Magicka 2

Last updated
Magicka 2
Magicka 2 cover artwork.jpg
Developer(s) Pieces Interactive
Publisher(s) Paradox Interactive
Series Magicka
Platform(s) Windows, PlayStation 4, Linux, OS X
ReleaseWindows, PlayStation 4
May 26, 2015 [1]
Linux, OS X
November 10, 2015 [2]
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Magicka 2 is an action-adventure video game, the sequel to Magicka , [3] for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and PlayStation 4. It was released on May 26, 2015 [4] and was announced at Sony's E3 2014 media briefing with a trailer. [3] Instead of being developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, the title was developed by Pieces Interactive [5] alongside the publisher Paradox Interactive.

Contents

Plot

Opening

The opening of Magicka 2 starts with a backstory, how 1 through 4 wizards from the Order of Magick saved Midgård from certain doom multiple times (the story of Magicka ). Due to this success, the Order of Magick decided to expand by founding multiple wizard schools all over Midgård. However, conflict between the schools grew, eventually sparking the Wizard Wars. The aftermath of the wars resulted in many wizards decimated, and those who survived tread the shadows of their former glory. Without wizards destroying the human's way of life, the Golden Age of Man has begun. During this period of calmness, a seer named Nostrir the Soothslayer has prophesied that a child, infused with magick from the magickal residue caused by the Wizard Wars, was born somewhere in Midgård. This very child, once of age, will lead Midgård into a better place, free of suffering. However, the prophecy also told that an opposing force would seek to prevent the child from realizing her power. Vlad, back from his multi-decade vacation, returns to Aldrheim only to find the castle in ruins. Hearing Nostrir's prophecy, Vlad decides to guide 1 through 4 wizards from the ruins of Aldrheim to save the prophesied child.

Main story

After being treated to a brief tutorial the 1-4 players are instructed by Vlad to find the seer Nostrir and set out towards Crystal Bay, where Nostrir resides. On the way, the player passes through a group of humans celebrating a festival called “Interdependence Day”. The festival grounds are attacked by goblins which the player defeats.

After arriving in Crystal Bay, Vlad informs the players of Nostrirs last known residence. The wizards make their way towards Nostrirs house while fighting of hordes of Goblins and vicious, man-eating crabs. When the wizards arrive at Nostrirs house it is discovered that a group of goblins and orcs are also searching for him but that he no longer resides in his house. After defeating the leaders of the orc and goblin raid, Vlad appears and instructs the wizards to search the caves beneath Crystal Bay for Nostrir.

Venturing through the caves the players discover an underground fortress where Nostrir now resides. After defeating a giant horde of enemy crabs the wizards are allowed entrance and meets Nostrir. Vlad teleports in and asks him where the prophesied child may be found, Nostrir reveals that the child was born in the Vanir higherlands in the clan of chieftess Frida. Before Nostrir can fully reveal who the child is, however, a giant claw appears from a nearby underground lake and pulls him in. Vlad tells the players to venture north into the Vanir Higerlands anyway and find the child.

Continuing to venture through the caves the wizards encounter the Beastkin, a group of aggressive, vegan half human- half animal creatures, and has to fight through them to reach the Higherlands. After exiting through a passageway that leads to the Higherlands the wizards discover a massive army of orcs and goblins presumably heading north to stop the child from realising its power. The wizards make haste having to fight through beastkin, orcs and goblins alike. The wizards then reach a bridge leading into the Vanir’s territory, a group of beastkin demand entry into the land as their lands are being destroyed by elves and humans. The Vanir deny them entry and in the ensuing fight the wizards emerge victorious. After finding the chieftess Frida Vlad mediates between the Vanir, who wants to kill the wizards for killing their bridge keepers in the aforementioned fight, and the wizards who wish to find the child. Frida realises that the prophesied child may be her own daughter, Lok.

The wizards continue to head north towards the Vanir village where Lok resides, arriving at the same time as the orcs, under the leadership of the warlady Khan IV the first, and the goblins under the leadership of the shaman Metexas. The wizards manage to defeat warlady Khan with their magic causing the orcs to scatter. After the battle Lok’s mentor, Elin, wants to kill the wizards, citing the fact wizards can never be trusted and cause more harm than good. Lok refuses and instead traps the wizards inside a magical crystal ball, also trapping the nearby Metexas in the process.

After being trapped inside the crystal ball Metexas berates the wizards for trusting in Vlad and Nostrir and presents an alternative version of the prophecy where it is the child who endangers the world with her powers. This prophecy is the reason for the orcs and goblins unifying, as they wished to stop the child before it causes to much damage.

