Proof that the 50+ hour RPG isn't dead, and can still be fun.

Having not played the original Two Worlds, I wasn't entirely sure what I should be expecting out of its sequel. I was turned off of the original one pretty early due to some bad word of mouth from a few friends that had picked it up, and I figured my time would be better spent on other titles. However, my interest in Two Worlds II certainly began to peak after I saw quite a few really fantastic looking screenshots, and a lot of talk that this sequel would be head over heels better than the first. And I've got to say, based on what I've heard about the original that definitely seems to be the case. Two Worlds II isn't without its own fair share of issues, but overall it does tackle the whole fantasy open world RPG genre extremely well, and there's a whole lot of content for those willing to explore the world of Antaloor.

Two Worlds II is definitely an action RPG, there are no turn based meters, and you'll be attacking with every press of the button. It's not quite a hack and slash like Diablo or Sacred 2; instead you'll need to make frequent use of the block button, along with a mix of ranged attacks and magic. It also doesn't make use of skill trees, but there are skill points acquired when leveling up, and a hefty number of skills to pour them into, both for combat and crafting. In fact, there's a whole lot of customization that can be done with your character, and fans of more PC oriented RPG's will definitely enjoy that angle. As the game begins, you'll get to craft the looks of your character, which features a whole slew of sliders that can be manipulated to fine tune your facial features and skeletal frame. Once you name your hero or heroine, then you'll be dropped into the plot, wherein you're being held captive by the evil ruler of Antaloor. Your sister is also held captive, and she's being used to entrap some type of evil magic. After the opening scenes, a group of orcs break you out of your prison, and then you escape into the open world, kick starting your epic quest.

The first few things you notice about the game are definitely negatives. While the outdoor vistas look really good, the character models are all pretty ugly, along with starting armor sets. The armor and weapon variety improves as you advance, but early on it leaves you with a bad first impression. The other thing you'll pick up on is that the voice acting is really, really horrible. The story itself is also a little bland, and while it does its best to mix humor with high fantasy, it really falls flat most of the time. By the time I entered the second chapter I found myself skipping through as much of the dialogue as I could, both because the voice acting was so offensive, and because the plot was pretty inane. If you appreciate good story in your RPG's, or that's your driving force for picking one up, then Two Worlds II might not be your best choice.

Another bad first impression comes from the combat, and the lack of knowing exactly what the hell you're supposed to be doing. The game throws some half-assed tutorials at you, showing you how to equip, shoot your bow, use a basic magic spell and craft new ones. However, when you get your first set of quests and venture out into the land, you'll probably get your ass kicked by the local wildlife quite a few times. The biggest suggestion I'd give to new players is to use your block button liberally, even if you're not equipped with shield. In fact, I found that I blocked just as well with a two handed weapon as I did with a shield, so outside of adding a bonus to your defense, the shield is more just for show than being of any practical use. Another big thing to pick up is how to assign your skill points early on. When you first start to level up and gain skill points, you'll probably be a little overwhelmed by how many different areas you can put them into. Not only do you have your combat skills divided up between melee, ranged, and magic, but you also have general abilities, and crafting skill sets divided by armor/weapon crafting and alchemy. It's a whole lot to take in, and the quest progression is a little slow in showing you exactly what to do.

Basically, there's a whole lot of trial and error involved at the outset, which will definitely be off-putting to some players that have grown used to in-depth tutorials right at the outset of their games. That said if you're willing to stick with it, the complexity of the customization will really start to pay off.

Once you hit the tail end of Chapter 1, which for me was about 15 or so hours in, you'll probably start to feel really comfortable with everything. This isn't necessarily saying that the game takes 15 hours to actual get good, ala Final Fantasy XIII, but instead this felt like the point where the gameplay, combat, and crafting really started to click for me. You might hit this point a little earlier than I did, I've never confessed to being a quick learner, but I really started to enjoy things at that point.

Outside of the awesome job the game does of giving you a lot of customization options, the quest system is actually pretty solid as well. There are a ton of side quests to discover, and a lot of little things you can easily miss if you don't take the time to explore the land around you. And while you might feel a little mushy and vulnerable early on, to the point where exploring past the road given might lead to certain death, once you build up some defensive stats and gain better weapons, you'll really benefit from checking out everything Antaloor has to offer. There's a whole lot of real estate to cover here too, and you'll spend hours just running from one side of the map to the next. However, if you prefer to stick to the main quest line, that's definitely an option as well, and the game does a solid job of tracking your quests and pointing you in the right direction.

The only other real complaint I'd level against Two Worlds II is that the menu's are in need of some serious streamlining. There's menu's on top of menu's, and when it comes to crafting or breaking down items for crafting supplies, it really feels slow and cumbersome to navigate some of this stuff. Assuming a Two World III is in the mix at some point, I hope this is an area that developers take some time to fine tune. Also, since you have limited inventory, through a weight system not unlike Oblivion, you'll spend a whole lot of time in these menu's breaking down all the unnecessary loot you acquire (generally 3-5 pieces from every enemy you kill). So yeah, it really could use some work to be a little more user friendly if they expect you to spend so much time in it.

However, as a whole, I think Two Worlds II is definitely worth checking out. It can be a little rough around the edges at times, but there's so much stuff to check out and do, the majority of which is actually fun and engaging, that it's hard to deny there's a whole lot of value packed into this particular title. If you've been on the fence about picking it up, I'd definitely suggest a rental, as it certainly won't appeal to all RPG fans out there, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.