Two Worlds is a TRAVESTY

[Lord Thag]

I picked this game up with some credit I hat at E.B. I was really looking forward to it. Boy am I glad that I used credit, as I would be furious if I paid full price for this mess.

 

First off, the graphics are a mess. This looks like a first gen PS2 game, most of the time. The character models are downright embarassing. Your main character looks like a cross-eyed freak, no matter what you do in the creation process.

 

Then there's the sound. This game has the most laughably bad voice acting I've ever heard. Dynasty Warriors sounds like a masterpiece in comparison.

 

Now, if the game were just ugly and sounded horrible, but played fine, it might be salvageable. Nope! The game engine is so poorly programmed that the framerate constantly fluctuates. It's so jerky that you feel like your playing it on a PC with driver issues. Seriously, I've never played a console game that was this un-optimized. It's downright embarassing. Enemies jump all over the screen skipping animations, get stuck inside of rocks, fall of the face of the world etc. You get the idea.

 

Speaking of the world, it's about as generic as you can get. The plot is about as canned as potted meat. The world is huge yes, but there doesn not seem to be much in it barring the occasional town. You just run around and fight the same wildlife and 'groms' (retarded orks that run around screaming 'garrrrrr!'). On top of that, there is not much to do other than quests. No caves full of loot or intersting towers or anything really. Just ugly outdoor environments. The game had potential. It is similar to Baldur's Gate and Diablo in some ways, but the execution is so poor you stop caring about it's good points.

 

Seriously, I've never seen a next gen game that was this unready for release. The company that made this should be ashamed for releasing this travesty. Buyer beware!

Edited August 25, 2007 by Lord Thag

[Gabriel]

heheh.

 

A lot of the time, I end up buying crap and then ranting about it later. You spared me the trouble.

 

Part of the reason I avoided this game was just because the absolutely generic look of the cover art shown online. I know it's a silly reason, but it's usually a bad sign when something is presented in such a bland manner.

 

Another reason was a gut feeling that it would just suck. I'm sure we all get those from time to time. It doesn't make any sense, but somehow we just KNOW a game will reek.

 

Still, is this your first online RPG? Online RPGs have entirely different rules they live by in the gameplay department. Even the ones with the best gameplay would be considered utterly horrible games in traditional grading.

 

Did you have to pay for a Gold membership as well as for a game membership?

[Lord Thag]

No this isn't my first online RPG, and the review is actually of the single player game (though I will admit to not being a huge MMORPG fan). Two Worlds is bad even compared to an online game, though it definately has that 'farming' feel to it where you just run around and level by killing baddies. That wouldn't be an issue if there was more to do, and if what is there was not so poorly executed and glitchy. The game is just done so badly it's almost a joke. Be glad you followed your gut on this one.

[moycon]

CRAP!!!

 

This is bad, news. I had pre-ordered this title and they already shipped it.

I got a decent deal on it... like $45.00 shipped.

I've read reviews that it had a decent story line *sigh*

Well, at least I have Bio Shock until Eternal Sonata gets released I guess.

[Hyper_Eye]

I was very interested in this game. Thank you for making it clear to me that this isn't worth my money.

[xenomorpher]

Damn this sucks! I was really looking foward to this for months too. Looks like I will get Warhawk for sure then.

[Lord Thag]

A further word on this: I've been playing it some more (because I paid $$ for it and I'm gonna get SOME fun out of it), and I will add a few more comments for anyone who is interested.

 

The frame rate issues seem to have mellowed out some. I don't know if it's due to the part of the story I was in, geographical area or whatever, but it's playing a bit smoother now. A review I read mentioned this too. Seems the beginning is very choppy, but it smooths out later. I'm hoping for a patch. Voice acting is still horrible across the board, but I will admit that the game is kind of fun in a mindless, hack n' slash kind of way. It reminds me of a diablo knockoff set in an (very fugly) oblivion type world. The world is very MMORPGish. Very big, but populated with gobs of momnsters and not much else. Combat is very uninspired, but serviciable, rather like the PSO games. Mash those buttons! Magic is meh, but the Alchemy & Item system is quite good.

 

To be fair and honest, I can see some people kind of liking it. There is lots of exploring to do, even if it's glitchy and kind of bland. So, if you like those plotless dungeon crawler type games, can stand some frame rate issues, and like to hack n' slash, you might kind of like it. MMO people stand more of a chance than Oblivion fans, though.

