Two Worlds Collector's Edition

When Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released on the Xbox 360, it not only gave fans of the role-playing game genre a true free-roaming classic but it succeeded in immersing players into its deep, massive world and epic quests. It is certainly a game worth imitating and Reality Pump and South Peak Games does exactly that with Two Worlds, an RPG set in another massive universe. Two Worlds: Collector’s Edition is a complete package crammed with extras but the game itself is an entertaining yet flawed experience fans of the genre might want to consider playing.

Taking place in a huge open-world environment, Two Worlds tells the tale of a world called Antaloor that has been ravaged by war between the good kingdoms and a dark god of destruction named Aziraal and his army of Orcs. Aziraal’s rebellion comes to a halt when the god is killed in battle and his body placed in a magic tomb and hidden in a secret location. Fast forward 300 years later as a young man and his sister Kyra are traveling on a road when fate would step in and separate them. The young man becomes a bounty hunter who takes on odd jobs for money in hopes that his assignments might bring him closer to learning the whereabouts of his sister. Oh, and somehow the fate of the world falls on his shoulders and he becomes wrapped up in the conflict between the Orcs and free kingdoms as well as linked to the secret of the dead god.

At the start of the game’s main single-player mode, you begin by “creating” your main character. Well, it’s not exactly a deep process filled with options so all you’ll be doing is deciding what type of hair and hair color your male hero will have and what color eyes he’ll have. That is right, you won’t have all the cool little options Oblivion gives you and you cannot even change your character’s gender, race or occupation. You might as well not have been given the chance to change your character at all. What you end up with is a generic-looking character that has the personality of a block of ice. Believe me when I say that you won’t find much to like about this bounty hunter except for the fact that you can change his armor (everything from his boots to his helmet) and that his skills can be upgraded.

As a bounty hunter, you’re free to take on a number of tasks given to you by the people that fill the world of Antaloor. You’re not forced to walk a linear line where you must finish a particular quest and you can forget the quests altogether and simply explore the huge map and discovering the many towns, camps, villages, cities, dungeons and outposts. Antaloor is an immense world so you’ll be glad that the Collector’s Edition comes with an exclusive world map. You’ll find numerous NPC characters who will offer side quests and, like Oblivion, find yourself attacked by bandits hiding near the main road as well as a number of other beasts that roam the countryside. The map is so huge that you’ll be glad the game includes horses to make traveling a lot easier.

Unfortunately, the game lacks the charm of Oblivion’s world and the little touches that might seem insignificant but make the difference between traveling in a world filled with interesting spots and traveling in a world that can seem a bit barren at times. Really, there are times in Two Worlds where you’ll see nothing but green grass and tall tress for miles. When it comes to the quests and side quests, there are no intricate side stories that have you attempting to cure yourself of a vampire curse, you won’t be joining an assassin or thieves’ guild and you certainly won’t be attempting to rescue a floating ship/inn from pirates. These little surprising elements that made Oblivion such a treat to play are missing in Two Worlds.

What you will find, however, is the ability to upgrade your character’s skills, abilities and even spells. You can even put your alchemy skills to use by creating your own potions you can name yourself. There are also a number of quests and side quests to complete and while they never get as deep as the ones in Oblivion, many of the quests range from pretty dull to pretty fun. You’ll rid a stable of bandits that come often to threaten the stable owner and you’ll cast a summon spell in the house of an astronomer whose rival is jealous of his research. You will attempt to infiltrate an Orc’s camp by disguising yourself as one and you’ll do deep into the tunnels of a major city to look for a rare artifact. In short, there’s no shortage of things to do in this game. 

Sadly, combat is one of the weakest aspects of Two Worlds. Outfitting the bounty hunter with powerful weapons and armor is up to the gamer and you can even dual wield two swords for some extra damage but somehow it takes about fifty swings to bring down the weakest monsters or wild beasts. I tend to lean more to the bow and arrow seeing as you have better control over the damage you can dish out and you can always run and shoot. Unlike Oblivion, you can also attack while riding a horse so you can swing or shoot arrows while riding. Death comes quickly for you in this game but thanks to some magic tomes scattered throughout the land, you will respawn at the last tome you passed and the best part is that you lose nothing if you die. You will always start again without missing weapons or money.

