Two worlds 2 review of gambling addiction. Two worlds ii: reviews. The Gentleman and the Monsters

2007 was a successful year for the Polish gaming industry. But we will not talk about the adventures of the white-haired Witcher from Rivia (we will talk about him next spring), but about a more modest project - a role-playing game "Two Worlds 2". The first part received ... not very good reviews from the world press, while the second promised to be rehabilitated. The global release of this game is scheduled for January 2011, although we already had it in stores on November 9, 2010. Reality Pump chose a rather "dangerous" time for release "Two Worlds"- on the one hand, it presses, and on the other, it is post-nuclear, and most importantly, very reckless.

One of the disadvantages of the plot is its initial "unfriendliness" to the players - it is very difficult to understand "what, where, when" at first. This is probably why it develops very slowly, giving the players time. The main character and his sister were imprisoned in the dungeon of the castle. The hero's sister is under the influence of a powerful spell of the main villain. It would seem that that's all, the end ... But an unexpected turn of events happened - the orcs, sworn enemies up to this point, release the main character from imprisonment and teleport to their island, on which we get acquainted with the main aspects of the game and with our mission - to free sister, while saving the whole world. Trite ... The plot itself, unfortunately, is linear and divided into clear stages. Quests are simple, like: "go / fetch / kill."

As in, before starting new game we can change the appearance of our character - there are not many settings, but more is needed. Also in the game there are "additional" tasks. The hero is trying in every possible way to build relationships with various characters, but this does not save the game, or rather, the game itself is not addictive enough to do it diligently ...

The combat system is typical for games of this genre. We can diligently swing the sword, chopping everything and everyone in a row, shoot accurately from a bow, or throw magic spells. Accordingly, there are three ways to develop the character's skills - warrior, archer, mage. Although, often, main character is a universal soldier. The system of selling/purchasing/improving various hazardous junk is similar to the series "Gothic". But it was not without zest - for example, you can disassemble unnecessary weapons, since the capacity of the inventory is limited.

One of the main trump cards of the game is the graphic component. Landscapes, in a word, are impressive, and the imaginary openness of the game world makes the game even more “accessible”.

Special attention should be paid to the game setting. The videos themselves are made on high level, but the dialogues simply “kill” with their unoriginality. Russian localization is surprisingly good - you can hear a lot of "familiar" voices in the game.

In the end, the feeling of deja vu does not let go until the very end. Something similar we have already seen and see in the games of the series "Gothic". There are too many borrowings of "foreign" ideas. Definitely, the second part came out better than the first. But, alas, it is still far from ideal. That's why, "Two Worlds 2"- a game that is worth playing, especially during the period of the so-called "calm" - "vacation" of developers, but no more than once.

Graphic arts: 4.5
Gameplay: 3.5
Sound and music: 4.0
Plot: 3.0

Publisher TopWare Interactive

Developer Reality Pump Studios

Better than Arcania

After the disappointment from the "fourth Gothic", many fans were waiting for a good RPG project, which became for many. I will not argue that the game is "not chic", but I will not argue this either. I haven't made up my mind about this game yet. It has many pros and cons that outweigh those cons.

Remembering that Two worlds of 2007, from which I wanted to move a kilometer away because of its curvature and dampness, I want to say one thing: Reality Pump realized their mistakes and made a very good game.

Steppes, orcs and termites

The events of the game begin in the castle of the ruler of Gandohar, where the main character and his sister are being held captive. The villain is trying to extract incredibly dangerous powers from our native blood and destroy the world. But it was not there! We are assisted by a detachment of orcs. Together with them we leave the castle in order to get to the mysterious girl - the prophet.

It is from her that we learn that we are the chosen one and must save this world. This is where the training ends, and together with the departure of the journey, a truly serious game starts.

Here before us opens a huge world with dozens of villages and several cities. All this is quite similar to many current RPGs, but only here you can find a truly living world ... Day turns into night, residents go to sleep, people leave the streets. AI is very advanced: at the sight of a naked weapon, some become nervous. But there are also disadvantages, especially in the behavior of animals and enemies. By galloping past a monkey on horseback and eventually reaching our destination a mile away, we can get hit in the nose by an animal that has caught up with us. As I said, one of the modes of transport is a horse.

I would like to point out this in particular. The horse ride itself is not even done very badly: firstly, we can control the speed of the horse by spurring it, secondly, if we accelerate strongly, we will fly off the horse, and thirdly, the animation of the horse is worked out well. In addition to the horse, we have at our disposal ships for traveling between islands (or continents?) and portals.

Your own blacksmith

Now we don't have to run to the blacksmiths every time our inventory fills up. Almost every item, be it an ax or a shirt, can be disassembled into several components, with the help of the obtained ingredients we can improve the item, again without leaving the inventory. Here you can read the literature obtained from all sorts of lockers. There is sometimes a lot of text, but it is interesting to read, especially if what you read will help you complete the quest. When switching to another tab, potions will be available to us. This skill can be used to craft a potion or a bomb.

Now, for killing monsters and completing tasks, we will be given experience. As we level up, skill and attribute points will be available to us. There are only four characteristics: endurance, strength, accuracy and willpower. If you want a magician - pump in willpower, an archer - accuracy, strength for a warrior, and endurance for more life. There are much more skills and it makes no sense to pump everything in, especially since most of them open only after studying the book we need. In addition to class skills, points can be allocated to special skills, such as "restoration of life" and "theft".

Of course, you can ask why do multiplayer if the company is not really completed, but there are a number of reasons for this, and in this matter I will take the side of the developers, because the multiplayer is interesting. Well, the first is that in the network mode you can create a new character, choose his race, gender (which you can’t do in the single-player version of the game) and customize the appearance. "Duel" - the battle of two players with each other. "Duel" - the battle of the detachment with the detachment. "Adventure" - a company of seven chapters for several players! "Hunting for crystals" - a competition of teams to collect crystals. But in addition to crystals, there are also traps that destroy nearby crystals. A kind of "Sapper", so to speak. And "Village" is an economic and strategic simulator.

upside down world

In the end, I want to say that compared to the first part, the game has made a big leap forward. It's even hard to believe that she's on the same engine of the first part. Reality Pump really improved the engine, there were beautiful shadows, rolling trees, great monsters and animals Well-developed animation, especially in cutscenes: nothing twitches, the camera stays still and does not show the hero's face all the time.

