Two Worlds "meatier" than Oblivion

By Robert Purchese Published 11 June, 2007

Zuxxez boss stakes claim.

Zuxxez big cheese Dirk Hassinger believes Two Worlds is a more complex and in-depth game than main rival Oblivion.

He told Eurogamer in an exclusive interview that despite obvious similarities between the two titles, his has much more going on under the surface, and has improved upon Bethesda's creation in nearly every area.

"Two Worlds may seem to be in the Oblivion template, but the two games are very different once you get beyond the surface," Hassinger told Eurogamer. "Two Worlds offers a more focused, grittier experience and a lot of correlating features are deeper in Two Worlds."

"Our inventory system is smarter, our magic system is much more complex and even the way we handle horses has more depth. Beyond those game mechanics, we have a much more complex society, with many more factions working within it. On top of that, our overarching storyline is a touch darker and more involved. That's not to say that Oblivion is a worse game, just that Two Worlds has more 'meat'."

Two Worlds is a free-roaming and sprawling role-playing game that preaches freedom of choice in your actions. If you wanted to nudge a horse over a cliff-edge rather than save the world, then so be it. But this has also lead to the inevitable comparisons with Bethesda's chart-topping title.

However, Dirk Hassinger has some tricks up his sleeve. Alongside mounted combat and a unique item creation process sits an MMO-style multiplayer mode; Hassinger's icing on the cake.

"The multiplayer mode is going to be really special, both on PC and 360. We're going to implement two distinct modes. One will involve a hub area where players can form teams, chat, trade and set off on instanced mini-quests," said Hassinger.

"The other mode will be a straight PvP arena, although we're overflowing with ideas on how to innovate the competitive side of things. Horse races, complete with an in-game gambling system for observers, are something we've already mentioned, but the rest will have to stay under our hats for now.

"No one's ever tried to bring the free-roaming, single-player RPG together with a fully-featured multiplayer mode before, although that's more pioneering through ambition than through innovation."

Two Worlds is being created by Polish developer Reality Pump. It's already out in Germany, and is expected in the rest of Europe on 3rd August. SouthPeak will be publishing the game here rather than Zuxxez.

We recently had a chance to play the game for ourselves, and found it to be a compelling experience sure to whittle away at our free time. Head over to our first impressions of Two Worlds for more information.

The full interview with Dirk Hassinger will be on Eurogamer later this week.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (45) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • UncleLou #1 5 years ago

    It's also a bit shit, unfortunately.

  • souljacker2000 #2 5 years ago

    Damn really?? I was hoping this was gona b great, whats so shit about it.. U go to germany n play it, u imported? are you lieing unclelou?
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/07 @ 10:22

  • kangarootoo #3 5 years ago

    Jesus, this guy has no fear. Saying that your new title is "deeper" than one of the most well regarded RPGs of recent years is like dipping your nuts into a beehive. Good luck to them says I :)

  • Dizzy #4 5 years ago

    PC version got some weak reviews but I am sure they have been working on it (360 version) like mad. Don't think it will reach AAA status, but might be a good RPG to keep us busy in summer.
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/07 @ 10:18

  • barnettbeans #5 5 years ago

    Have you played it UncleLou? I'm pretty sure you havent. If this can imorove on oblivion then thumbs up from me dont know about the magic systems beung more complex than oblivion? Wasnt it complx enough?

    Fish!

  • kangarootoo #6 5 years ago

    Maybe their casting system will be more complex than OB's. Not sure if that is good or bad.

    Anyway, the multiplayer aspect of this is the big win for me (assuming it doesn't turn out to be poop). It doesn't have to beat Oblivion overall to get my vote, it just has to be fun to play.

  • Metalfish #7 5 years ago

    I should hope it's better than oblivion -it's quite an old game by now!

  • OnlyMe #8 5 years ago

    I'd take his comment more seriously if I could find actually find depth and complexity in Oblivion at all. There's nothing complex or deep about Oblivion.

    (I'm not saying it's a bad game, mind. I loved it to bits, for around 200 hours)

  • Pike #9 5 years ago

    Why are you so sure UL hasn't played it, barnettbeans? The game is already out in Germany after all.

  • mkreku #10 5 years ago

    If it's decent (or better), I'm getting it. There's not enough RPG's worth playing at the moment.

  • PearOfAnguish #11 5 years ago

    even the way we handle horses has more depth

    Free horsey armour?

