Two Worlds
Preview
Two for the price of one
by Spotted
previewed on PC
Mastering the magic
Magic in Role Playing Games... You can always either do this, that or the other magic spell, but you are always confined to the creativity of the game's developers. But what would happen if you could create your own spells? In Two Worlds, developed by Reality Pump (known for their ?Earth? series of games) and published by TopWare Interactive, you can do just that. Intrigued? So were we. Read on and I will explain how it works.
Aziraal
Thousands of years ago, an epic war raged across the world and brought it to the brink of destruction. It ended when Aziraal, the god of war, was finally slain after centuries of warfare. His remains were buried in a location that has remained hidden to the mortal races that still inhabit this world. Aziraal?s minions, the equally warlike Orcs, could not continue without their leader and were forced to withdraw, causing an uneasy peace between all parties involved. This peace was not to last forever and the gamer enters the world just after the ever curious Dwarves unearth an ancient temple, dedicated to some unnamed deity. Could this discovery lead to the secret location of the tomb of Aziraal?
The game's story is completely non-linear and the story moulds itself around your decisions within the game. Additionally, Two Worlds has multiple paths to reach your goals which means that no two games will be alike. Your decisions influence your ability to go a certain path but do not necessarily close it off. For instance, you may join a guild to obtain certain skills. Then you discover that aligning yourself to another guild will give you benefits you require to further your quests and you will have to betray your existing guild in order to join. Will you do so, or try to find another path? These decisions are your choice alone. The decisions you make will lead to all kinds of possible endings, which there are reputedly over 200 of. With so many different endings, you are likely to end up with a different ?storyline? every time you play.
Card based
Ah but I promised to explain how you can create your own spells didn?t I? The vehicle for creating your own spells is the game's card-based nature, perhaps somewhat similar to Magic: The Gathering. Cards can be acquired by finding them in quests, stealing them or purchasing them. They will bring many offensive and defensive bonuses and are completely stackable. By stacking cards, you can add multipliers to each card you ?play?, giving you an opportunity to create unique spells and develop your own style.
The combat system is incredibly versatile. It will involve everything from hand-to-hand fighting to sword fighting and martial arts. The easy things like dodging and parrying are all done automatically; leaving you to do all the complicated things like casting spells and carrying out special attacks. The card system allows a bewildering 400 different spell possibilities which is pretty much the same as ?limitless? from my point of view. A choice of traps is also available, further deepening gameplay and making the game even more immersive.