I'm not alone

In addition to the single-player mode, the game also has an online mode. Here we will meet five full-fledged and well-crafted modes.

The second part has risen to a higher level, but still far from ideal. I really hope that the developers, without lowering their enthusiasm, will bring the matter to the end. And also from now on they will be more attentive in creating games.

With development Two Worlds 2 tied interesting story. Immediately after the release of the first part, the developers began to make an addon called The Temptation. After some time, RealityPump Studios announced that the game turned out to be too ambitious and grew into a full-fledged sequel. At all the exhibitions, the game really seemed like a huge and elaborate role-playing game. The developers promised us countless non-linear quests, correct physics of the behavior of objects around the player, a huge world with an area of ​​60 square meters. km (however, as it turned out, only 40% of them turned out to be land), several endings, there were even hints of acrobatics a la Assassin's Creed. Unfortunately, some promises remained promises, but in general RealityPump Studios completed all the tasks that they set for themselves.

The game begins with the escape of the protagonist from the dungeon (hello Oblivion!). Thanks to the orcs (who suddenly decided to help us), we get out to freedom. Already here the game shows its main advantages and disadvantages. If we talk about the bad side of the game, then, even judging by the first video, it is noticeable that the animation and character models are made at the level of a game about five years ago. Facial expressions as such are practically absent, and the dialogues between the characters are similar to puppet show. If we talk about the gameplay, then not everything went smoothly here either - in the learning process, the game introduces us to the controls, and here it becomes noticeable that its developers have sharpened it under the consoles. Get ready for the fact that up to three actions can be hung on one button here (depending on the situation). Not too convenient. But on the gamepad, the player begins to feel at home. So if you have not yet purchased this miracle of civilization (the best option is to use the joystick from Xbox), then now is the time. But even if you connect a gamepad to your computer, you will still be annoyed at some points until the end of the game. For example, interaction with objects or living beings can bring you to a nervous tick: before getting on a horse, the main character can jump near it for half an hour (after all, the jump action is also responsible for the interaction key), but in no case will he sit on the saddle.

As part of the role-playing system, the developers decided not to discover America, but took and almost completely copied it from the best games in their genre. In pumping your character, no one limits you in any way: do you want to become a battle mage who will throw fireballs at a distance, and in close combat will meet enemies with a huge ax? Please! Or maybe you like to act silently and kill enemies from behind? And it's possible. No one will force you to upgrade the skills of one class (although at the time the game was released it was noticeably harder to play as an archer), which, of course, pleases. But if you suddenly made a mistake, skills can be reset for certain fee(and quite a big one).

Speaking of money. AT Two Worlds 2 the player is given a lot of opportunities to earn extra money and spend cash. Dice games (random rolls and a kind of poker), animal hunting (here archers will feel at home) and the subsequent production of potions from the extracted trophies. Warriors can be recommended to exterminate enemies and then seize weapons from corpses (which naturally can then be sold), and thieves to earn extra money by stealing goods from merchants.

Having obtained the initial capital and purchased equipment, you can go on a trip. The main company of the game takes about 12 hours. Add to that additional quests(which are not only non-linear, but also in duration can give odds to some of the main ones), and you will get a result of about 18 hours. In addition to quests, the developers have come up with a lot of entertainment. Here, for example, there are guilds (only three + two unofficial ones), Live nature and fauna (unique for each island), with the possibility, as mentioned above, of hunting for animals, horse racing and even the analogue of Guitar Hero (with a flute and violin in the title role!) was not forgotten.

Combat system more reminiscent of Gothic 3, that is, no tactics, but calling the enemy to his death. But this only happens when you are fighting the enemy one on one. If you are surrounded by several enemies, then you will already have to wriggle out and use all your combat skills. With the magic system, everything is much more interesting. There are five schools: magic of water, earth, fire, air and necromancy. Each school has cards that can be mixed with action cards (summon, defense, damage, charge, enchantment, etc.). Considering that each school has at least three cards, you can imagine how many combinations can be made. Let's give a clear example: if you "mix" a necromancy card with a summon card, then at the output you will get the "Summon Skeleton" spell. No one limits your choice: the game, on the contrary, encourages experimentation.

It is worth mentioning the graphics, which are really successful. If everything was successful with the characters, to put it mildly, not very well, then with the landscapes everything is exactly the opposite. Looking at all these trees and grass (a merit of the GRACE engine, which, by the way, was developed from scratch), you can completely die from an enemy ax right in the middle of the field.

The game world of the game is quite large and it would be simply stupid to explore it on your own two feet. In addition to their own legs, horses, boats and a teleport can be used as transport. But when the author of these lines rode only a hundred meters on a horse, the desire to continue riding mysteriously disappeared. Imagine: in order to ride a horse at the same speed, you need to constantly monitor the scale and periodically press the right mouse button. After that, one wonders if the Poles have heard of Game Mount& Blade, where managing a four-legged friend is a pleasure. Well, the need for a boat immediately disappears when you open the map: there is a convenient teleportation system for moving between the islands, and only a few small islands do not have it, to get to them you need to buy a ship, and, tormented by an idiotic wind control system, find out, that there is really nothing interesting there. But the authors did the other islands with diligence, but even here the truth was not without copy-paste: if the first island with the capital Hatmandor is unique, then the subsequent ones were clearly not invented by the heads of RealityPump Studios themselves. The island with the main city of New Ashos, for example, resembles every second Korean MMORPG (Perfect World for example), and the center of the third island directly copies with its swamps and Slavic mythology.