 

Oh, and as far as I can tell, there is excatly *ONE* woman in the entire world. No joke. Everyone else looks just about identical. Apparently the people of Two Worlds reproduce via pods.

 

My money says the publisher of this game forced the developer to release it in early beta form. Too bad.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Lord Thag

[Gabriel]

Oh, and as far as I can tell, there is excatly *ONE* woman in the entire world.

 

She must be tired.

[moycon]

I actually enjoy "mindless, hack n' slash" games.Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Gauntlet, Diablo all apealed to me. Hopefully I will be able to get into Two Worlds as well. Is there a lot of customizing and building up of your characters? Thats another aspect of games like this I like. Leveling up.

[Jess Ragan]

Oh, and as far as I can tell, there is excatly *ONE* woman in the entire world. No joke.

 

Does she look like this?

 

[swlovinist]

Screw supporting this piece of crap. This is an example of how Microsoft needs to have better quality control over what is showcased on their system. I know that the system is STARVING for RPGs, but dam this game is AN UTTER PIECE OF GRAPHIC BULLSHIT. The game itself is ok, but the is this an alpha? I was playing this at PAX this weekend and I heard several people such as myself walking away from this one. If you are going to slap a $60 price tag on a game and compete with games such as Morrowind, do everyone a favor and make a quality game. Otherwise, release your game at $30 to spare the insults that this game rightfully deserves. For all the pushing that game stores did with this one, what an utter example of how to NOT showcase a game for the 360. Ugg, what a dissapointment.

[swlovinist]

Just to make sure that I was not quickly juding the game, I rented it with a free rental slip from Hollywood Video. After a couple of hours, the game still sucks artistically, graphically, and animated wise. The weapon creation is OK, but dam this game licks balls.

[+remowilliams]

After a couple of hours, the game still sucks artistically, graphically, and animated wise.

Hmm, sounds familiar. Try flapping your arms around while playing it. Seems to make all the difference on another system.

 

[moycon]

I've been playing this game now for about an hour and a half straight.

 

I don’t mind the game as much as some people. If you’re a person that likes games where you level up your character and discover new items and locations, the game has all that. What kills it is nothing about it is top notch…only serviceable. This could have been an Oblivion killer, but because the implementation is so unpolished, it’s only a pale imitation. Frame rate blows, Voice acting is meh. One thing that really hurts this game is the 3rd person behind the character view. Oblivion has this view as well (I think you click the left stick), I never used it because it felt and looked awkward, as it stands, this game feels and looks awkward because of it and you can’t correct it. You can zoom in a bit, but no first person. I think if you could play 1st person it would be a lot better game.

 

Still I don’t think it’s a complete wash. I’m having fun building up my character and finding new locations. I’m definitely glad I didn’t pay full price for this. I got it for $45. I’m thinking that was still a bit high. This game is probably worth about $25-30. But even if you pay that much, you’ll probably still bitch about how half ass it is.

 

EDIT : After about 4 hours in I'm enjoying the game probably more than I should. The quests are decent enough to me. The adventure of discovering new places is fun (spooky cemetery’s full of zombies and ghouls, island populated with hordes of monsters guarding magic potions, etc...) The game reminds me a lot of Telengard on the C-64. Even tho at the time I played Telengard there were FAR superior RPGs with FAR superior graphics, I'd still load the game in via the cassette player and play for hours. Even paying $45, I'll get my moneys worth out of this title.

Edited August 28, 2007 by moycon

[swlovinist]

I continued to torture myself, thinking "gosh, this game can get better right?" Other than being a half ass dungeon hunt collect items and so on, I conclude that for $60 this game is a piece of shit. Lord Thag nailed it. I have played better free games with better production values. The fact that MS OKd this to be released is sheer crap. Hell the game plays like its an alpha. I give it one point for item creation. I give it one point for a dungeon hunt. I give it 5 points for being large. I give it -10 for the graphics(seriously PS1/PS2) I give it -10 for voice overs(my vote for worse ever!). This is just judging the offline content. If I am going to play a dungeon hunt, then it wont be this one.

[moycon]

I conclude that for $60 this game is a piece of shit. Lord Thag nailed it.

