orc army retreated, but a new threat was born. It was called "The Taint", one evil energy that started to spread, bringing death and destruction in a slow pace, but growing stronger every day.
Our hero don't have a name and is only called by his way to live, a mercenary. Many years had pass after the defeat of Aziraal when the history begins. Kira, the hero's sister, fell from the horse and they have to stop for a while. While searching for some place to hide from the storm and to take care of her, a strange appears and takes Kira away, letting our hero alone. After several months searching for her, he finally receives a letter where the kidnaper gives him instructions if he wants to have his sister back. And it's like that how everything begins. And yes, no more details.
Of course we will get a lot of the plot along the play, but it's here, in the story telling part, where the first disappointment get place. If was a little better told, just with a better voice acting and a better script, it really would mean all the difference in this game. A RPG is meant to possess a interesting story, where the player is supposed to be motivated to go on, discovering its most deep secrets along the way and that is supposed to be a pleasure to do, where the characters had the function to captivate us while we stay focused in the storytelling, in the facts and in the breath taking moments. But don't expect any of that from Two Worlds.
The bad character animation will not help too, where all look too artificial. Maybe the fact that everyone will act too polite, even the most evil of them to the rich or the poor, all will speak correctly and say everything in a strange English - only one exception. Not only in the way how everybody speak, but the appearance and clothes look all the same, with the little detail that the face of ALL looks horrible. This is a total lack of self personality.
Also, the social system used here is really strange. If you attack someone, he will fight back and, if you're in the middle of a town or a village, others will appear to help. But, if you flee and then go back, nobody will remember that little aggression, or even if the player manage to kill one entire town, others will not care about it or not even see you like a threat.
At least, secondary missions can be fun sometimes, and there`s a good amount of them. Do missions for the Giriza to gain advantages selling in its shops. Help The Merchant guild to win privileges and discounts through the shopkeepers in Thalmont. Also, you can choose your side helping the Karga clan or the House of Skelden, being even possible to not be in any side – you`re a mercenary anyway.
Other disappointment that players must face when playing Two Worlds is the combat. In a few lines, each type of attack or weapon will have the same attack and sequence through the entire game, leading the player to do a lot of smashing, where having a mouse inside the warranty is highly recommended. We can use some skills too, but most of them are only one skill for each type of weapon, less the bow, that have a descent variation, but, in middle-late game, is the weakest way to take out enemies.
What almost save all the combat system was the Schools of Magic, where Two Worlds presents a nice spell variation, ranging from useful support magic to powerful summons and attack spells. Unfortunately, the usefulness of them is questionable. Like the bow, magic will be only really worth it in early game. Actually, some supportive spells can help a lot to take out some boring enemies through the entire game, like enemy archers, that will flee when we try to get close. And is a shame that the auto-aim for spells is more like a pain than a relief.
Again, all could be different if Two Worlds could present some challenge. Many complain about its high difficult, but, playing in the highest difficult, I had only hard moments in the early levels, until level 10 or 15, where I was "getting" the game feeling. And this leads to one of the most overpowered item system that I had seen in a RPG game.
Let me explain. Being a RPG, the inventory isn't different from most of other titles. We can equip our hero with a helmet, body armor, boots, gloves, rings, etc. With one amazing and satisfying loot system, it will be easy to find powerful equips and made our hero become stronger and stronger in no time. But here, in Two Worlds, there's a little detail that will make all the difference between kill ANY enemy with one hit or be a loser, that cries to kill a "single" orc camp with 30 or more of them inside.
That little detail is called "class", and it`s like the item level. It rises when we join items from the same set number, making the bonuses of multiple similar items be reunited in the same but higher class item. It works like this: you find a long sword with the set number 100. If you already have another long sword with the same set number, you can join them to make a single item long sword. But now, that item will be a class 2 item or, if the first long sword was already in class 10, it will be a class 11 item. Actually, I don`t know if "classes" have a limit – maybe 99, but I never reached the limit, only managing to make an item to reach class 58 (!). Now, think in that situation: you open a chest and find amazing body armor. In one "normal" RPG game, the player must choose between one and another, but not in Two Worlds. Opened a chest and had found a great item? Good. Just join them to level up your items classes, creating the most overpowered items in any game.
Of course that the player must match the set numbers to join items, but the high amount of loot, chests and merchants will make the job of finding the right items be really easy. How about have an item that gives 50 points to vitality, 207 to dexterity, 236 to strength, 93 to magic, 200+ to all types of resistances and highly level bonus to 7 different skills – class 23 uncommon sword? That means that I joined 23 uncommon swords from the same set number and, less the vitality, the entire bonuses given by this item are higher than any of my base attributes - and that is only one item. Imagine do that with the entire set. The last time that I counted all my bonuses I had 774 to strength, 457 to vitality, 790 to dexterity and 665 to magic, being our initial base attributes 5 for all…
And that don't end the "overpower" of the "item system" of Two Worlds. More occasionally than is the ideal to keep the good sense, we'll find many potions and ingredients that, after a little cook, will raise permanently our attributes. Have to say that I did not used any of my points in the magic attribute, but managed to end the game with more magic than strength just cooking some ingredients that is easily find.
Enough about the item's system. If had come together with a good and challenging combat system, it could be all good, but isn't how things happen in Two Worlds, that created a overpowered system, making all less challenging and making combat fall in the capital sin of any game, called repetitiveness.
Almost a perfect mix between Sacred and Oblivion, the huge of "Two Worlds" world is the main aspect of the game, where freedom is the word. Go wherever you want any time, in foot or using a horse, or even teleporting yourself through places. Big cities, huge forests and dense and deep rivers and lakes, with powerful mountains, are part of this mystic world of Antaloor. An impressive amount of details and a world full of life can give a good impression to any player – even with a poor draw distance and a not a little discrete "fade objects". HDR can seem a little 'over' sometimes, but its intensity can be configured in the menu. But, for some reason, this game seems to "eat" frames more than better looking games.
At least, Two Worlds presents a descent enemy variation in the form of many mystic creatures, like dragons, orcs, wild animals and demons, many with a good design and better animation than humans.
The sound track can sometimes impress and others can be boring. Good menu song though. Nothing special in the sound effects too. The voices, in other hand, could be a lot better. Most of them will sound without emotion, like when someone is reading a boring text or something like that – even the main characters.
And in the end, Two Worlds seems kind of unfinished for me. If it had better polishing, like the details and in the storytelling, it would be better than Oblivion.