But despite the shortcomings (a few by the way) Two Worlds 2 copes with the main task: to make the player plunge headlong into this world and keep us until the end of the game. The plot, though unoriginal (a similar story can be seen in any fantasy universe), is executed at a high level: prescribed characters (unfortunately, this only applies to NPC side quests) and all the attributes of an expensive scenario (a hint of romance, light humor, betrayal) the game is in place, and the role-playing system is quite deep and will require you a huge amount of time to learn all the skills. By the way, if you don’t have time to upgrade your character before the end of the games, it doesn’t matter, at the end of the main line of tasks you will have the opportunity to go through unfinished additional tasks and catch up, and opportunities network game with considerable modes, will prolong the pleasure of a single company.

Translation. Localization from 1C it turned out to be extremely terrible (however, is it a rarity?) - the voices are chosen poorly, and the actors do not differ in skillful play. However, poor localization of excellent foreign RPGs is becoming a tradition for us: first there was Dragon Age from Snowball, now here's Two Worlds 2. Translation score - 3.0

• Gameplay - 9.0
• Graphics - 8.5
• Sound and music - 7.5
• Plot - 7.5
• Keyboard control - 7.5, with a gamepad - 9.0
• Optimization - 9.0
• Score — 8.5

Reality Pump Studios- developers who, since 2007, have established themselves as developers of second-rate raw materials, or rather, games. Two worlds- their first project in RPG genre(before that they worked in the field of RTS), in fact it turned out to be a gray mouse, which not only does not represent the classic Royal Play Game and takes all the known developments from the series Gothic, but also delivers them in the worst possible way. Neither good story, there was no place for competent and balanced gameplay in it. So it turns out one of the worst parodies of the achievements of older brothers in the genre, who have every right to grin maliciously after them. But less than half a year has passed, and the developers have already sent us the first news about the development of a sequel, originally planned as an add-on to Two worlds, where they promised to fix all the shortcomings and buggies: the engine, gameplay, balance, etc.

The first thing that catches your eye when you start the game is a solid character animation - you can immediately see that the developers did not stint on pixels and, finally, were able to bring the graphics to new level. If you remember, in the first part, all the characters were angular freaks, bashfully looking at us from the screens. But, either they tried for consoles, or the developers really tortured their conscience, looking at their big brothers from CD Project Red . Then, if you remember the times of the first part - the only thing that could be praised for it - these are beautiful landscapes and the very study of the surrounding world. AT Two Worlds 2 the surrounding reality is no less beautiful, in addition, from the forests and colorful flower meadows of the first part, we are transferred to the open spaces of the shroud, where rhinos and spotted leopards rule, handsome baboons throw stones at random passers-by who wandered here stupidly, and giant ants strive to sting them on the sly . Then we are sent straight to the putrid swamps, where the undead lie in wait for us at every turn.

Recalling the picturesqueness of the game, we can mention that horse riding complements it, which is now given much less attention, because it has become really convenient - without a ton of horse racing skills and oak battles on horseback, and most importantly - without stupid glitches like sticking to a wall or getting stuck horses on the most level ground. However, as the original has already shown, the game will not hold on to beauty alone.

A number of changes can be noted in the visual presentation of the game. In the very first commercials, we are given the presence of today's fashionable, so to speak, Hollywood. Huge grotesque orc - more like characters Gears of War than on a standard green slut - he shows his art of fighting in a classic slomo, deftly jumping over Sordagon and skillfully parrying all his blows, while twisting such somersaults that even a real stuntman could not dream of. And the camera, meanwhile, constantly snatches the most favorable angle. Also, the game is honored not only by the newfangled presentation, but also by the fact that the videos are made on the game engine. Of course, today this is not such an achievement, but for themselves Reality Pump, this is a clear leap forward, which already clearly shows the increased level of professionalism of the team itself. Directing is top notch.

But what exactly can not be praised for Two Worlds 2(apart from the tautology in its title), this is for the combat system, which, to put it mildly, becomes boring in just an hour of playing. You can’t even dream of any combo attacks - any fight with swords, axes, maces soon comes down to stupidly calling opponents to death. True, calling out in a fight with swords can dramatically change to calling out an enemy with some kind of fireball, so the staff will also pass for a long-range weapon - there is no time to cast, so often there is a desire to press the “R” button, cherished for all shooters. During the game, we specifically made this button hot for using the magic energy replenishment potion, so the similarity becomes downright colossal. But this, again, will not fix the fact that the developers did not care about the variety, at least the number of combo attacks.

In addition to hand-to-hand combat, a stealth system was also shoved into the game, it was worked out perfectly, even a separate skill branch was made. And here comes the problem of game design. The problem is that stealth can only be used when the developers allow it. That is, if the mob has its back to you, then it immediately hints that it is time to use stealth, but if the NPC looks, for example, somewhere to the left, then no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to get close to him unnoticed . Regarding other skills, we can say that they are classic all the time, but there are flaws here too. For example, there are monsters in the game that are vulnerable to magic, but do not react to physical damage in any way (or vice versa). The question is being formed - what if you previously pumped all the points into the intellect (or vice versa)? Answer: no way. That is, from the very beginning, you need to pump a universal hero who is strong in both magic and melee. And for those who like to create only a magician or a professional in a fistfight out of their character, advice is to look for another game.

***

Reality Pump Studios took a small step for gaming industry, but a big step for the studio itself. Work on the mistakes of the original is clearly done well. The balance has been leveled, the animation is on top, the screensavers are eager to bring Hollywood to its knees, but still the game still needs a lot to reach the same heights as its brothers in the shop. We, in turn, wish the developers only the best and hope that in their next project, they will present not only work on bugs, but also a winged fantasy that will drag gamers into the game head over heels.

It is difficult to say what exactly let Ivan Nikolaevich down - whether the pictorial power of his talent or complete unfamiliarity with the issue on which he was going to write - but Jesus in his image turned out to be, well, completely alive, although not an attractive character.

M. A. Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

At one time, the adventures of the brave mercenary Insert-your-name in Antalore were remembered by the players for their beautiful picture for their time, good design and elaboration of the surrounding world. And also - a mind-boggling number of bugs of all kinds, terribly delivered dialogues and the complete absence of anything resembling balance. However, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. It's no joke, even in our world almost three years have passed, and in Two worlds, esteem, all five.