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    I cannot see Two Worlds being anything more than a rougher-round-the-edges clone of Oblivion as Bethesda's game took the best part of five years to make but we'll see. However, more meat isn't necessarily a good thing if the meat doesn't taste all that nice in the first place... ;)

  • onyx_elite #13 5 years ago

    It still looks too rough to me. There's a lot of big hitters coming out in the next few months and i think this might get swallowed up in the crowd. Plus the art direction is errrgly.

  • Genji #14 5 years ago

    "Our inventory system is smarter, our magic system is much more complex and even the way we handle horses has more depth. Beyond those game mechanics, we have a much more complex society, with many more factions working within it. On top of that, our overarching storyline is a touch darker and more involved."

    No, what I want is for the NPCs to speak languages other than cliche. It might help if you hired more than Sean Bean, Patrick Stewart, and one other guy to do all the other voices.

    Just a tip, is all.

  • newt #15 5 years ago

    to mkreku: It's decent and certainly more playable than Gothic 3 (but mind you, I'm no Gothic fan). Nothing truly spectacular but it has a nice old school vibe to it.

  • Machiavel #16 5 years ago

    "the way we handle horses" made me laugh.

  • The-Bodybuilder #17 5 years ago

    They seem to be taking a page out of Free Radicals promotions book.

  • kaosridder #18 5 years ago

    bah. Oblivion was absolute shite. An amateur hack'n'slash with RPG-elements for mainstream-peps. Spoiled by focusgroups who wanted difficultysliders and pinpointed locations. Creeps. Can two worlds be any worse? Doubt it.

  • Metalfish #19 5 years ago

    I'm sure the gaming press agree with you kaosridder.

    It was a deeply flawed game, which therefore means the thousands of gamers who spent hours enjoying this game must be abjectly wrong. Wait, no it doesn't; it means some people can look past the flaws and what they wanted the game to be and take it for what it is.

    Even if it desperately wanted to be lord of the rings for some reason.

  • Genji #20 5 years ago

    The gaming press liked it, and lots of people liked it. You must like it too! WORSHIP.

  • menage #21 5 years ago

    "even the way we handle horses has more depth "

    The way I saw the horse animation being handled thta could use a lot of work. It just wasn't done right.

    Oblivion was great, I'm still playing it today. Sure it has simple combat. But that's not why I play it. It' s just a magnificent piece of world building.

  • kangarootoo #22 5 years ago

    @kaosridder

    What is wrong with difficulty sliders and an easy to use map? Is it not hardcore enough to want to tweak the difficulty or to walk everywhere all the time?

  • MikeP #23 5 years ago

    "Can two worlds be any worse? Doubt it."

    How about the one you appear to inhabit?

  • TheJanitor #24 5 years ago

    it looks like crap quite honestly. like elder scrolls 3.5, an unfinished oblivion. have you seen the video at the marketplace ? just awful.

  • skuzzbag #25 5 years ago

    Oblivion was great but I still think they should have metered out the landscape in a more level based manner.

  • Machetazo #26 5 years ago

    I just grabbed the trailer from Xbox Live, and I really like the look of it. It seems darker than Oblivion, perhaps more raw. I might well trade in Ob. to get this cheaper, because Oblivion I just find so-so. I preferred Morrowind. Two Worlds seems more like a traditional-style fantasy adventure - gnarled trees, curious settlements, bizarre monsters, and things like that.

    Oblivion, by comparison is a medieval look RPG, with, well, Oblivion. I never really feel a part of that game's community. Again, I start off in prison, an outcast, and learn I have a part to play in some great fateful outcome...Then I do quests. It's too mundane.

    "Two Worlds offers a more focused, grittier experience"

    That I believe. From the trailer, it's obvious. I hope his claim about the magic is validated, because that was another part I didn't really like in Oblivion. Of course, some sense of a real community in-game would help, too.

    "Two Worlds is being created by Polish developer Reality Pump. It's already out in Germany, and is expected in the rest of Europe on 3rd August." WHAT!

    Well, that leaves better possibility of a demo before it's out, perhaps...But they'll probably be pottering away on DLC, instead.

  • Nikanoru #27 5 years ago

    As long as they have more than two different dungeons and more than two different towns (all copy&pasted x 500 in Oblivion) I'm sure it won't be that bad.

  • UncleLou #28 5 years ago

    Have you played it UncleLou? I'm pretty sure you havent.

    I have indeed. What makes you "pretty sure" I haven't?

    I said it's a bit shit because it looks and feels cheap, the fighting is boring (you can't manually block, which takes any tactics out of the encounters), and it's so ridiculously unbalanced that I could, after just a few hours of playing, single-handedly kill a whole camp with Orcs with barely a scratch. And even if you die, there's no punishment at all. Wake up at the nearest shrine thingy, walk right back, kill what's left.

