4cr Preview – Two Worlds 2

I can’t tell you how much the name “Two Worlds 2” bugs me. It’s a compulsion, really. It happened with Left 4 Dead 2 too (Left 4 Dead Tutu?), but not nearly to the same degree. Come on – Two Worlds two what, exactly? I want there to be some other word there. Two Worlds Two Something. Every single time that I read the title, I fill in some other word at the end, with occasionally hilarious results.

Yes, I need help.

In any case, we’re not here to talk about my issue. We’re here to talk about Two Worlds 2. The original Two Worlds was – well – not what one would call “well received.” Still, the developers admit that there were problems (the demonstrator in our meeting personally apologized, which I suppose was nice) and have promised a completely overhauled sequel. I’m always one to grant second chances, so I recently spent some time checking out the upcoming sequel. What I saw wasn’t quite finished, but there is definitely potential.

The semi-medieval fantasy game is a bit of a crowded field. There are a ton of these games and the big boys – Bioware and Bethesda – have raised the quality bar pretty darn high. To stand out, you need some sort of schtick. For Two Worlds 2, the selling point is customization. Your character is customizable to the point of ridiculousness. There is all of the obvious stuff, of course; you tweak a thousand aspects of your appearance, choose a class (fighter, ranger, or mage – notch), and dump points into skills as you level up. You can also add all sorts of tweaks and enchantments to your items and spells.

The coolest part? You aren’t locked into your chosen play style. If you make a mistake in ye olde RPG – dumping points into a useless skill, for instance – you’re stuck with it. At any time in Two Worlds 2, you can wipe out your entire skill tree and reallocate every experience point. It gets better. You can even switch your “class.” Are you tired of shooting arrows from the shadows? You could become a mage and start flinging fireballs instead, or you could respec as a warrior and just start directly smashing those skulls.

A heavy focus has been placed on creating visceral, complex combat. You switch between a series of stances, aggressive or defensive, which determine what moves are available to you. Reality Pump has recorded motion capture data from real-world swordsmen to make sure that everything looks just right. Physics react as they should – every object in the environment can be factored into your plans. Toss an enemy into a pile of barrels, and things will roll everywhere. Shoot the wrong (or right, depending on your perspective) drum and a massive explosion will erupt. I’m not sure how deep this will get, but it does add an interesting layer of strategy that most role-playing games don’t touch on.

Two Worlds 2 is a pretty good looking game. The GRACE engine gave the developers access to a number of nice features like real-time shadows and motion blur. That, coupled with all of the motion capture stuff, makes Two Worlds 2 one of the better looking RPGs on the Xbox 360 (which was the version that I took a look at). The game is being developed with the Xbox as the lead platform, and it felt right at home on the system. The controls and interface reminded me quite a bit of Dragon Age, and were immediately comfortable. I imagine that the PS3 version will play just as well, but the PC port remains a mystery. I hope that Reality Pump takes the time to craft a proper PC interface.

The original Two Worlds had some problems, but it wasn’t a horrible game. There was always a core of potential there, and I hope that the sequel can grow that core into a sprawling tree. My time with it was too brief to form any concrete opinions, but I did like what I saw. Gamers that loved Dragon Age have something to look forward on October 5th.