Prince of Antalor

There are really a lot of changes in Antalore. However, the brave mercenary Insert-your-name could not see this. In the end, he spent all this time not somewhere in the resort, but in the dungeons under the castle of Emperor Gandohar.

History reference: those who played the first part will undoubtedly remember that Gandohar was the name of a sorcerer with an innate talent for intrigue, but mediocre magical talents. For the first part of The Two Worlds, he nurtured the insidious plans to revive the ancient fire god Aziraal. The receptacle for the aforementioned deity was to be the body of the protagonist's sister, Kira, which did not suit the hero himself.

Despite the fact that there were two endings in The Two Worlds, the beginning of the second part has exactly one, bad. Gandohar's plans were successfully implemented. The former sorcerer proclaimed himself emperor and settled comfortably on the throne in the capital city of Hatmandor. Aziraal settled down in Kira's body no less comfortably, and our hero naturally landed in the zindan.

The orc scout manages to subtly deflect the protagonist's advances over and over again.

Imperial armor is slightly reminiscent of the robe of the Overlord from overlord games.

But the successes of the unfortunate ruler ended there. The wayward deity flatly refused to cooperate and share its power with some miserable mortal and tried to get out of control with a simple and understandable goal - to burn the whole of Antalor to such and such a grandmother. Headache of the emperor turned into bodily pain of the protagonist, since it was from him that the sorcerer began to pump strength to keep Aziraal in the body of Kira.

From the forced role of a magic battery, the former mercenary is saved from nowhere by a Sonder-team ... orcs! The green guys famously crack down on the guards and help the hero escape - in exchange for the latter's active participation in the overthrow of the self-proclaimed emperor. Our protege has nowhere to go - where Gandohar, there is Kira, and the main character does not intend to leave his sister in captivity, and even obsessed with the ancient god. Thus begins the new adventures of the old protagonist.

Talented in everything

If Khalkhin was not inhabited by horse breeders, it would have turned out to be a good tourist town.

The noble Sire is already looking down on you. And this is just the beginning of the journey.

For five years, the brave mercenary Insert-your-name has changed beyond recognition in the most literal sense. The dungeon of Gandohar worked better than any beauty salon - the hero became younger and prettier, his movements became much smoother, his face new stage detail, and the hair stopped looking like wood shavings. And yet, well, he doesn’t at all resemble the citizen for whom we played in the first part.

It is interesting: those to whom this citizen was dear for some reason may be a little upset, because there is no question of any import of the hero here. But this is more than offset by the new character editor, which has become a little more difficult to use, but gives out quite sane faces.

Sitting in dungeons for a long time and a complete lack of training did their job - a great fighter (a sharp shooter, a wise magician, or who are you?) again slid down to the level of a green beginner who at first could not lift either a heavy sword or pull a bowstring. But soon he will learn how to sneak up on enemies and cut their throats, disassemble and improve weapons and armor, make long spells with a bunch of effects from blanks, brew all kinds of potions ... In general, he will learn a lot. All this is achieved by learning and improving the relevant skills.

It is interesting: and the hero can also play musical instruments - from the drum to the guitar. You don’t need to learn any skills, you only need notes and the instrument itself. Playing Music is a mini-game similar to a heavily simplified Guitar Hero. Coins from passers-by are put for well-played songs.

The capital city of Hatmandor. Finally got there.

Antalor pop stars give a concert in the suburbs of Hatmandor.

In contrast to the first part, where there were only one or two useful abilities and counted, here most of the skills are very out of place. There are no clearly defined classes in the game, each character can learn the skills of any of the six groups - close combat, small arms, magic, theft, handicraft and general physical training. However, creating a jack-of-all-trades will not allow a maximum skill level cap based on the physical characteristics of the character. Low accuracy will put an end to attempts to develop shooting talents, and a weak-willed character will not be either a magician or an alchemist.

Fortunately, the developers abandoned the old crafting system - the hero stopped mysteriously "gluing" two identical weapons into a third, more powerful one. Instead, he can disassemble the weapon into its components: pieces of iron separately, pieces of wood separately, leather into one pile, rags into another, and so on. All of these recyclables can be used to upgrade other items.

This is strange: how the hero gets a sharper sword from a sword, a stick and six pieces of scrap metal is a mystery. However, compared to what it was before, this is an undeniable progress.

A similar pattern is observed with spells and alchemy. To compose an enchantment, you need a magical amulet, in which you can place from two to seven scrolls with spells, and hang a bunch of modifier cards to each of them. With a certain skill, you can, for example, create a fireball that, when it explodes, will heal the main character and summon skeletons to the enemy's head.

The potion brewing system does not require much thought at all. We take the ingredients, mix them in the alchemical cauldron, see what happens. The blessing of various ingredients in Antalore is scattered - just know how to mix the potions.

And new skates to boot

Unlike the first part of the game with its dozens of cities and villages that are not clear from each other, here you will not get vivid impressions from every corner of the game world. Alsornu, blooming and practically desert island, with all the desire not to be confused with Hatmandor - a seething center of civilization in the middle of the desert. The cursed village, locked in the swamps, will bring a tear of nostalgia to fans of Quest for Glory - as, indeed, the villages of horse breeders in the savannah. But there were no horse races in QfG. And there is.

It is interesting: the hero also forgot how to fight on horseback. And thank God, because before he did it very badly. Now the horse is only a means of transportation across the savannah. Along with equestrian battles, almost all bugs related to horseback riding have gone into oblivion.

Does anyone remember the landscapes of Mordavia? Hopelessness, at least, blows in the same way.

Swamp witch. No, not from Blair. And - who knows - maybe not a witch at all? ..

Vast sea spaces have been added to the game. Unfortunately, boating is not far removed from horseback riding from the first part. In the sense that it is very inconvenient to operate a watercraft and almost never necessary.

