Two Worlds II

“Laughable.” “Frustrating.” “Hokey.” The creators of action-RPG Two Worlds have heard it all, and then some.

“We realize we made mistakes with the first game,” admits Bert Jennings, producer at TopWare Interactive. And we’d agree: While it earned a cult following, Two Worlds had plenty of issues, ranging from an unbearable framerate to dreadful dialogue, from maddeningly difficult gameplay to an overall density that turned away casual gamers.

After viewing an early version of Two Worlds II, however, we suspect this sequel should wash away much of the bad taste its 2007 predecessor may have left in your golden goblet. Hey, everyone deserves a second chance, right?

For starters, Two Worlds II was built from the ground up to run on Xbox 360, unlike the first game, which TopWave admits was both a PC port and their first foray into Xbox development. And you can tell — character movements are much smoother and the environments richly detailed.

In a setting resembling something between the Middle Ages and Mordor, the role-playing plot centers on your customizable hero-character (who returns from the original some months later) trying to save his sister from the grasp of the Dark Lord Gandohar — who has only grown in power since the first installment.

As the sequel opens, our as-yet-unnamed hero races through a castle and dungeon, following a scantily clad female Orc ninja (or some approximation thereof) who urges you: “Keep your eyes off my ass.” While we can’t comment on said Orc ass, Two Worlds II has a ton of sharp details, from three-dimensional stonewalls to a polished dynamic-lighting system that responds realistically when lightning flashes from the castle’s dark windows.

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