    The game feels like Godmode is turned on, the graphics and art style are generic, the horse riding is terrible (though slightly better after patch 1.3 - at least that's what I heard, I never played the unpatched version), and the cities are lifeless. Equipment hunting and stacking as well as the alchemy system are fun, but that's not enough to fill this game.

    That said, if they manage to fix the completely gamebreaking balancing, there's probably a reasonably entertaining, albeit completely unspectacular, action RPG underneath it all.

    Gothic 3 (from the little I've played it) is a lot better than this - nicer graphics and artstyle, better fighting (at least against humans), and a lot more atmosphere.
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/07 @ 13:08

  • MrBiggles #29 5 years ago

    It's not hard to be better than Oblivion seeing as that game was total shit.

  • mkreku #30 5 years ago

    @Newt: Thank you. Looks like I'll be getting it then! :D

    Although.. I am a huge fan of the Gothic series. I absolutely loved Gothic and Gothic 2 (plus Night of the Raven), and I bought Gothic 3 on pre-order. But I've been waiting for the mega-patch for Gothic 3 since then (was it November 2006?!) and now it turns out it won't be getting any more patches. Horrible. I really should install and play Gothic 3 now, but I just can't force myself to do it knowing that it's an unfinished game. :(

  • menage #31 5 years ago

    What a lot of Oblivion hate. Well to each it's own.

    Maybe it's just a matter how people play games. The gameplay in Oblivion is indeed nor very taxing (if you're a warrior who wants to beat shit up) and I understand some people will get tired of it. But I like it not being a hardcore gaming experience. Just walk around, collect stuff, try out new shit, enjoy the scenery. It's still one hell of a pretty game and still blows me away sometimes.

    What province of what country does have ridiculously different towns and locations? It makes Oblivion more real as a world that things aren't that different. Play Shivering Isles if you want diversion scenery. I didn't mind it one bit.
    I still see shit I haven't seen before every time I play and I've played for 150 hours already. It's more in the details and the will to explore them.
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/07 @ 14:04

  • Genji #32 5 years ago

    "What a lot of Oblivion hate. Well to each it's own."

    Yaaaay, somebody finally got the correct answer. We can accomodate different opinions about games, you see?

  • Wash #33 5 years ago

    Oblivion was ok, once you got past the scale of it all.. there was a lot of crapness around, dull uninspired designs, terrible terrible diaglogue.... a plot that was just pooh.... dungeons looking like every other dungeon etc etc.

    Still it looked pretty and was pretty big and freeform. The press liked it and it was popular so i guess its a win win....

    even though alot of morrowinds pitfalls were still present, minus some of the good things morrowind did do.

  • Mekah #34 5 years ago

    Believe Uncle Lou. For every one thing this game does that Oblivion doesn't it does two things even worse.

  • Mr_Brown #35 5 years ago

    Disapointing...I'm vegetarian.

  • ChromeMud #36 5 years ago

    If 'Two Worlds' on the 360 is half as good as they say it is I might buy it,mainly for it's co-op online.I must say though that I'm one of the sceptical bunch until it gets favourable reviews. 7/10 EG review will be a buy for me.
    Oblivion was good IMO but after becoming invisible and hitting monsters that don't
    react with a spade 10,000 times 'til they croaked showed it had an obvious AI flaw.The one thing I did like doing was getting two hulking Ogres running after me into a town then turning invisible and watching the carnage ensue.Guards,wizards,peasants all having a kicking then people turning on each other because of the crossifre was hilarious.If 'Two World's' can make me laugh like that online with some mates then I'm in.

  • Caimbeul #37 5 years ago

    Baldurs Gate II - best fantasy RPG ever!

    I hope Dragon Age pulls off being thespiritual sucsessor to it.

  • Crea #38 5 years ago

    Planescape: Torment, you infidel!

  • EmiliasHorse #39 5 years ago

    Different opinions are fine, I'm into that...But just saying Oblivion is shit hardly constitutes a balanced argument. Mind you from the EG faithful that is quite a positive review.

  • davisorle #40 5 years ago

    I played just a bit in the biggining so i can tell you my opinion about this game but let me clarify that i haven't wasted more than 20 minutes with it to know what happens after with the story line or anything BUT:
    1st The fighting system has all the things that I hate about Mortal Kombat lol. Yeah you heard that right. its like a frame after frame once you hit him and when he starts droping ( opponent ).
    2nd The way he swings the word is a bit "odd" lets just say so that I wont insult anyone without wanting to.
    3rd It made me so unintrested in it in a time record.