Alas, all praise concerns only open spaces. And most of the dungeons here can be represented as a straight line. From the fact that in the game this straight line is twisted with all kinds of loops, there will be no branches or options for passing in it. And if you see a locked door, it means that there is either a lever nearby, or a small detour, usually a couple of meters long. But all the dungeons are long and full of monsters, this is in order. And they are also rich in similar areas - what can you do, not handmade, the dungeons here were made up of several types of standard blocks. And in such dungeons will be about a third of the game.

Enemies are pleasantly surprised by their well-developed intellect. Except for occasional traffic jams in narrow aisles, there is really nothing to complain about. Different monsters behave differently. For example, stupid zombies in the swamps stick straight to the player, and as soon as water gets in the way, they will wander along the bottom. Small, but very painfully biting werewolves move exclusively by jumping and winding in such a way that mom does not grieve. Each monster has its own vulnerabilities and weak spots by learning which you will beat them much more effectively.

It is important: information about the resistance of monsters to one or another type of damage should always be looked at very carefully. And always carry a spare weapon with you or keep spells from several different schools of magic at the ready. Living statues can be cut with a sword for a good half an hour, but they instantly crumble from a couple of blows with a good club. And the tree golem generally looks at the hero, who did not stock up on a torch or fire arrows, solely as fertilizer.

Handsomely. Magically. Well, at least you don't have to fight with it.

"Will it hurt?" - "Yes very".

Two Worlds 2 boasts excellent storylines and original quest texts, but the quests themselves almost always come down to one of three options: "go there, bring the item", "go there, kill everyone there" or "go there, talk to somebody." In most cases - with the addition "and at the same time kill all the enemies in your path."

You can't get lost along the way, even if you try hard. His Majesty the Marker will carefully indicate the position of the current target on the map with an accuracy of up to a meter. Traveling the world for your own pleasure will not work either - all the places where the hero is still too early are carefully covered with doors with red locks that cannot be opened.

Soldiers-well done

The linearity of the dungeons turns into a virtue when it comes to online play. A group of mercenaries, whooping and bellowing, trample enemies to the floor and slam into walls. Soldiers-"tanks" menacingly march ahead of the party, blocking the passages. And archers and magicians, who no longer need to win back runners for short distances, shower the enemy with a hail of arrows and the most deadly spells from the arsenal. Fortunately, the absence of “friendly fire” only disposes to this.

The hero admires the views of his new estate. After all, everything around him belongs to him.

Home of our protégé in multiplayer mode. During our absence, the headman of the village looks after the house.

The network mode is organized approximately according to the same principle as in the old "Cursed Lands". Some MMORPGs such as Guild Wars or Vindictus are now following a similar pattern. There is a city - a non-combat zone, in which each player can safely distribute skills or fill a backpack with everything necessary for a hike. It plays the role of a kind of "lobby". You can only leave the city on a mission - by joining an already created game or by organizing your own.

The most fun type of game - cooperative passage. It is a special campaign of seven missions, each of which becomes available only after completing the previous one. It’s impossible to play at a level you haven’t reached yet, but it’s easy to replay the ones you’ve already completed. Experience flows like water, money too, especially if you go through the solo campaign. However, some missions cannot be completed alone - not because the monsters are too strong, just at the levels there are puzzles that require the participation of several people. For example, buttons at different ends of the hall that need to be kept pressed so that someone can go through the opened door.

After accumulating ten thousand coins (which does not take much time in the co-op adventure mode), you can buy land for yourself, thereby opening a new type of game called the "Village". Managing your own estate is very similar to managing a castle in Neverwinter Nights 2. We invest money, build buildings and carry out the orders of the headman so that the inhabitants are happy. And the village, in turn, slowly invests in us, bringing a stable income.

Game modes like "Arena", "Tournament" and "Gem Hunt" do not make sense to describe - everything is said in the title. Variations on the Deathmatch theme are alive and will live - except that in the latter case, the team that has collected the most crystals of faith scattered across the field wins.

good memory

The main trouble of Two Worlds II is by no means in the "smooth" dungeons single player and not in linear tasks. In the world created by Reality Pump, you want to not just play, but live, but it seems that the developers themselves are actively preventing this.

University of New Ashos. At such an early hour, neither students nor teachers
no givers to be seen. But couples start
tingle within a few hours.

The jungle around New Ashos oozes with calm and peacefulness.
renunciation. But that's for now.

They created a huge world, divided it into unique areas, added beautiful cities, but somehow forgot to attach a hero to them. Having completed the initial tasks, we will leave the savannah forever - except perhaps somehow later, after completing the main storyline, back to win at the races. Almost nothing will stop us on the stunningly beautiful streets of New Ashos. The plot will quickly take us outside the city, and then in general from the island. The swamps, striking in their atmospheric and elaborate history, are nothing more than a run from one corner of the map to another, with the parallel destruction of all undead oncoming. I would really like to have a reason to stay somewhere, to rummage through the chests and pockets of careless citizens at night, to give a couple of concerts in a tavern - but the quickly ending list of tasks drags the hero further.

The developers wrote excellent texts, but forgot to add the actual dialogues. The response options in almost any conversation come down to "taking the task" or "not taking the task" - in best traditions Japanese role playing. Yes, in many missions there is a choice, but it is also represented by only two (at best, three) answers. Which, moreover, you have little influence on - the plot is linear, and whatever you choose, it will still go further along the thumb.

The developers provide the player with a huge set of opportunities for a pleasant pastime in this game, but you will have to look for them yourself. And it is desirable already when the plot ceases to pull forward by the ears - this is what is provided for here " free play» after completing the main storyline.

"Two Worlds 2" is the very case when you can't see the forest for the trees. The game has a lot of polished and polished elements, but together they are not linked to each other. Instead of a clear, intelligible narrative and slow getting used to the world, there is a quick kaleidoscope of events leading to the final video.

The second part is quite far gone from its predecessor. Most of the bugs have disappeared, a glaring imbalance has disappeared, interesting dialogues have appeared ... Now there really is something to do in the world. The potential of the game is very great, but it still needs to grow to the title of a masterpiece.

MANAGEMENT

Not a single enemy can keep up with the protagonist's horse.

