A middle-finger to the naysayers who hated the first one with a passion. Don't listen to N. American media bashing!
The game mechanics are pretty similar to the first, but inventory management is (thank God) streamlined and attractive. The ability to deconstruct useless items into useful components for upgrades is a lifesaver. Compared to most other RPGs, I never once felt like a garbage collector shuttling crapola from the wilderness to a town. Some RPGs get by with that loot/sell mechanic passing as "depth," but TW II eliminates the need to head back to a town unless you have business there. That is startlingly realistic, from an RPG, no? Most other mechanics strike me as more realistic representations of what most other RPGs pass over and make too easy.
I've heard a lot of flack about the combat, and most ire is directed at either casting time or melee repetition. As an archer, I may not have the best view on what melee frustrations can be, but it is the most realistic archery in an RPG to date. Sniping on monsters for that critical first strike is addictive, challenging, and fun. I water-walked to New Ashos well before I should have, and spent hours trying to explore without getting killed. I stalked through the jungle avoiding fights, and eventually found that if I could "pull" a panther with my bow, I could get a kill. Needless to say, I was stalking prey and really hunting - leading shots, singling out one form the herd, aiming manually for most effect, etc. For all of the love for Oblivion (and I do LOVE that game,) the combat is way more realistic than randomly waving a sword back and forth in front of you and hoping to connect. The bows also feel as if they have heft to them, whereas Oblivion's arrows flew without any regard to physics.
For once, I "feel" like my character. I behave as he would, explore knowing that if I don't stalk around and pick off from afar, I will die every time. I get my shot off, run, get the high ground, and continue to harry the enemy from afar. That is how an archer would approach a hostile landscape. I find myself getting totally absorbed in the simplest of things, like getting from one side of an island to the other, and just taking my time and enjoying the scenery and hunting. If I were a melee tanker, it would be different, but this is my style of gameplay, and my character is being shaped to reflect the role I want to play in Antaloor. It's hard to imagine that people aren't doing similar with melee characters, mages, and combos of the three types. Play exactly as you want to, shape your character to be a certain type of fighter, pursue one weapon type relentlessly... it all feels natural in the game.
The voice acting is wayyyyyyyy better than the first. The story is kind of meh, but it's more subtle than epic. I'm typically a dialog skipper, and I've rarely skipped something in the questing. All of the side quests make the world feel lived in and well rounded. Sure, there are a ton of FedEx quests, but they never feel forced, and they usually give you a good excuse to explore areas of the world that are off the beaten path. People complain about the lack of moral choices, but they are in there. It's subtle, but what moral choices in life are as dramatic as most games make out? As most games portray it anyway, a choice to either murder someone senselessly or help them out is not a moral quandary - it's a flat out psychotic decision. That doesn't help to make it seem realistic, and Two Worlds II is better off to not have some forced mechanic of good/bad/light/dark overlaying character and story development.
After all of this talk of the strengths of the game, there are some weaknesses. Every once in a great while, you'll be reminded that this is still a Two Worlds game. Teleporting into a white screen that is frozen for 20 seconds is one of those reminders. I've encountered bounding boxes around a creature for a second or two, and also have picked up an inventory item called something like NPC_ITEM 270 once, but none if it is a deal breaker. Sailing, while cool as an idea, in reality is so hard to pull off, that you'll end up being better served by water-walking. It's cool to have the choice, but learning to sail in the game is about as easy as learning the magic system. Once you get it, it can be fun, but it is not the most efficient way to get around. The last big issue for me is that (unlike the last game,) loot drops are not fantastic. After about 15 hours of play, I've accumulated something like 8 crystals. In the last game, they were everywhere, and now, I'm struggling to find them. Not a huge deal, but still annoying.
Overall, I think this game is one of the best RPGs I've every played. The more you put into it, the more realistic and fulfilling it is. It looks good, plays solid, and is full of character choice. I've yet to mention the multiplayer, which is engaging and amazing at the same time. The server selection sucks, but level up a bunch with people on your friends list in private matches, and you'll eventually be able find plenty of higher level public matches. The music is STELLAR ... like Diablo stellar. Buy this game and go into it without any negative preconceptions, and you will find a deep and rewarding game world to get lost in endlessly.