    Now, I might give it one more try. Maybe when you keep playing it you get used to it and the skills and story might be able to make you feel better for playing that game. Now THAT WAS MY OPINION. Thank you.

    Edit: For anyone saying that Oblivion is a shitty game: Either accept you cant play a game like Oblivion cause, I don't know. It might be too hard for you to handle? Or just say it's not your kind of game to keep you up cause Oblivion rocks for what it is and noone can change that.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/07 @ 09:16

  • Nikanoru #41 5 years ago

    Edit: For anyone saying that Oblivion is a shitty game: Either accept you cant play a game like Oblivion cause, I don't know. It might be too hard for you to handle? Or just say it's not your kind of game to keep you up cause Oblivion rocks for what it is and noone can change that.


    Now, the following are all just simple factual observations, and no-one can change this:

    The performance of the game engine is bad, even on higher-end PC's. The hyped AI just did not work out the way they had hoped it would. There is little visual originality in the game, the design of enemies, clothing and buildings are all at their most basic. And most importantly, a lot of content in Oblivion has been created once, then practically copied over a bunch of times, like dungeons, towns, NPC's and their dialogue.

    The question, for me, is not whether it's "my kind of game", but whether I'm ok with all these facts. I'm not, and you are, apparently.

  • immateriaux #42 5 years ago

    "... and even the way we handle horses has more depth"

    What a bizarre thing to say. I could name over a million games that handled horses better than Oblivion: such as Fifa2007, Forza Motorsport, Windows Solitaire, etc etc. If that's all the plus points he can muster, it's a sorry tale.

    Was very hopeful for this game but it's just been fading and fading and fading. Messing about with adding in multi-player elements at the last minute just smacked off desperation too.

    @ Nikanoru. Don't be such a game nazi. Re-using objects on a large scale game like Oblivion is simply being realistic. Having fantastical expectations of fantasy games is pointless - you will always be disappointed.

  • FortysixterUK #43 5 years ago

    Having played and completed VERSION 1 ofthis game ( I imported it from Germany) my initial impressions were not too great and I wrote a reasonably scathing preview.

    The game balance was very wrong, and you could "merge" weapons and armour until you became demi god like, which screwed the balance up big time.

    Since then i have been fortunate enough to have been invited onto the patch beta tests, and with the latest patch ( V1.3.6 ) this game is all but perfect ( for what it is supposed to be).

    The balancing issues have been addressed, multiple bugs fixed, and the crippling mount control ( horses getting stuck on slight inclines) has been fixed.

    Combat, was always pretty basic in Oblivion and Gothic, no change here, theres no block, but there is a " jump back" option which is an instant move that gets you out of harms way, time it right and the baddies have real trouble hitting you.

    As of version 1.3.6 this game is seriously a contender for the Oblivion or Gothic 3 crown. And they are working on a V4.00 patch as we speak just to " polish" up the game. I remember when Gothic 3 came out it was bugged to hell, but with the inclusion of later patches, it sorted itsdelf out. ( as long as you don't wipe out all the orc towns you can complete it now)

    Give this game a try guys ( preferably on PC as you can really crank the resolution and details up )...it''s a great game . I really would suggest it will run slightly rough on a 360 as its world is easily twice the size of Oblivion , but on PC...it's sweet.

    I backup that Dev Guys comments that this game is deeper than Oblivion, it is.
    And so Was Gothic 3.

    Check my negative review out about this game elsewhere on this site, then refer top these comments I am making here. The game has seriously been turned around for the better.

    The opening comment to this thread is very unfair ( made by Unclelou), and to be honest, all of you should hold comments. Until you have spent 3-4 odd hours getting into Two Worlds ( V1.3.6 ) or above, your comments won't hold much water.

    For all those doubters out there, if you liked Oblivion and /or Gothic 2 or 3, you will love Two Worlds.

    Finally...heres a space for you all to flame me.......

    ( insert flame here )




    Cheers
    Edited by 2 at 13/06/07 @ 11:44

  • FortysixterUK #44 5 years ago

    Just popped over to the official two worlds website and they have JUST released patch 1. 4.

    It weighs in at a hefty 298 mb to upgrade from V1.0 to V1.4 , and there are incremental patches to.

    When this game gets released in the UK and US, it will have this patch already installed.

    Just thought some of you would like to know...

    [link url=http://www.2-worlds.com/
    ]http://www.2-worlds.com/
    [/link]

    Go get the patch and play the game....

  • Nikanoru #45 5 years ago

    @immateriaux: Nonsense. Just about every other game can manage to have more than two types of dungeons. And they manage not to have nearly each one be practically pointless.

    The same 30 minutes of fun over and over and over does not constitute a "large scale" game.