Childe Roland and the Dark Tower. Miniature. Fragment.

It makes no sense to write the passage of Two Worlds II - the developers have done everything possible so that no one has problems with this. Mighty protagonist card marks the target with a marker absolutely any task. Thus, even if this very task implies the need to comb the area and track down someone, don't worry - you don't have to scratch anything and follow nowhere, you just need to run to the appropriate mark.

There are no problems in dialogue either. The hero does an excellent job on his own, transferring control to the player only at moments of simple and obvious choice - which reward to choose or which side to take. With rare exceptions, you can choose anything - in the future it still does not backfire.

It is interesting: the most notable exception is in the third chapter, which takes place in the Fens. By supporting one of the sides of the conflict there, you will reduce the passage time of the chapter to half an hour, while the other side will drive you through the swamps for a good few hours. But the plot subtleties of this episode are more interesting to learn for yourself.

It is much more difficult to understand the local role system. There are numerous combat skills, and handicraft, and a cunning system for creating spells, and just the same abyss of not always obvious mini-games. Those who played the first part will inevitably be confused by the unusual novelty. And those who have not played will be shocked by the abundance of opportunities that fall on the character literally from the start.

High-altitude fitters

The new item, potion, and spell constructors will be one of the first things Two Worlds 2 introduces to the player. However, no one in the game will bother to explain clearly how to handle these same designers. But not all of them are so simple and clear.

Entertaining cooking

The local mafioso Mr. Lexington is a fan of black clothes, chess and intrigue.

The easiest way to deal with the local alchemical system. An entire section in the inventory is reserved for the alchemical cauldron, where all ingredients found in chests, picked up from the ground and cut from monsters are stored. Each such ingredient has a specific effect: some restore life or mana, others temporarily improve performance, others enhance or prolong the effect of the elixir in which they are used. We take and throw products with the desired effect in the desired concentration - and the potion is ready.

In no case should you mix reagents with different effects in the same boiler! In the finished potion, only one will remain - from the reagent, of which more flew into the cauldron. We will not be able to create a potion that protects against fire and at the same time restores mana or increases the hero's strength and accuracy, despite the temptation of this scenario. All these improvements are achieved only separately, by different brews. One potion - one action, and nothing else.

Leaving no unnecessary details

Crafting in The Two Worlds is a bit more complicated than alchemy. There are two technological processes - disassembly of the item and its improvement.

The first is that we take a sword (axe, bow, armor, staff - whatever) and with a wave of the mouse we disassemble it into its components. We will have to perform such "processing" regularly - weapons, armor and magical accessories take up a lot of space in the inventory, but resources, for a mysterious reason, are weightless and incorporeal. Therefore, when the trophies knocked out of the monsters begin to fall from the hero’s backpack, it’s either to look for a merchant, or to let the miracles of enemy equipment into scrap metal, firewood and rags.

We will be able to disassemble the helmet, but to assemble ...

But it is not by weightlessness alone that recyclables are valuable. Almost every used item, whether it be a weapon, a magic staff or armor of any cut, can be improved. The procedure is no more complicated than dismantling: we spend a certain number of the indicated resources - we increase the level of the item by one. This will not only improve the characteristics of the object, but also, possibly, add a special cell to it, where it will be possible to insert a magic crystal. Melt the crystals without fear - in order to return the stone back in the future, you just need to disassemble the enchanted item. It is a pity that the resources invested in the improvement will not be returned during disassembly.

On a note: if iron, wooden planks and steel ingots accumulate in your inventory towards the end of the game so much that you even open a building materials store, then it will be worse with leather, fabric and other sewing accessories. The fact is that weapons are almost always picked up from the enemy, accumulate quickly and go for disassembly in whole batches, but armor and magical robes are a scarce thing, and they are better used.

dragon poker

But in the magical system of "Two Worlds 2" at first glance, the devil himself will break his leg. Although in practice it is not so difficult to master it.

To create a spell, you need a magical amulet, which we will stuff with spell scrolls. A magical amulet is capable of holding two to seven scrolls - but such extremes are extremely rare. Basically, exactly three spells fit into the amulet. Each spell, in turn, is made up of a stack of cards.

We lay out magical solitaire games on an enchanted amulet.

The first card is called embodiment. It determines how the spell will work - whether it will be a charge flying at a target at a certain speed, or maybe it will affect the area around the hero, or place a trap in the specified place ... Yes, even an altar that casts spells, stuck in the ground - there would be an appropriate card.

The second card is impact. And she asks exactly what type of magical effect. It is also difficult to complain about the lack of impact cards - ice, wind, water, flame, spirit, poison, decay, power, and many others.

Some simple spells can be created with only these two cards, but they will work poorly and most likely not at all in the way you want. We will fine-tune the spell with the help of cards called transformation maps. There are six types of transformations, and the effect they have is simply striking.

Damage Conversion, as the name implies, determines whether the spell deals damage. If the scroll does not contain a damage card, then we will get a relatively peaceful slander - for example, a fire charge will blind the enemy without causing damage, and a poison trap will work as an antidote.

Hover transformation only applicable to scrolls with the incarnation card "charge". Applying this card will cause the charge to follow the target.

Reflection transformation, which can also be attached only to the “charge”, leads to the fact that the charge begins to be reflected from the target. Several cards of this type can be added to the scroll at once - each of them will increase the number of ricochets.

Scattering Transform- the third transformation, characteristic only for "charges". It causes the charge to separate into several separate beams. As in the case of reflection maps, the number of scattering maps in a roll can be increased - the number of beams into which the charge will split will increase.

Do not be deceived by the pastoral
landscape - at a watering place to this brook sometimes such a thing will come ...

Time conversion, unlike the previous three, is applicable for spells with an incarnation card "enchantment". If this modifier is present in the scroll, the spell will last for some time. The time increases in direct proportion to the number of cards of that type bound to the spell.