Two Worlds just doesn’t offer a lengthy single-player mode but it also contains an online multiplayer mode that can be played through the Xbox Live service. Up to eight players can take each another on or join forces to form a team in a few game modes that put you in a large arena. There’s Team Deathmatch, Team Assault, Team Monster Hunt, Team Horse Racing and Horse Stealing. These are actually pretty decent multiplayer games if you find a few friends willing to join you in a game or two. At the time of this writing I found a very limited number of players to compete with but what I’ve experienced wasn’t bad at all.

As a gamer who fancies Collector’s Editions, Two Worlds packages an extra disk that includes the game’s soundtrack (which is good), some concept art (equally good) and some video (just so-so). The real treat comes in the form of the map and a hardcover tabletop RPG book that requires playing dice, pen and paper. The book itself lists some helpful information that makes perfect sense to the single-player game.

Visually, the game doesn’t take advantage of the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360 and oftentimes the game takes on an original Xbox appearance. Some backgrounds look good from afar while others look very dull. Clones of other NPCs are scattered throughout the map and the facial expressions are just plain horrible. For some reason, no matter how you create your own character, your bounty hunter will always seem cross-eyed. There are some decent visual effects, especially when it comes to your spell casting; the cities look impressively grand in scale.

The sound is a sore spot in the game it would have been a complete disaster if it were not for the great soundtrack that plays throughout the game. Two Worlds features the most horrendous voice acting in games this year that makes the game’s characters sound like they’re performing an embarrassingly weak rendition of a Shakespeare play. “Mayhap we find the lost gold or mayhap we don’t,” the main character will say. “Does dost road take me to Brumhill, pray?” He says in another instance. Every character sounds this way and it gets worst along the way. Unintentionally funny voice acting aside, the sound effects is actually nicely handled. 

Two Worlds: Collector’s Edition manages to create a vast world with a deep storyline that gives gamers plenty to see and do but sadly, the game’s major flaws will disappoint those who were looking for an amazing RPG. It’s not to say that it’s a bad game - it certainly has its appealing moments - but it’s far from unseating Oblivion from its throne. Still, this is a decent role-playing game worthy of a Collector’s Edition chock full of extras that shouldn’t be missed by fans of the genre.

Gameplay: 6.9
Combat is both hit and miss seeing as your character will oftentimes swing at nothing or aim his bow at the enemy farthest from you. You’ll be able to upgrade a number of attributes, skills and specialties to help you in combat and spell casting and alchemy is a major plus. There’s a lot of ground to cover but, alas, there are very few hidden extras like a certain similar RPG.

Graphics: 7.5
The game’s visuals range from beautiful to very ugly and the character models look like they belong on the original Xbox 360. There are way too many generic NPCs that fill the world and some that are actual clones of your character. Still, some of the effects are amazing and there are environments that are filled with detail. There’s also pop up and sometimes body parts disappear while you’re talking to somebody.

Sound: 6.0
There’s some great music in the game and the sound effects are wonderfully detailed but what will give you plenty of laughs is the game’s voice acting and dialogue … it’s unintentionally funny. Also, your character sounds so pompous that you won’t find much to like about him.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
When a wounded boar can kill you and a half dead bandit can get the upper hand in battle you’ll know this game has a serious problem with the difficulty setting. Yes, upgrading your character’s skills helps a lot but you will be killed quite a lot in this game.

Concept: 7.0
The Collector’s Edition comes packed with a second disk filled with bonuses such as the game’s great soundtrack, artwork and short video clips. The best extras come in the form of a world map you can unfold and use along with the game’s map screen and a small hardcover tabletop RPG book (all you need is a pencil, paper and role-playing game dice). It also comes with a 48-hour Xbox Live trial so gamers can try out the game’s multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Online the game allows you to play with up to eight players (if you can find eight players) using any of the five multiplayer game modes and cooperative play. You will have to create a new character from scratch first then you can compete in horse races, a team deathmatch in an arena, go on a monster hunt and steal horses. It’s good stuff, indeed.

Overall: 7.0
Mayhap it’s the Oblivion fan in me that feels that no similar RPG can compete with it but this game makes a worthwhile attempt that gives gamers enough to see and do. Two Worlds: Collector’s Edition aims high and delivers a flawed yet decent role-playing game that is lengthy and occasionally fun. If you’re a devoted fan of open-world RPGS, a deep story and customizing your character anyway you like then you might just want to consider buying the Collector’s Edition.