Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 16+ | UK RRP £44.99 | Region PAL | Developer TopWare Interactive | Publisher SouthPeak Games
It almost seems humourous now that we were fooled into thinking that Two Worlds II legitimately had the potential to wash away the horrid memories of its predecessor. We were deceived like a wizard's spell by the positive write-ups of unfinished builds, eye candy screenshots showing off the lush visuals, and a couple of stray reviews from some clearly deluded writers who somehow found this game to be a source of great enjoyment, rather than an abhorrently awful adventure cut from the acerbic loins of every generic fantasy RPG in existence.
Two Worlds II is packed full of content and will indeed keep you busy with its stringent difficulty, but if you're wondering whether or not you should just continue playing within the five-year-old world of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion until November comes around and Skyrim arrives, then you'd be absolutely right in doing so. The minor plus points of this game are outweighed by the bad on a scale that's more epic than a Lord of the Rings septology. I'm serious.
The tired story of swords, sorcery and big-breasted elves is rarely involving and features a laughably macho player character who sounds like a Jack Bauer/Clint Eastwood hybrid right after downing a cocktail of broken glass, gravel and crude oil. The performances from the entire voice cast in general are terrible and the script leaves a lot to be desired. Truly abominable stuff.
If the developers spent half as much time as they did beautifying the visuals on writing the game, creating mechanics that actually seem logical, and forking out on actors who wouldn't look out of place in Mega Piranha 14, then maybe we'd have something less bankrupt than how Two Worlds II turned out. But alas we don't. It's not so much an epic adventure of heroes and villains on a magical backdrop as it is an epic fail.
• Two Worlds II is also available on the Xbox 360 and PC and in a Royal Edition (£69.99) which covers all three systems. This strictly limited version only available at GAME includes an exclusive game box with tray; map of Antaloor; hardcover artbook; playing cards; a bonus disc; hand-painted 27cm Cassara figurine; plus the following in-game bonus exclusives: an armour set, Elexorien, map and quest, all available as downloadable content.