Two Worlds II - The Official Strategy Guide (2010) [PC, MAC, PS3, X360]

Two Worlds II (2010) is an action RPG developed by Polish developer Reality Pump. The first game was largely seen as an underwhelming joke, but it ended up selling 2 million copies in the end. The sequel is actually a vast improvement in nearly every aspect. The Metacritic on PC is a solid 75/100, with the consoles around 70/100. Destructoid gave it an 8 (out of 10), with many others giving 7 (like GameSpot, GameTrailers, Eurogamer, and Game Informer). There are still problems, but at best I would call it a “good” game now. The gameplay is much improved, the combat is deeper, and there’s enough content to keep you busy for 60-80 hours to see and do everything. I wanted the original Two Worlds to end as fast as I could, so I didn't feel bad using some glitches to make it end quicker. But I remember that I liked the feel of Two Worlds II enough to put more time into it, despite a bad framerate and lack of polish at times. 

The original game suffered from having simple generic fantasy designs, but in the sequel, we do see a lot Asian-inspired touches and with more thought put into the design history of the world. Combat is much improved from the original, now letting you keep three different loadouts ready at all times, just in case your current one isn't working. Are blunt weapons not working? Then switch to ranged. Are physical attacks not doing enough damage? Immediately switch to your mage loadout. It's actually a great system for an RPG, letting you try out different loadouts with minimal downsides since you can switch back to something else at the push of a button. The spell casting system is well-loved by players; you create spells by combining cards together and there is enough complexity to keep you busy for a long time. It can be interesting to see which combinations work best, so you always will have something new to add to the mixture to keep improving them. You can also make potions in a similar manner, mixing different ingredients with a variety of plants and creature parts that you have found to make something useful. Even Item Upgrades are done in an interesting way. You can break down existing weapons and armor into their basic parts and then use that to upgrade the stuff you want to keep. The story is still rather lame, but the writing overall is much better. The side-quests are designed better this time, with some NPCs having jobs or tasks that tie into their needs. You will see a much better emphasis on humorous dialog this time, and it often works. They do use some pop culture references, but it fits in with the other writing, and they also poke a lot of fun at themselves from decisions they made in the first game.  

Online multiplayer returns, usually limited to 8-players in Deathmatch or small Skirmish Instances. The coop lets you play missions on a small island with other friends, but you need to make an all-new character for multiplayer. You can even manage your own village and customize it. If all you have is the console versions, then you will have to deal with lower framerates and stuttering, along with lower detail. Try to play on PC if you can, the framerate is smoother, the lighting can actually look impressive at times, and the loading is much quicker. 

The guide is a hefty 320-pages, full-color with maps, and you have lists of all the different weapons, plants, organs, and other animal ingredients you can find. Some of the most helpful stuff is charts for magic that show you the enchantment effects for the combinations with modifier cards. Very useful. Special thanks to @Roark406 for the donation and scan, with editing from @dablais. You also get a rundown of all the different outcomes in dialog choices. In 2011 DLC was released, Pirates of the Flying Fortress. 

In 2013, Miroslaw Dymek left, the main pillar of Reality Pump, but he also took with him several talented developers. They all moved to the newly created Kraków branch of CD Projekt RED. In 2015, Reality Pump was forced to close down due to bankruptcy. Most of its remaining employees moved to another developer, Bloober Team. In 2016, publisher TopWare Interactive started to release four more DLCs for Two Worlds II, which are only available on PC versions. Unfortunately, publisher TopWare has also been known to be toxic toward players, with many stories of them trying to drive interest by using IP masking techniques, and trying to control lower review scores and threatening employees to leave favorable reviews during a 2-week period when TWII launched. They also have added DRM and microtransactions to some of the later online DLC. If you buy it on a platform like GoG or Steam, the online portion of the game is possibly locked off behind a serial key, and reportedly they added a limited amount of uses for this key. Trying to install the game a second time might not work, but thankfully the game advertises that you can purchase a new key again right now. So thoughtful. Two Worlds III has been mentioned with a release date for 2019, then 2023, and then 2026 so be on the lookout for that. [updated with sales figures, publisher antics]

Huh, never heard of this series before, let alone that there were two of them.