Protection Conversion can only be applied to "enchantments", and not to everyone, but only to those that already contain one or more time transformations. After applying this modifier, the spell will begin to have not only a harmless, but also a purely positive effect. For example, if a time-stretched fire spell creates a source of light, a time-stretched fire spell created for protection will increase fire resistance.

Once again, remember that there are several pieces of spells in the amulet, and imagine what we can get there. Such a system is saved from imbalance by the fact that the more scrolls we stuff into the amulet and the more difficult each of them is, the more time it will take to pronounce such a formula and the more mana it will burn out. However, the magicians in the game still have expanse - not combat, but at least creative.

tooth for tooth

However, to say that lovers of frontal attacks and chest-to-chest fights have been infringed on their rights is impossible with all the desire. Unfortunately, no one will give a warrior to design new types of weapons, however, those that are available will be enough with his head.

All melee weapons can be classified according to two criteria - size and type. By size, the tools of heroic labor are divided into one-handed and two-handed, by type - on swords, maces, axes and polearm. stand apart daggers- they hang quietly on the belt and are pulled out mainly in order to stick them in the back of someone's head. It is theoretically possible to conduct a frontal battle with a dagger, but in practice it is very difficult to implement. You can’t block with a short blade, you can’t parry an attack, and no special skills are applicable with it. In addition, it is impossible to make a knife for battle - the hero automatically takes the dagger in his hand when he enters the covert movement mode, and also automatically clings to the belt when he stops sneaking on the half-bent.

It is important: even if you are not going to use the dagger for its intended purpose, do not take it off. It is better to insert some kind of magic crystal into it, and let it teleport itself on the belt as additional magical support.

One-handed weapons are notable for several facts at once. Firstly, the hero can arm himself with two copies of it at once. Secondly, in addition to the second blade, the left hand of our protégé can also be occupied with a shield or even a torch. The latter not only helps to orientate in dark dungeons, but it will also sometimes allow you to set fire to an unnecessarily "irascible" enemy, such as a mummy or a tree golem. Finally, the left hand can simply be left free.

Two-handed weapons have a much larger area of ​​​​destruction, and our mercenary waves them much wider, hitting several enemies at a time.

Keep in mind that different types of weapons do different types of damage. With this, however, in "Two Worlds 2" is sparse: the damage from melee weapons is divided only into chopping and crushing. But they have an impact on the course of the battle. Do not try, for example, to wander into the dungeons, teeming with undead undead, with only one mace. Zombies will tear their tummies, looking at the attempts of the protagonist to instruct their long-dead bodies of bruises.

Small arms in the game are represented only by bows. But unlike melee weapons, it can easily change its type of damage. You just need to equip the hero with a quiver of the appropriate arrows. Blunt arrows that deal crushing damage are great for hunting Necris skeletons, and it makes sense to shoot giant Antalor ants with sharpened arrows.

It is important: a quiver is the same piece of equipment as weapons and armor. And it can be improved in the same way, insert crystals into it and disassemble it for parts.

You can't drink talent

The division of characters into warriors and magicians, we remind you, is rather arbitrary, the capabilities of the character are limited only by his physical characteristics and set of skills. Characteristics of the hero four - endurance, strength, stamina and strength of will.

Endurance Useful for any character. With an increase in this characteristic, the amount of maximum vital energy increases - once, the maximum amount of inventory increases - two. And if the “thickness” of the character’s health bar is not of concern to everyone (for example, enemies will see the arrow only from the distance of the arrow), then the opportunity to push more loot into the backpack will not be superfluous for anyone. Merchants on distant wanderings will not meet as often as we would like, and dismantling expensive artifacts for parts is sometimes just a waste.

The result of an unsuccessful magical experiment - Swallowing - for some reason stubbornly suggests thoughts about the Tiberium zones.

Strength- obviously, the main attribute of a hero who relies on close combat. High strength values ​​will allow you to use more compelling - more precisely, weighty - arguments in hand-to-hand combat. In addition, each stat point invested in strength will add some value to melee damage. And if at first this increase is insignificant, then over time it will reach three- or even four-digit values.

Accuracy- analogue of strength for shooters. Allows the use of advanced bows and "professional" arrows and grants an increase in damage dealt small arms.

Strength of will- a priority characteristic for a magician. It not only increases the damage of any spells, but also increases the maximum mana. In addition, the magician will often need to work with the spell designer - and willpower will also help him in this lesson, which determines the maximum level of skills of the "magic" branch.

From now on, the skills themselves are learned purely from self-instruction books - teachers have sunk into oblivion. You can buy textbooks from any merchant - although it is only natural that the archery shop will have more books on archery than magical training.

Way of the Samurai

Military skills are aimed at developing heroic dexterity in handling all kinds of hand-to-hand combat weapons. Accordingly, the purpose of most skills is obvious, since the destruction of one's neighbor in Two Worlds II is quite simple and fast.

Block- he is a block and is, in a hot fight, a moderately useful thing. You should not sit in it for a long time - the block is not perfect and certainly not impenetrable - but it is also a sin to neglect it. Each level of this skill increases the amount of damage blocked. It makes sense to invest out of necessity, depending on how often and how much the hero suffers from blows.

Sneaky reception- we will use it only with a free left hand, which immediately sharply reduces the scope. With a certain probability, blinds the enemy who has fallen into the affected area. The more developed the skill, the greater the chance of blindness. If you fight with a one-handed weapon with an unoccupied left hand, you must develop it. What could be better than a blind enemy? Only a dead enemy.

shock wave- Can only be used with a shield or polearm. The usual reinforced blow, even the block does not break through. The more we develop, the more it intensifies. It makes sense for shield-bearers and spear-bearers to take, because they have nothing more to take.

onslaught- "shock wave" used with swords. The operating principles are exactly the same.

fire strike- Used with a one-handed weapon and a torch in the left hand. We hit with a torch, inflict damage with fire - the more developed the skill, the more damage. The damage itself is not a fountain, but there are enemies with a vulnerability to fire! And there are enemies with vulnerability only to the fire, and the only thing that a purebred warrior can oppose to them is just the same blow with a torch.