 

This becomes doubley apparent when you consider BioShock was just released in the same week. BioShock is what a $60 should be. I think if this game hadn't been compared so heavily to Oblivion prior to it's release, and if it had beed released with a $39.99 price tag, people would have accepted it a little more. I suspect you'll see a quick price drop on this game.

[Lord Thag]

A further aside for those interested. In a vain attempt to get my damn money's worth, I tried playing the thing online three times with a friend who has it. This is the worst online experience I've had on the 360. It was so slow, glitchy, and unplayable (seriously, we couldn't actually play it!) we gave it up, and this was with *TWO* people only! WHat a mess!

 

In all fairness, though, if you're just looking for a nice, big, mindless dungeon hack, you might like it ok, but NOT for $60. This is a budget PS2 title with a plus sized world, make no mistake. Paying more than $25 for this stinker is just a waste of money. Bioshock is worth every damned last penny you spend on it. Putting the two side by side (speaking of production values here not content or comparing genres) is like comparing eating at Emeril's to dinner at Taco Bell. Both fill you up, sure, but only crazy people spend $60 on Taco Bell, ya know?

[moycon]

I've been playing the game non-stop since I've gotten it.

Make no mistake, it seems more like a budget title, maybe even this was an Xbox title that got moved to the 360....

Anyways, I've decided I like it. I'm about 12 hours in and the quests are surprisingly deep....on par easily with Oblivions side quests. (12 hours in and I have yet to start on the main quest!!)

 

People kept comparing this to Diablo amd Oblivion, but I finally figured out what the game most reminds me of, Guild Wars.

It's like Guild Wars running on a PC that just a bit under powered to be running the game. The biggest issue the game has is the last gen graphics and the sputtering framerate these become less noticeable when you get sucked into the questing. Even the voice acting seems to improve as you go on. Verily.

 

I've devoted many many an hour to Guild Wars (and Diablo for that matter) which might explain the appeal this game has for me.

This game is the Xbox version of the single player game in Guild Wars with Diablo elements added and Oblivion inspired graphics running on a 360. I'm glad I picked it up now. It's definitely nothing like what I was expecting for sure, but it's good in a b-movie (Beastmaster?) kinda way.

 

Nay is it worth paying full price for the game, but verily worth your time if you can find it cheaper and are a fan of Guild Wars.

[Lord Thag]

It would be like Guild Wars if you could actually PLAY the thing online without it turning into a glitch-a-thon.

 

 

Actually, though, that's a good analogy. Ugly, low res guild wars only with bad voice acting and some other very unpolished elements that is kind of fun. I've played about 8 hours of it, and you know what? It may be ugly, but it's actually quite fun and...

 

Nah, I hate it.

[IronMongeR]

I rented this to see if it was as bad as I'd heard.

 

It was.

 

Absolute disgrace, could have been a great alternative to Oblivion.

[moycon]

I rented this to see if it was as bad as I'd heard.

 

It was.

 

Absolute disgrace, could have been a great alternative to Oblivion.

 

That's just it, everyone keeps comparing the game to Oblivion.

If you go in thinking that it's going to be the Oblivion killer, you're setting youself up for MAJOR disappointment.

After putting many many hours into it, I decided I enjoyed the game for what it was.

Definately should have been a budget title though. People may have been a bit more forgiving.

I suspect it'll drop in price quickly (If it hasn't already)

 

To top it all off, in following with the half-ass-ness of the title, the achievements are glitched so it's impossible to get 100%! LOL

 

I still haven't taken it online. I'm scared to.

[swlovinist]

Price does mean everything. This game new for $60 is absurd. This game on a clearance rack for $20-25 maybe, but not at full price. In the day and age of a Gamestop selling used games at every corner of the US, I say to gamers and speak with your wallet and buy used(If you absolutely have to own it)

[IronMongeR]

In hindsight, this game should be compared to dogshit. Even then, you still come away disappointed.

[A Sprite]

 

The Smurfette.

Edited October 6, 2007 by A Sprite

[bloodreptile]

I am about 30 hours into it..... It is good fun.... It could have been alot better and I agree with a lot that has been said but if you like RPG's this has a lot of content in it....

Graphics are okay...

Music is good and the voice acting is not bad... verily better than the laughable Japanese stuff that used to be in the resident evil games...

I find the map very hard to read and the quest diary could have been better ....

Worth picking up cheap but this is not worth full price.......