Two Worlds II
What Is It: A 2011 high fantasy action-RPG set in the world of Antaloor. Just like in the first Two Worlds, you play a hero destined to save the world from the evil wizard Gandohar and your kidnapped sister. Yeah, the plot is pretty bare bones, especially when compared to something like Dragon Age or The Witcher, but it does have some bits of humor sprinkled in. Just hope you don’t mind that your character basically sounds like he’s spent half his life smoking in the Church of the Dark Lord with special cigars fresh from the 52nd Circle of Hell.
Why You Should Play It: Two Worlds II isn’t exactly refined like the Witcher games are. But the sequel really does a good job of addressing a lot of criticisms with the original, starting with the combat. It’s been reworked to be less “wave your hand around halfheartedly” and more “take that, and that, and some of this! Ha-HA!” It flows quite nicely and intuitively, and gains a little something when you’ve got some better weapons in your hands. There’s also an absurd amount of customization; you can create your own spells and craft weapons, armor, and potions for you to use in battle. There’s certainly plenty to do, and it’s quite easy to lose yourself in this grand adventure. You certainly won’t be short on things to do with at least 70 hours of gameplay and plenty of quests for you to tackle. Leveling up your character will quickly become addictive, and you’ll be searching for loot and taking up treasure hunting to build up your character any way you can. Two Worlds II is flawed, yes, and it does have an odd title, but underneath those flaws is a solid action-RPG that has its own special charm and will hopefully invite you in with open arms. Just be sure to expect some rough patches now and again.