Stun- Mace skill. If we are going to wave maces, we develop, if we do not wave, then it is useless to develop. Each new skill level increases the chance to stun the enemy.

Shield Break- only works with axes. This skill would be extremely useful if the shield somehow helped opponents in battle. What he is, what he is not - the pace of killing the enemy practically does not change, it makes no sense to speed up the process.

Block Break- a very, very useful thing. Once under a hail of blows, the enemy often goes into a dead block - this is where we will provide him with a gift. The higher the skill, the more "gift" will cause damage. We develop with care and diligence.

mental strike- deals damage to all enemies around the main character, and even with the probability of stunning, growing as the skill develops. The damage is much weaker than with a roundhouse kick, but it can be used with any weapon.

Knockdown- Only works on humans. With a certain probability, knocks the enemy to the floor, after which he can be finished off with one blow from a polearm or sword. Also a useful thing - it's a pity, the chance to knock down is quite low, even if the skill is well developed.

Counterstrike- by pressing the attack button right after the enemy hits our block, we will carry out a powerful counterattack. A very beautiful and very useful thing - the main thing is to have time to apply it in time.

The world's first archer

Shooting skills in "Two Worlds 2" cover the widest range of tasks. Here and attacks from a relatively close range, and all kinds of elemental damage, and, of course, the usual shelling of the enemy from a safe distance.

hail of arrows— archer's ultimate skill — fires from two to eleven arrows (depending on the skill level), each of which deals 75% of normal damage. Arrows fly like a fan, but if you let the enemy get closer, you can put the whole sheaf into his carcass at once. Not everyone can survive this.

Marksmanship- Increases damage dealt while aiming. Aimed shooting mode (default - X) is rarely used. It disables auto focus on the nearest enemy and increases the size of the crosshair. Aiming manually is quite inconvenient, so there is no point in developing the skill.

Concentration- if you activate the “hail of arrows” in the aimed shooting mode, pull the bowstring and, without releasing it, mark several targets right click mice, arrows will fly strictly in the direction of the marked targets. The number of targets that can be marked depends on the skill level. Alas, there is almost never enough time or space for such manipulations.

simple shot- increases the initial tension of the bowstring. The stronger the bowstring is pulled from the very beginning, the less it needs to be pulled all the way and the more damage will be done when shooting “offhand” - everything is simple. Archers are nowhere without it.

Quick Shot- Increases bow draw speed. It is simply impossible to overestimate. As with the previous skill - if you have already decided to play as a shooter, then develop and develop ...

Firebolt- in addition to the fact that it deals very considerable damage (besides, it grows as the skill develops), this damage is also elemental. And there are a lot of monsters vulnerable to fire in the game.

Ice arrow- the value of this thing is not so much in damage (although in it too), but in a significant slowdown of the enemy. By slowing down someone in a narrow passage, the archer will create a very nice dump that you can safely shoot at without leaving the spot.

Distraction Arrow- creates a phantom that begins to fight with the enemy for some time, and disincarnates, causing small damage. It's a good thing, but you can only shoot from the aimed shooting mode, and there is usually no time to switch to it in the heat of battle. Oh, Garrett would have such arrows ...

Poison Arrow- also used only from the aimed shooting mode. A lot of opponents are immune to poison, so of all the arrows, this one is the most useless.

Wizard and monsters

Well, actually, the magician, whose strength is in the spell constructor. Accordingly, the magician's skills are aimed at improving the quality of spells created.

While the hero bravely blizzards one phantom, the second creeps up from behind. Such situations are best avoided.

Air magic, fire magic, water magic, earth magic and necromancy- The names speak for themselves. Development levels increase the number of cards of the corresponding school that can be used to create spells. It is important not to focus on any one school of magic, otherwise sooner or later you will come across an enemy protected from it, and you will fight him off with nothing more than a staff and a hat.

Wisdom- increases the maximum number of transformation cards in the amulet. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of these cards, respectively, and the skill of the magician needs to be developed to the limit.

Divination- Reduces the time it takes to cast spells. It will come in handy anytime and anywhere, the more difficult the spells you are going to use, the more noticeable the effect.

Mana regeneration- simply increases the rate of mana regeneration. It will have to be developed to the limit, but even then it will not always be enough.

call- opens the possibility of summoning creatures, setting traps and altars. Skill development determines the number of objects that can be materialized. Summoned monsters are certainly useful, everything else is an amateur.

Mysticism- Reduces mana cost. As well as "mana restoration", it is subject to development to the end.

Knowledge- increase the number of incarnation cards used. Definitely useful - anything that helps create new spells is very valuable in the game.

And so on and so forth

pickpocketing and lockpicking are represented by mini-games, which will not be difficult to understand. Locks, however, do not need to be broken open - they open perfectly with a correctly composed spell or go astray good weapon.

On a note: the success of the theft does not depend on the actions of the player at all - only on luck. Save.

The dog-headed man hung himself with a weapon, but he did not have time to use it.

If only the master key could hold out...

Mini-games also include horse racing across the savannah. The process of riding consists in spurring the horse on a regular basis - in itself a vile animal flatly refuses to gallop - while making sure not to drive him completely. If the horse is not kicked in the flanks for too long, it will start to slow down. If you kick it too often, the mount's patience will run out and it will drop the hero.

There are five types of musical instruments in the game: drum, lyre, flute, guitar and violin (in ascending order of mastering difficulty). The principle of playing them is similar to some Frets on Fire - you need to press the buttons in time according to chords or single notes. Melodies for the drum and lyre consist only of single notes, for the flute they consist of only chords, but the guitar and violin are a crazy alternation of both - true gymnastics for the fingers.

It is recommended to play on the streets, in taverns, in squares - in general, wherever you can gather a crowd around you. In this case, for a good performance of music, you will be given money. Also, other musicians often hang around in taverns, with whom you can play a duet - and the profit will be more significant, and the musical track will become a little easier.

With this, the enumeration of the main surprises awaiting you in Antalore has come to an end. We can only wish you good luck in mastering this beautiful world in many respects and remind you not to let anything spoil your pleasure from good games. Good luck!