Tags: Eric Schwarz; Reality Pump; Two Worlds II; Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress
Having thoroughly reviewed (and criticized) Two Worlds II a few weeks ago, Gamebanshee's Eric Schwarz now turns his attention to the Pirates of the Flying Fortress expansion pack, noting the content improvements it has compared to the original game and generally praising it a lot:
Hmm, I gotta say I'm tempted to try it out now.
Having thoroughly reviewed (and criticized) Two Worlds II a few weeks ago, Gamebanshee's Eric Schwarz now turns his attention to the Pirates of the Flying Fortress expansion pack, noting the content improvements it has compared to the original game and generally praising it a lot:
Like the main game, Pirates has its share of flaws. However, a much more consistent story and tone, more imaginative quest design, an interesting world to explore, and more, all add up to make this add-on a significantly more enjoyable experience than the original game was.
[...[ What starts out as a simple and predictable treasure hunt plot quickly transforms into a much more complicated story, with a surprisingly large cast of characters and convoluted backstory. This only becomes more engaging as the expansion goes on, and unlike the original game's story, Pirates rarely meanders, instead using its new quests to add more and more layers. The pirate theme and the central characters actually end up dwarfed by larger things very quickly, and I was impressed to find that it was more than just a gimmick in the end.
Where Pirates also shines is in its choice & consequence. While not as extensive as other games, there are a few big choices to be made during the story that can lead to fairly different story outcomes, and certain quests will be made available or cut off based on the things you do and say. There are even a few opportunities to lie, misdirect or backstab different characters; in the hands of some developers these could have come off as simple good/evil choices, but Pirates has quite its share of morally ambiguous situations and characters to make these decisions interesting.
[...] Overall, Pirates of the Flying Fortress is a very solid addition to Two Worlds II. I can say that I enjoyed it significantly more than the original game, both due to its more focused, interesting story, as well as its improved gameplay; at 10-15 hours, there's more than enough content to justify the asking price (especially as it's now included with the game's Velvet Edition, and can be purchased separately for a pretty low price). While a lot of those old problems with Two Worlds II remain, overall, Pirates of the Flying Fortress is a great example of a developer improving on their original formula to make a new game that isn't just more of the same, but surpasses its source by leaps and bounds.
If this is what Reality Pump are capable of now that they've got more experience under their belts and time to create a more polished and consistent product, then I am very eager to see what awaits the Two Worlds franchise in the future. As more and more developers turn to making action games first, RPGs second, this rising Polish team could well become one of the genre's better studios.
[...[ What starts out as a simple and predictable treasure hunt plot quickly transforms into a much more complicated story, with a surprisingly large cast of characters and convoluted backstory. This only becomes more engaging as the expansion goes on, and unlike the original game's story, Pirates rarely meanders, instead using its new quests to add more and more layers. The pirate theme and the central characters actually end up dwarfed by larger things very quickly, and I was impressed to find that it was more than just a gimmick in the end.
Where Pirates also shines is in its choice & consequence. While not as extensive as other games, there are a few big choices to be made during the story that can lead to fairly different story outcomes, and certain quests will be made available or cut off based on the things you do and say. There are even a few opportunities to lie, misdirect or backstab different characters; in the hands of some developers these could have come off as simple good/evil choices, but Pirates has quite its share of morally ambiguous situations and characters to make these decisions interesting.
[...] Overall, Pirates of the Flying Fortress is a very solid addition to Two Worlds II. I can say that I enjoyed it significantly more than the original game, both due to its more focused, interesting story, as well as its improved gameplay; at 10-15 hours, there's more than enough content to justify the asking price (especially as it's now included with the game's Velvet Edition, and can be purchased separately for a pretty low price). While a lot of those old problems with Two Worlds II remain, overall, Pirates of the Flying Fortress is a great example of a developer improving on their original formula to make a new game that isn't just more of the same, but surpasses its source by leaps and bounds.
If this is what Reality Pump are capable of now that they've got more experience under their belts and time to create a more polished and consistent product, then I am very eager to see what awaits the Two Worlds franchise in the future. As more and more developers turn to making action games first, RPGs second, this rising Polish team could well become one of the genre's better studios.
Hmm, I gotta say I'm tempted to try it out now.
