The open-world fantasy role-playing series that opened with a horrid whimper but continued with a refined bang is getting bigger. Polish developer Reality Pump and TopWare Interactive announce fresh DLC for Two Worlds II and the beginning of work on Two Worlds III.
I made a lot of fun of Two Worlds II when it was first announced, and for good reason. Though beloved in Germany, the original Two Worlds for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 was pretty horrible when it launched in North America in 2007. The voice acting is legendarily bad, recorded by developers instead of actors, with lines delivered as if being read aloud in high school English.
I did not have high hopes for 2010's Two Worlds II, but Reality Pump really came through with the second game, delivering a fantasy world infused with warmth and humor, going as far as to directly reference the poor quality of the game that spawned it. It won awards. It got a velvet-boxed collectors edition.
And this year it’s getting a slew of downloadable content, plus a major engine overhaul. Eight new multiplayer maps are coming to both console (PS3 and Xbox 360) and PC versions of the game, along with two sets of single-player story DLC.
The first of these story add-ons, Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae, sees the hero returning to Antaloor to fend off a new race of rat people wielding strange and powerful magics. It’ll be out sometime before mid-year.
The new engine update promises enhanced character and landscape detail, a high definition user interface, co-op multiplayer and tons of achievements.
All of these updates are laying the groundwork for Two Worlds III: Two Worlds With A Vengeance (not the real subtitle). The third game in the series is only in the concept stage at the moment, scheduled for development over the next three years.
Checkout the official Two Worlds II website for more on the upcoming DLC.