The rest of the game is simply outstanding.
To say that the lack of any kind of tutorial or sensible (perhaps explanatory) menu system is "outstanding" is frankly ridiculous. Now I'm not one of those guys who wants every game to be like Wii Sports or whatever with constant hand-holding, but when you remove tutorial elements from a game, you have to compensate by introducing a more gradual learning curve and implementing trial-and-error situations that clearly show the player what they did wrong. Otherwise, you end up creating a niche game with inherently bad game design that only the most diehard/masochistic players can (or perhaps, will) wade through.
I found this to be my biggest problem with the time I spent playing TW. I had no idea what anything was useful for or even what I had in my inventory, in part thanks to the developer's mindbogglingly atrocious menus in the console version (whether the PC ones are better I've no clue). Hell, somehow I nearly died fighting that Goblin thing in the starting dungeon. For an RPG veteran of 15 years to be completely dumbfounded by the mechanics of what is supposedly a standard open-world Oblivion clone just screams bad design. After I finished in the dungeon, I exited and continued on my way back into town. On my way, following the road, I was attacked by enemies with levels far above my own. I, of course, got killed, but I decided to keep trying. Well, after about 5 tries, I finally managed to get past some of the most broken, unbalanced spawns I've ever seen in a retail RPG. My experience with the game didn't last much longer than that, as I gave up on the game after coming across another massively-overpowered spawn. Normally, I really try to give a game a chance, but nothing on Earth could ever get me to play TW again. Life's too short to be playing bad games IMO.
Now, again, I'm not one of those guys who just can't cut it in a hardcore RPG environment. I've played games like Might & Magic VI and Morrowind where you're given the freedom to explore and mobs will likely be much more powerful than you if you go too far out. I accept that style of gameplay, as it is largely fair with the player: you go to an uber area, you die. Where TW breaks this covenant, as I stated, is where it has enemies from the beginning being overpowered. And it's not just that they have an advantage over the player, but that they are capable of chopping your health to pieces while you barely make a dent in them. That is the very definition of bad game design, and particularly, bad AI leveling.
Some may not like the item stacking
I'm not opposed to the idea of item-stacking, though I do find it to be unrealistic in the extreme. You also have to design your game very carefully as a result, since any player can simply bypass naturally-better loot by simply farming lower-quality items (not to mention the obvious leveling issues that would ensue from a Level 5 having a Level 25's-quality sword, for example). I'll venture a guess and say that TW's developer didn't implement a competent, balanced system for this, but I could be wrong.
nothing in RPG's is realistic!
That really depends on the RPG. If you mean the whole overarching premise of invisible stats and stuff like that, then sure, it's not realistic. But many other elements are, especially in RPGs set in modern times (or even the future), so saying that "nothing in RPGs is realistic" is kind of a ridiculous overstatement.
Compared to Oblivion, Two Worlds feels jammed packed with bandits, creatures, dungeons, and towers to explore. There's always something around the next corner.
You do realize Oblivion had something like 200+ dungeons and caves in it, right? I would know, as I explored every single one (used the map in the strategy guide). After I was through with every one of those dungeons/caves/etc. (as well as the sidequests and main quest), I had spent over 250 hours in Oblivion. Frankly, if you want more content than that, I think you're nuts (or really obsessed with not paying another $50 for a game).
I'm thinking people either "get it" or they don't.
I'm not sure what's to get with TW. It's a bad game, simply put. It was a rushed, defective piece of junk that should have stayed in development for another year at the very least. Even after all the patches they put out after release, it doesn't take away the fact that the core design principles for the game are massively flawed and pale in comparison to its supposed main competitor, Oblivion. At best, TW is a mediocre clone of Oblivion and similar games from the past (Gothic, etc.).
Personally, I love playing games like Earth Defense Force 2017, most Dynasty Warriors games, and I'm a huge fan of Too Human. Does that mean I consider them "good" or even "great" games? No.
EDF 2017 is fun for the same reason watching Plan 9 From Outer Space is fun: the game and its premise are mediocre, but the campiness and features like co-op make it worth playing on a rainy day.
Dynasty Warriors games are mostly-dull, highly-repetitive hack-and-slash games that have barely changed in a decade. However, since most games don't let you feel like a god on the battlefield simply by mashing X/A/etc., Koei (the developer) has found its niche and they satisfy that basic urge well.
Too Human, while the best of the bunch, has odd controls that are somewhat unresponsive and has a story that needed at least another year's implementation. The graphics were marginal-to-good, the voice-acting needed work, and the co-op was both half-completed and fairly buggy. Again, however, its two shining components were its premise (cyclical history tied to the old Norse mythology) and, oddly, its control scheme/combat. The combat in TH is so unique that even its closest competitors, games like Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, etc., can't compete once you get used to the controls. The visceral feel of pinballing between a swarm of enemies and flinging them into the air like confetti is just something you don't see in games every day, hence my love for the game despite its large flaws. This does not mean I regard TH as a particularly "good" game, but rather, that I see its potential and I champion it for that reason alone.
Combat seems passable but feels awkward much more then it needs to.
The combat in Two Worlds is some of the clunkiest, ugliest stuff I've yet seen in a video game. Even Elder Scrolls combat in third-person looks better.
