Aziraal, the god of war and leader of the Orcs, lays entombed, and the Relic is the key to opening his tomb. Only a member of your family is capable of performing the ritual. Your only other surviving relative, your sister, has refused to comply with the wishes of Reist, her captor, because the resurrection of Aziraal will lead to the holy crusade of the Orcs. Now, it is up to you to collect The Relic and save your sister. However, your destiny is ultimately your choice. In the end, only one of the Two Worlds will remain.

Reality Pump and Southpeak Games have just unleashed Two Worlds, an RPG with over 100 hours of single-player questing, two Xbox Live compatible game types, and support for up to eight players on Xbox Live. Quest with friends in online co-op, have team battles, or team monster hunts. Each game type allows you to create a unique character, enabling you to try different variants of character types and skills. Online matches are arena-based levels with boundaries in which you can play PvP (death match) or RPG modes. The solo player campaign offers a much bigger arena to roam with more quests and capabilities. Essentially, all of the online levels are pieced together like a puzzle, from the royal capital of Cathalon to the Northern townships of Tharbakin and Tarmalin, the Grom infested city of Gor Gommar, and the barren desert of Drak'ar.

The campaign's quest involves finding and saving your sister, along with the opportunity to save or destroy the world. Along your way, you have a freedom of choice unseen in any other RPG. The non-linear story line creates a world around you which comes to life and reacts to every choice you make. Attack or rob a civilian, and expect consequences for your actions. Strike up a conversation with town's people to obtain information to further your quest, or to receive new quests which you may choose to accept or reject, but beware of the decisions you heed for they will affect the outcome of the game. Completing quests gains you experience points-which levels are dependent upon-as well as reputation of the various guilds in the game. Reputation with the guilds in the game allows access to additional quests and valuable insider information required to rescuing your sister.

Two Worlds has much more to offer than a typical questing RPG. Open and unlimited character development allows players to experiment with various abilities and skills, both passive and active. At the beginning of the game, skills are limited, but with time there is opportunity to learn new skills or abilities including: Dual wielding, lock picking, horseback riding, magic abilities (fire, earth, water, air, and necromancy), and many more. There are passive skills that can be utilized automatically during game play, randomly based on probability and level of skill.

However, there are active skills such as sword break or disarming arrow which must be equipped and initiated by the player, sometimes abiding by skill restrictions. Each gained player level awards five parameter points and one skill point which are to be applied to player parameters and skills. Player parameters consist of vitality, strength, dexterity, and willpower. Parameters affect the various traits of your character such as health, mana (magic source), and strength and dexterity affect the ability to use weapons or wear armor which require higher parameters. Skill points can be assigned to increase a skills effectiveness or probability.

As magic skill levels are increased, it unlocks the ability to use higher circle level magic spells. Each spell you possess is obtained through an arcane card and has a designated circle level, such as First or Third Circle spells. The higher the level of spell, the more powerful the spell can be. Additionally, spell boosters can be assigned to increase spell effectiveness, duration, or to save mana usage. Be careful in assigning skill points, as they can't be reassigned. There is one way to have a second chance of assigning your skills through regression, but it may cost you a pretty penny; that all depends on how far you actually are in the game.

Stacking is a new concept which effectively enables the player to make any weapon or item as effective as the next. Some weapons or armor by default are stronger or more effective, but stacking allows the player the ability to take two items of the same, for example, a Throglins Help (single-handed axe) and combine it with another Throglins Help. This process increases the amount of damage the weapon now produces. Each time an item is stacked, it will continue to grow in power. Additionally, gems can be applied to weapons to increase their damage. Combing a lightning or cold gem to a weapon adds the relative type of damage to the weapon. However, once this has been done, only two weapons which share a similar damage type can be combined. Two Throglins Helps with cold damage could be combined, but one with fire and one with cold damage could not be combined. Furthermore, the stacking process may be applied to weapons or armor allowing the player to build their arsenal of items according to their desire. The weapons and armor sets available are extraordinary. Axes, swords, sticks, clubs, knives, staffs, shields, traps, bombs, and bows and arrows are just a few of the items from the armory. Each piece of armor such as the helmet, gloves, chest plate, pants, and boots are also upgradable and stackable allowing you to change the appearance and build up the defenses of your character. Buy, trade, and steal from towns or claim inventory items from defeated enemies: weapons, armor, arcane cards, and other inventory. Mounted combat further enriches the game play as various types of mounted creatures are available for use, but is only available in the solo player campaign. Mounts include horses, tamed lizards, and other beasts.

Graphically, even in standard definition, Two Worlds looks amazing. Beautifully rendered terrains featuring ultra sharp texturing and stunning design emboss the game. Graphics combined with a sophisticated weather system and hyper-realistic physics create a world that comes to life. On the tree trunks and blades of grass can be seen the shade from trees that shake in the wind and exhibit detail of each individual leaf. Lightning strikes are absolutely breathtaking. Seamless indoor/outdoor environments create a more realistic environment.

Two Worlds has extraordinary features and a uniqueness that can appeal to all gamers. The ability to team up online with support for up to eight players via Xbox Live was a revolutionary concept for console RPGs outside of MMOs, but did not quite deliver the enjoyment expected; repetitive questing and limited boundaries contributed to this. Not being able to use an online character in the solo player campaign or vice-a-versa was a little disappointing considering the time required to level up a character. However, it wouldn't be quite fair if I brought my level 50 fire mage into a PvP battle against a level five necromancy; or begin the campaign as a level 50 for that matter.

Overall, Reality Pumps and SouthPeak Games' have put together a feature packed and enjoyable title guaranteed to keep you entertained for hours on end. Two Worlds is not going to be a genre defining title, but deserves a spot on the shelf for any true fan of RPGs.

Two Worlds has been rated (M) Mature by the ESRB and may not be suitable for younger audiences due to: Blood and Gore, Violence.

Nov 16, 2007 | 7 comments
Robert Rasco