Title: Two Worlds
Genre: RPG
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Reality Pump Studios
Publisher: Southpeak Interactive
Release Date: March 7, 2007

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Two incompatible and different worlds are at the centre of an epic war that has been fought for centuries. A man, who doesn't want to be a hero, with the only goal to find his kidnapped sister will have in his hands the fate of an entire civilization. An Olympus where Gods fear the return of the one they chased away.

Two Worlds is all this and a lot more: a title with the not easy task of letting us forget the barren lands of Cyrodiil (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion).

Everything began when...

Aziraal, the God of war, was defeated with his Ogres hordes during an epic battle by the other Gods and the "free" people of the world. After it, Aziraal has been shut up in a tomb and everyone began loosing the memory of his existence.

Unfortunately, as every timeless menace, Aziraal was waiting only for the right moment to re-appear and re-gain everything he has lost: the whole world. With Tolkienian punctuality, Dwarves will find out the tomb while digging and the evil will be, at last, unleashed.

This is the introduction of this Topware Interactive/Reality Pump Studios game and we, as a bounty hunter searching for his/her sister, will find out that there is "more in the air". Our adventure will develop among secret brotherhoods, opposing factions and Gods who spend their "Olympic" days fighting each other: this is our life, our mission and our fate!

The world at our feet

Two Worlds can technically count on a graphics proprietary engine completely developed internally by Reality Pump and it seems that the overall result is worth the better games currently available on the market; moreover, developers have also implemented modules to reproduce nature that can be described as the counter-part of the acclaimed SpeedTree. Reality Pump is definitely convinced that graphically the title will be a benchmark for 2007 RPGs.

Unfortunately, news are not so detailed for what concerns the physics engine and it is currently not completely clear if this aspect of the game will be able to compete with the famous Havok engine used, for example, in Oblivion.

However, Two Worlds has no other uncertainties and seems to have a very strong and defined game-play: we'll have the world at our feet. In fact, in this parallel universe, we'll be allowed to take decisions that will impact all the game-world and, as usual, our reputation. Essentially, the title offers us freedom: we'll be able to defend a city as well as betray our allies and open the city doors to the enemy; clearly, we would become traitors and the next time we'll visit the city we'll probably find a change in the government.

Even if this can be seen as a great novelty, especially respect to the more "closed" Oblivion, it is only the first of several new features such as a new way through which our character will gain experience and the total absence of a class initial choice.

In fact, developers were very clear on this point: the player should be able to do everything he/she wants while enjoying Two Worlds, take any decision and even kill every NPC present in the game.

Going into game-play details, Two Worlds will be, as already said, a role-playing game (RPG) with several classic characteristics of the genre among which the most appreciated third person visual and a fight system oriented toward the "cloak-and-dagger". This complex system will include several types of attacks and defences we'll be able to use during our 1vs1 fights: currently, the only limit will be the impossibility of using acrobatics and jumps during encounters but, to be completely honest, it perfectly fits the real abilities of medieval knights. In spite of this little limit, we sympathise for the combat choice developers made, even if everything should be tested after the game release using magicians and thieves characters as, even if the title will contain riddles, puzzles and several ways to achieve the same result, the main focus will always consist on the fight system.

Moreover, Two Worlds will contain several means of transport such as portals, horses and even mythological beasts and it will tell the story of various races as Dwarves, Elves, Humans and Serpents.

At last, multi-player

One of the main limits of current RPGs is that they have practically no on-line modes but only a single-player campaign. Fortunately, for the first (or maybe second, considering Phantasy Star Universe) time in this next-generation, the multi-player will be available.

Clearly we won't have a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), but the possibility, as real Dungeon Masters, of creating campaigns to be played by friends. In fact, even if it's not already clear if both the PC and the Xbox 360 versions of the game will have the same possibilities, Two Worlds will include 3 different online "modes":

• The first is based on random multi-quests missions;
• The second will allow the "master" to define every mission and quest
• The third is, on the contrary, based on pre-defined missions assigned to certain maps.

Eventually, the terrific idea behind the game multiplayer is Microsoft Live Anywhere. Probably it won't be ready immediately at the release of the game, but Reality Pump goal is that of letting the PC and Xbox 360 gamers play together. Think of it: gamers on PCs would be able to quickly create campaigns thanks to a complete editor and the mouse-keyboard combo, while Xbox 360 players would enjoy the story directly on their consoles.

While waiting for further details, we just want to highlight that the game multi-player won't force gamers to co-operate and will allow us to completely create our own characters even using option not available in the single-player mode (such as, for example, the class).

Final Comment

Two Worlds could seem a standard RPG at the first look. The truth is that, at least in the concept, this Reality Pump game has the opportunity of setting new standards and benchmarks for the genre, such as the possibility to live in a world that "feels" our presence and behaviour, to have absolute action-freedom and to play some campaigns with friends via Xbox Live.

Will the two worlds - the good and the evil one - be able to prevail one over the other? The answer to this question is no more important as with Two Worlds we will decide the universe fate!