reality-pump posts

Two Worlds II was released via download to US PC owners earlier this month but there's been a bit of a blow up about the reviews for the fantasy RPG sequel. According to the Beefjack web site, it received word from an unnamed UK-based journalist that its 5 (out of 10) review of the game was called out by the game's publisher TopWare as "insulting" and that unless the review was raised up to 7 it would be blacklisted from future TopWare products.

TopWare has responded to the allegations with an unnamed PR rep saying that its beef with the review was not with the score itself but that the journalist said that 5 out of 10 was an "average" score for a game. The rep stated, "The rest of the world on a grading system would consider a 5 a failure and that is our only concern. That the site's review of the game is their opinion, but that their scoring system is, in our opinion, flawed." It flat out denied that the reviewer had been asked to change its score and also denied any blacklisting threats.

Destructoid has picked up the story and the story's comments feature several by TopWare's US marketing head James Seaman. He states, "The actual person from the site in question has actually written me in an email that this is over and that we will all move in a positive direction." He adds, "My team needs to take a step back as the UK has been pretty harsh on our game, but such is life. I will make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, but some of my guys have put their heart and soul into this game and just need to take a step back."

In other comments, Seaman confirmed that a new game in the Two Worlds series is in the works and will be released in 2012. He also states that the retail PC version of the game will ship to stores to the US sometime next month.

The fantasy RPG sequel Two Worlds II has been released in parts of Europe for a while now but it will finally be released in the US soon. The game was originally set for release this week but today its co-publisher Topware announced it will finally be released in the US on February 4.

In the same press release, Topware announced that a limited Royal Edition of the game is now available for pre-order. The PC/Mac Royal Edition is apparently only accessible at Amazon.com where it shows only two copies are avaialble. The $79.99 Royal Edition includes the Reality Pump-developed game along with extras like a Dragon Queen statuette, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a double sided poster with a map of the game's fantasy world, an exclusive art book, playig cards and exclusive in-game weapons and items.

The labyrinth of ancient Greece lends its name to any large, dungeon-like maze, and this Two Worlds 2 trailer definitely fits both of those criteria. Shown entirely from the perspective of the player, it pits the hero against undead knights and the confusing layout of a massive maze. Naturally, there's plenty of time lapse. Funnily enough, it actually makes us fairly interested in Two Worlds 2, if just to see what puzzles or environments the developers manage to put in. The combat doesn't look all that intriguing, however. We never were fans of stiff fighting.

Download Two Worlds 2 'Labyrinth Gameplay' Trailer
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Two Worlds II, already released in parts of Europe last fall, is finally scheduled to show up for the US market in early February. In the first video developer diary released by its US publisher Southpeak Games, Scott Cromie, the creative director of the game's co-publisher TopWare Interactive talks about some of the game's new features compared to the original title.

Those features include the improved graphical engine which Cromie claims shows off the best visuals no matter which platform the game is made for. Players can also dismantle weapons in the game to upgrade equipment and the spell system can now be customized to make over 1 million potential spells available.

Download the Two Worlds II Developer Diary 1 trailer at Big Download

While Two Worlds II has yet to be released here in the US, folks in Europe who have already bought the Reality Pump-developed fantasy RPG can now download files that will add native Mac support for people who purchased the Royal and Premium Edition of the game.

Owners of the game will have to put in the game's serial number and the included bonus code in order to download the Mac game files. The PC version must be in the PC's disk drive during the installation of the Mac files. The Mac retail version goes on sale on January 25 which is also the date that the game is released in the US.

Gallery: Two Worlds II

Earlier this fall, the fantasy RPG sequel Two Worlds II got a last minute delay here in the US to January 2011. Today the game's main publisher TopWare Interactive announced that the game from developer Reality Pump Studios now has a more specific January 25 release date for the US and UK.

Two Worlds II has already been released in other parts of Europe and today TopWare stated that the game has already sold one million units in its first three weeks of release. Southpeak Games will still be the game's distributor here in the US but TopWare will take over the game's release in the UK and Ireland.

[Via email press release]

Earlier this week, publisher Southpeak Interactive announced that the US release of the fantasy RPG sequel Two Worlds II was being pushed back from October to January 2011. At the time the publisher stated the delay was to give the game "heavyweight quality assurance." Now the game's co-developer TopWare Interactive claims otherwise, telling GameSpot that Two Worlds II was actually completed earlier this month.

According to TopWare, the game's delay in the US was actually because Southpeak felt the game might get lost in the shuffle of other RPG titles coming out this fall. Company spokesperson James Seaman states, " .. fans only have so much time to spend playing these content-rich games, and there were concerns our title could potentially be lost in the fanfare." The game's European publisher Zuxxez will still release Two Worlds II "in a handful of territories October 21", according to the report.

If you thought that the fall 2010 PC game schedule was finally all settled, think again. Our sister site Joystiq reports that Two Worlds 2, the sequel to the fantasy RPG from developer Reality Pump Studios, won't be out in October in the US. Instead the game will be released in January 2011.

In its official statement, Southpeak said the delay was to give the game "heavyweight quality assurance". That sounds an awful lot like, "We don't want any show stopping bugs this time." The new release date is apparently just confirmed for the US at the moment. Ship dates for other territories in the world will be announced later.

Publisher Southpeak Games is likely expecting big sales from Two Worlds II, the sequel to the fantasy RPG from developer Reality Pump. Today the company announced a pre-order offer for those folks who want to put down their money for the game early at retailer GameStop before its schedule release in September.

The pre-order offer will include adding a special in-game item, the two-sided sword Luciendar, to the game that will give players an increase in their resistance skills. Pre-orders will also get an extra level to explore, the Labyrinths of Hatmandor, where players will get to go "in search of exquisite treasures."

While it perhaps didn't get a lot of solid critical notices, the fantasy RPG Two Worlds sold well enough for developer Reality Pump to commission a sequel. Today publisher Southpeak Interactive announced plans to release Two Worlds II on September 14 in the US. UK resident will get the game on September 17.

The press release announcing the release date touts the sequel's improved graphical features, using terms like "Real Eye Adaptation, HD Dynamic Motion Capture, and Multi-Source Dynamic Lighting." Of course we are curious as to how the actual gameplay has been changed for the better. We certainly hope that's the case.