I was introduced to many worlds and many fascinating characters in my days at PAX Prime. One of the most interesting was world of Antaloor in a game called Two Worlds II. TopWare Interactive has taken great pains to correct the issues gamers had with the original Two Worlds game while keeping the elements that fans like. The result is an amazingly advanced piece of technologically enhanced RPG action and adventure. This small company has boldly constructed their own GRACETM game engine from the ground up to give the player an adventure with an amazing amount of light and detail. All the better to tell the tale of Two Worlds.
The story is a continuation of the first game. The gods of the elements are in a state of chaos and the hero must follow his destiny to save his people. An evil force, the Dark Lord Gandohar, will do anything to make sure the hero does not complete his mission. The player, as the hero, starts out a prisoner in the dungeons. He escapes in the hopes of saving his sister from a horrible fate. He must travel through a vast environment filled with danger and beauty to forge alliances and stop Lord Gandohar before he destroys all hope of rescuing his sister. The most unlikely alliance is with the Orcs. Orcs are typically cast as the villains in most RPG’s so the fact that they help rescue the hero and help him in his quest is intriguing, to say the least.
The creators of Two Worlds II did not stop with just developing a brand new game engine for their game. They decided they wanted a brand new way to create customized weapons, spells, and potions. The CRAFTTM tool allows the player to break down weapons that they have looted from creatures then combine those basic elements to build unique items for their character to use. The player can customize the style and type of damage the weapon can deal as well as the look of the weapon.
The player can use the eyes they find on creatures they kill to explore the amazing detail environment from every angle. Different Oculus types allow you to explore in different ways and different distances. Some can even cause damage to foes.
Player can spend skill points to create a character that can be a variety of different fighting styles. A character can be part melee and part mage to give him the best of both worlds in a fight. The player can also set up specific armor sets. The player can have one armor set that accentuates the mage’s powers and another for the melee. The player can then quickly switch between armor sets as needed. The inventory is set up as a wheel that is brought up by pressing down on one of the thumbsticks and navigating around the wheel. It is a quicker, simpler way to scroll through items in the player’s bag.
Combat is also streamlined allowing the player to string together offensive and defensive moves by pressing different buttons. The moves flow together and make combat look very smooth.
Next is the seemingly endless amount of custom spells the player can create. DEMONSTM magic management allows the player to craft a spell to fit any occasion using different combinations of spell cards they have in their inventory. There are so many possibilities that they will hold their own Guinness World Record for the sheer number of possible spell combinations that are possible. Add to this the player’s ability to use the new PAPAKTM alchemy system to create potions and the player is equipped with all the mechanics to make the most unique experience available in game. The player does not need to spend endless hours customizing their weapons, spells, and potions. If the player merely wants to use the standard items in the game they can. This variety of gameplay options makes the game very flexible to satisfy all experience levels. This flexibility in gameplay is also evident in the multiplayer portion of the game.
The co-op mechanic allows up to eight players to play each objective level. There are large objectives that have been split up into several manageable missions. The player does not need to devote many hours at a time to accomplish the objective. The player can have different numbers of team members to help accomplish each smaller mission that are dependent on the level of difficulty for each mission. The early missions are easy and get progressively more difficult. The multiplayer games are separate from the solo campaign so the player can develop several multiplayer characters. This includes the ability to create a female character which is something I will definitely do. Other co-op multiplayer activities include developing a home village. Here the player can choose to specialize in a particular craft or skill to help arm their characters. These specializations also help the player’s team mates. Players will want to find other players with skills that will compliment the needs of their toons. For example, if I decide I want to specialize in two handed swords I may want to find a team mate that specializes in another skill like leather work to help clothe my characters. We can then trade our craft for mutual benefit. This encourages players to visit each other’s villages and explore. The multiplayer games can also involve player versus player (PvP) battles between two teams. The player can choose what size team he would like to be on.
This game has so many possible ways to play and different levels of gameplay that it can satisfy any level of player. The player can choose their level of involvement in the game from short missions that lead to completing an objective or quick PvP battles in multiplayer to the larger solo campaign. I have to admit that this flexibility is very exciting to me. One of the hardest elements of most MMO’s is the large amount of time I need to dedicate to completing a large scale raid. These bite size missions are very appealing to someone like me that can’t play hours on end. These world is gorgeous and the graphics grab me and bring me into the action. In short, I eagerly await my calling to save Antaloor.
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