two-worlds posts

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.

So we've been told that the recession is ending. Some pundits are even saying it's all over. Well, no matter if the economy is down in the dumps or roaring at top speed, you still like to save money. GoGamer.com's latest misnamed "48 Hour Madness" sale hits you up with some PC game sales until 3 am Eastern Time on Tuesday.

Among the PC games and ports on sale this time are Frontlines: Fuel of War for just $5:90, Mercenaries 2 for a mere $3.90, the new Wolfenstein for $24.90, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for $5.90, and Two Worlds for the tiny price of $2.90.

Last Friday, developer Reality Pump announced Two Worlds II, the sequel to their 2007 fantasy RPG. However, Reality Pump already had a sequel announced for the game, Two Worlds: The Temptation, that began life as an expansion pack. Now our sister site Joystiq has posted world from the developer that Two Worlds II is a totally new game and that Two Worlds: The Temptation is actually canceled.

What happened? Accoridng to Dirk Hassinger, who runs the US part of the company, Topware, after work began on Two Worlds: The Temptation, " . . . we found the technology outdated and started a new engine generation from the scratch. Now it is a real Two Worlds II with state-of-the-art technology." He admits that some ideas and story elements from Two Worlds: The Temptation might find its way into Two Worlds II but that ultimately the game is "a different title and not a simple rename."

Reality Pump Studios knows how to confuse us big time. Their 2007 fantasy RPG Two Worlds was supposed to be followed by an expansion pack called Two Worlds: The Temptation. However those plans changed and in 2008 Two Worlds: The Temptation turned into a full fledged stand alone sequel.

That game was supposed to be released late in 2008 but obviously that didn't happen. Now it appears Reality Pump is going old school by renaming their sequel. It's now simply called Two Worlds II with Reality Pump now promising it will be out sometime this winter. The game itself takes place two years after the original and the developer promises to show us not only new locations in the fantasy world of Eastern Antaloor but graphic engine and AI improvements . . . at least until their next title change.

This patch updates the RPG Two Worlds to v1.7 and includes the free Curse of Souls content add-on, which brings in four new multiplayer maps and 40 quests. Continue reading after the jump for a complete list of features. The Two Worlds demo can downloaded here.

Download Two Worlds v1.6 to 1.7b Incremental Patch (94 MB)
Download Two Worlds v1.0 to 1.7b Patch (1.18 GB)
Download the Two Worlds Demo (865 MB)

Developer Zuxxez has been working on Two Worlds: The Temptation, the next game in their fantasy RPG series that started as a simple expansion but has since changed to a full stand alone sequel. Today Zuxxez released some new screenshots from the game that we have reproduced here.

Most of the new screenshots are enviromental in nature but there are some that show off some of the game's creatures like the above shot which has cross between a dragon and a raptor that looks extremely hungry. Two Worlds: The Temptation is expected to be released in late 2009. Southpeak Games will be the US publisher for the game as they were for the original Two Worlds.

Not all publicly traded companies are doing badly. Case in point: Southpeak Interactive. The medium sized game publisher just announced its financial results for its last fiscal year that ended June 30 with revenues of $40.2 million, up from just $12.5 million from the previous fiscal year. The company pulled in a profit of $4.5 million for the year compared to a loss of $700,000 from its previous fiscal year.

Southpeak's increase in revenues came in part to the sales numbers of Two Worlds, the PC-Xbox 360 fantasy RPG. A sequel, Two Worlds: The Tempation, is due for release in Southpeak's current fiscal year and the company plans to more than double its game releases for the 2009 fiscal year.

If you have yet to purchase the fantasy RPG Two Worlds from developer Reality Pump and publisher Southpeak Games, then you might want to pay attention this coming August. Southpeak has just announced plans to release Two Worlds: Epic Edition that month.

The new product will contain both the original game as well as the two previously released (via paid download) expansion packs Tainted Blood and Curse of Souls. This will add 70 new quests, eight new multiplayer maps and more content. Southpeak plans to release the full sequel, Two Worlds: The Temptation, this fall.

Southpeak Interactive originally began as a division of the SAS Institute, a business software company that wanted to break into the game business. They released third party software (including the first Rainbow Six PC releases for Red Storm) and developed their own titles in-house, mostly of the full-motion video adventure game genre. However SAS never made money from Southpeak and shut down their operations in 2000. A group of investors bought the Southpeak Interactive name and in 2005 began using it to release titles like Monster Madness and Two Worlds.

Now Southpeak is looking to expand even more. It has not only turned into a publically traded company, Venture Beat reports that they have also received a $12.9 million venture capital investment which Southpeak will use to help publish a number of game titles for the PC and other platforms. Look for the company to display its upcoming titles at next month's E3 event.

As promised back in April, the folks at Reality Pump Studios have now released the free expansion Tainted Blood for their 2007 released fantasy RPG Two Worlds. The add-on (previously released for Xbox 360 owners of the game) adds a number of new multiplayer maps to the game and over 30 new quests along with what they are calling a "Business and Trading Center". Hmmm....seems like more what we would see in a game based on The Office than a fantasy title.

If you already have the Game of the Year edition of Two Worlds you already have the Tainted Blood expansion so there's no need for you to grab this release. However, Reality Pump still plans to release a second expansion to the game, Curse of Souls, in the near future.