Graphics: Graphics are a mixed bag. Features are nearly impossible to distinguish, and everything is washed in gray undertones. The map is just plain awful, and locations look virtually the same. They do show off some skills, as water is picture perfect and even reflects accurately. Sadly, they could have put all that work to better use by creating a more realistic gaming environment. The NPCs resemble the marionette characters of the 1960s (wobble and all).

Interface: Navigation is fairly intuitive. Button use is standard for the 360, except that the B button acts like a literal back button. It causes the character to awkwardly slide backwards. That said, I don’t recommend trying your hand at horsemanship right away. The equines in Two Worlds appear to be quite independent in their actions, and without sufficient horsemanship skills, impossible to control. Walk during the early stages and save yourself the headaches. The menus contain complete instructions within each, and are easily accessed, but keep the manual handy as the placement and use of the cards is crucial to successful spell-casting.

Gameplay: Gameplay is both entertaining and frustrating. Did I mention the map? The Quest log is another source of confusion. You know what you need to do, but when you try to find out where you need to do it, it sometimes sends you back to the origin of the quest instead of the actual location. Once you can get the hang of taking notes and NOT depending on your log, you can sit back and enjoy. Kill the dwarves, fight the Grom and travel the monotonous countryside, but keep in mind the dice are loaded against you. Wandering monsters are everywhere, and the big bads start off with hundreds of hit points, so if you find an enemy you can’t kill — RUN!!! He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. All in all, I’d probably purchase my own copy, but only because there are no other Fantasy RPGs on the market at present and this one can’t be completed in an afternoon.

Multiplayer: It’s never a good sign when you can’t find anyone to play with via Xbox Live, but I wanted to try playing a different gender and character, which are the only good points to multiplayer play, so I hosted my own game and waited. Like most games, you have the option for either ranked or non-ranked play, but it’s only a game of hide and seek to destroy.

Sound FX: Two Worlds provides all of the necessary sounds. All of the usual fight and animal sounds are included, but there’s no depth, so don’t depend on your ears to let you know if there are any bad guys nearby. You won’t hear them until they’re RIGHT THERE!!!

Music: The music is repetitive and thankfully only inserted between missions. If you’re in multiplayer mode, this can last for some time while the host selects all of the vitals for the game, so keep the remote handy to mute it.

Intelligence: The artificial intelligence is adequate, as there don’t appear to be any enemy movement patterns, but sometimes an archer will merely stand there and let you swat him with a sword instead of trying to run away. Conversations are scripted, and can get redundant. NPCs usually don’t have further information once you’ve spoken to them unless they’ve given you a mission, and then the dialogue will only change if it’s mission-related. These guys have no problem telling you the same thing over and over every time you encounter them.

Difficulty: Two Worlds has three difficulty settings, but they should be labeled hard, harder and hell. You really don’t stand much of a chance until you’re at least level 7, so the auto resurrections are a major benefit, as progress won’t be lost. It took about five hours of gameplay before I felt comfortable enough with the environment to be able to make headway through my quest log.

Overall: While Two Worlds didn’t live up to my initial expectations, it did provide enough of a Fantasy RPG fix to keep me playing. Until another solid RPG comes along, I’m going to hang out and practice my sword fighting skills, but the makers of the Elder Scrolls series can relax. They’re not about to be dethroned.