I bought this game for console for 60$ and can say that I got a solid 30 hours of it before shelving it ( never have completed it since I primarily play RPGs on the PC now). The character models, some animations and lighting can be sketchy but it has a lot of bright spots{Edit: No pun intended here }. For one, the combat is excellent and the magic system, although it does have a steep learning curve, can be really deep and create some interesting spells. Basically it uses cards based on elements of magic, a type of spell( projectile, aoe, self cast) and modifier cards to create unique spells. One such spell I created cast out 3 bolts of frost that froze people to the grounds and then summoned a fish-man warrior from each bolt who attacked the target closest to them. Its really one of the most innovative (if sometimes confusing and clunky) magic systems I have seen. Combat is good and progression across skills is as good as any RPG around, the combat animations and physics are more like Arcania: Gothic  4 than Skyrim but there is enough ragdoll and stumbling to make it feel (hate to use this word) "visceral". It also sports a pretty good alchemy and crafting system as well as mounts and several mini games.

The story is forgettable and the voice acting is sometimes unintentionally laughable. Its almost like a B-Movie ( in fact I wrote about its status as a B-Game a view months back), occasionally a man with a stereotypical ye' old english accent will approach another man with a stereotypical souther United States drawl and engage in a conversation about the state of affairs in a land that is never mentioned again but the game does not take itself too seriously. I will be honest, at first glance the game looks pretty bad, character torsos look like MW style triangles and faces are deplorable. Textures are pretty good and the game makes use of shaders to make magic visuals and certain scenic vistas rather nice to look at. When I mentioned the lighting issues earlier I meant this; I think they attempted to implement the same shader that Skyrim uses to darken the screen to give that " eyes adjusting to the light" type of imagery but it usually fails and I often found myself squinting if an interior zone with dark to no lighting gave way to an outdoor area without a loading screen.

I never made it past the Savannah which is basically the 2nd zone of the game ( it appears there is something like 4-5 zones as well as a castle building type of game mode that I never got into) but I have heard some negative things about the plot, quests and overall style of gameplay after exiting the Savannah but, as I stated earlier, I am 30 hours into the game and still in the zone that has provided me with a lot of enjoyment so really its a risk worth taking. I will leave some surprises for you, but overall the game is unlike anything else on the market and I wish it had gotten a lot more press & credibility ( GI did give the game an 8 also stating it has that B-Game type of merit). The leveling is balanced really well as some dungeons ( you wont find many that arent quest based)  and exterior zones ( like enemy encampents) are too difficult to attack early on in the game. New skills are aquired through books, which can be found or bought so if you want to focus on a specific path you can sell the books you do not want and purchase the rather pricy skill books. Once a skill is learned through a book you can apply points to it when leveling up just as in any other RPG.

The game bucks the typical RPG trends in more ways than I have even mentioned, most of your time is spent outside ( at least in the Savannah) and for good reason. I mean how often is a fantasy RPG set in an Africanized Savannah type of region? It has typical fantasy style quests and storylines ( yes there are guilds) but alongside these you will find unique adventures, unique loots and yes even unique creatures ( like the aforementioned fishmen, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys, as well as typical fantasy fare such as orcs, ents, spiders). All enemies have different weapon and elemental weaknesses which make playing a jack of all trades type of character particularly usefull. A great inventory management system that allows you to essential hotkey 3 ( probably more on the PC version) completely different equipped sets.

Ill leave the rest for you to find but I feel that these are all things one should know before getting into the game. If you can withold your judgment, and wish to take a break from the "blockbuster" open world RPGs you will find a great and worthwhile experience lurking within Two Worlds II.  Plus it has spears, polearms, dual wielding, mounted combat, boss creatures, armor and clothing dyes and many other features that you simply will not find in another RPG of this nature. For 15$ this game is a steal...