Two Worlds [X360]

A bandit stole my pants. When wandering into one of the numerous bandit camps spread throughout the massive forest in Two Worlds, our hero is confronted by the bandit leader. Since no reputation has been earned with such scoundrels, the bandit leader demands payment for intruding on the camp. Having just begun the adventure, our intrepid hero is a little low on cash. No worry, the bandit leader says, just hand over your pants. This is the kind of madness gamers can expect when Two Worlds ships for PC and Xbox 360 on June 26.

This is an example of one small incident in a very large game world. How big is Two Worlds? So big we tapped three of IGN's best to examine TopWare Interactive's RPG on both PC and Xbox 360.

---

Hil Looks at Combat and Customization

---

A major component for success in any open-world RPG is the combat system. Two Worlds uses a straightforward combat system split between melee attacks, ranged attacks and spellcasting. After equipping your weapon of choice, you can map the attack command and any spells to a World of Warcraft-like tool bar on PC or the X, Y and B buttons on 360.

The attacks are simple button mashing, but the animations and patterns are unique for each type of weapon so slashing a cyclops with a sword looks different than bashing a wolf with a club. Combat on both PC and 360 is still a little rough, despite being just two months from release. Though it is always fun to hack and slash against half-dressed bandits (apparently Two Worlds' fashion trend is strapping, topless summer wear), it can feel a bit chaotic at times as there's no lock-on for melee combat and the camera is still being fine-tuned. All defensive moves are automatic and based on invisible dice rolls, so your only concern during combat is swinging like a madman.

Spells are more forgiving and offer some nice visual effects that may sway many to focus on wizardry over sword-wielding. Since magic automatically locks onto the target you're facing, it feels a little more grounded and refined than melee combat at the moment. Two Worlds features 100 different spells, each of which can have up to three modifiers. The vast majority of spells need to be learned from NPCs in the game world or otherwise discovered. This should help push gamers to explore every nook and cranny of Two Worlds. And thanks to the modification abilities and a very loose skill tree, you can easily craft a player to fit your style.

You can also modify and stack weapons for even greater customization. Anyone who has played an RPG has likely found considerable redundancy in the number of identical items they come across throughout the course of play. Two Worlds solves this issue by allowing you to stack the same weapon to bolster its power. Let's say you slash open a bandit who has the same long sword you wield. Rather than lug another sword in your inventory, you can stack the fallen enemy's long sword on your own, giving a slight boost to your sword. There's no stacking limit (and this works for armor as well), so you can conceivably build the power of a club to mighty proportions. You may even find yourself seeking out enemies with the same shield or pants and killing them just for the stacking bonus.

Items can also be upgraded with a variety of Oblivion-like ingredients found in Two Worlds. Using the alchemy pot on the right side of the equipment screen, you can make insane combinations. Add a crackle of lightning to your sword or create the most powerful pair of venomous gauntlets ever seen. There is one catch, however. Powering up an item increases its requirements, meaning that while you can easily make an uber-sword, you may not be able to wield it for another 10 hours of gameplay.

One cool discovery I came across was the ever-handy trap. You can buy a standard steel bear trap for fairly cheap from a merchant. Combine some venom from a snake and perhaps the deadly properties of a boar tusk and you have a potent weapon. Lay down a trap and then start a fight with some jerk guard who would normally cream you. When he charges, back up so that he runs into the trap. While he struggles to pull himself free of the poisonous contraption, you can lay some serious smack down. Now imagine entering a city and laying down a number of dangerous traps and starting a ruckus. A good time can be had by any nefarious adventurer with a little imagination.

With a few hours of play under our belts, it's clear that gamers have the chance to craft their own unique character with the numerous options offered in Two Worlds. By far the inventory and customization options were the most exciting part of our long play session with Two Worlds.

---

Erik Explores the World

---

Like any game of this nature, getting lost is half of the fun. We spent a good hour just running around exploring before we realized we had only seen a tiny portion of the whole world. We began in a forested area that was populated primarily by rabbits, wolves, bears, snakes, and Groms (little Troll-like characters). The bears kicked our ass so quickly it was laughable. Rabbits were more our cup of tea, so we spent a few minutes hunting them down and wiping the furry critters from the face of the earth after one thought it a good idea to attack us. And you can wipe them out. According to the PR rep for Two Worlds, enemies don't respawn and are not leveled to your character. That means if you manage to wipe out all of the bunnies, you won't find any more. That also means that you may run into enemies that you're simply no match for early in the game, like our bears.

Perhaps the best part about the Two Worlds style is the enemy design. The humans look a bit blocky and ugly, but the animals and creatures have a nice look to them. Once we had our fill with some lower level creatures, we loaded up a few saves that took us around the world on a tour of the different enemies we'd find. If you've watched the trailer by now, you know there are dragons in the game. The one we saw was a desert dweller; though we've been assured there are many types to find. Equally impressive as the dragon were the ghost wolves, stone golems, and Cyclops enemies. In just a couple of hours of playing, we saw a great variety of cool looking foes.