One year after being imprisoned the wizards and Metexas are freed by Vlad, who briefs them on what has happened during their year of imprisonment where it appears Metexas’ predictions are coming true as the Vanir have since pushed southwards under Lok’s leadership and have united humans, elves and dwarves in an alliance under the Vanir. A disgruntled Metexas teleports away and Vlad tasks the wizards with stopping Lok before it’s too late.

The wizards then head through the forest towards castle Vanirhall, Lok’s base of operations built atop the ruins of Aldrheim. After encountering a group of elves Vlad teleports in front of the wizards to give them another briefing, accidentally blowing their cover and leading to the wizards having to fight their way to Vanirhall.

After arriving to Vanirhall the wizards defeat most of the castles guards before encountering Elin, whom they defeat. The wizards confront Lok, who is initially excited to see them thinking they are still mostly harmless. After sensing that the wizards have killed Elin, she attacks them using a golem she has constructed with her magic. The wizards managed to incapacitate the golem by destroying its magical power reserves and Vlad then appears and uses his magic to trap Lok. After looking around the castle Vlad states that it would make a good new magic school and then teleports away after declaring himself the headmaster. The wizards celebrate their victory before the golem initiates a self-destruct sequence, the screen promptly cuts to black.

Reception

Magicka 2 received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic, the game holds score of 69/100 for the PC version based on 37 reviews, [6] and 72/100 based on 18 reviews for the PlayStation 4 version. [7]

IGN awarded the game a score of 7.7 out of 10, saying "Though it may occasionally test your patience, Magicka 2's charm and depth make it a really fun co-op experience". [13] PCGamesN awarded it 6 out of 10, saying " At the moment it’s functional, sometimes fun, but only something that should really be considered if you’ve got three chums who are guaranteed to play with you.". [15] GameSpot awarded it 7 out of 10, saying "Put Magicka 2 next to its 2011 predecessor and you’ve got a before-and-after comparison straight out of a weight-loss advertising campaign." [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Galactic Civilizations</i> 2003 video game

Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in 2004. A sequel, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, was released February 21, 2006. On May 14, 2015, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations III. On April 26, 2022, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drizzt Do'Urden</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.

<i>Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura</i> 2001 video game

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a 2001 role-playing video game developed by Troika Games and published by Sierra On-Line for Microsoft Windows. The game's story takes place within a fantasy setting currently undergoing a transformation from its own industrial revolution, in which magic competes against technological gadgets, and focuses on the efforts of a zeppelin crash survivor to find out who attacked the vessel, ultimately discovering a plot by an ancient power to return to the world and cause chaos. The game, conducted from an isometric perspective and within an open world, offers players the opportunity to craft their protagonist with a variety of skills, including the option to be gifted in magic or use guns and gadgets to combat enemies, and complete quests in different ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catti-brie</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Catti-brie is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms setting, based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The creation of American author R.A. Salvatore, she is primarily known as the love interest of the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and has appeared in multiple media alongside Drizzt.

Birthright is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting that was first released by TSR in 1995. It is based on the continent of Cerilia on the world of Aebrynis, in which the players take on the role of the divinely-empowered rulers, with emphasis on the political rulership level of gameplay. The setting revolves around the concept of bloodlines: divine power gained by heroes and passed on to their descendants. Characters with a bloodline create an aura of command known as Regency, which is measured in the game using regency points or RP. Using regency, characters acquire a domain composed of provinces and holdings. The development of these domains is as much a part of the game as development of the characters. The game uses three-month domain turns to model actions of rulers over nations in much the same way as Dungeons & Dragons uses combat rounds to simulate time to model the characters' actions in battle. In 1996, Birthright won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1995.

<i>Civilization II: Test of Time</i> 1999 video game

Civilization II: Test of Time is a turn-based strategy game developed by MicroProse's development studio in Hunt Valley, and published by Hasbro Interactive in 1999. It is a remake of the best-selling game Civilization II that was released to compete with Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Test of Time's central innovation was the addition of multiple maps and the inclusion of two campaigns concerning science fiction and fantasy themes.

<i>Divine Divinity</i> 2002 video game

Divine Divinity is an action role-playing game developed by Larian Studios and published by cdv Software Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, which was released in August 2002. It has three sequels, Beyond Divinity, Divinity II, and Divinity: Original Sin II. It also has a prequel, Divinity: Original Sin, and a spin-off, Divinity: Dragon Commander. The game was released for Mac OS X on 15 November 2013.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II</i> 2006 real-time strategy game

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. The second part of the Middle-earth strategy game series, it is based on the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and its live-action film series adaptation. It is the sequel to Electronic Arts' 2004 title The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Along with the standard edition, a Collector's Edition of the game was released, containing bonus material and a documentary about the game's development.

<i>Dark Messiah of Might and Magic</i> 2006 video game

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a first-person action role-playing game developed by Arkane Studios. The player controls Sareth, the apprentice of the wizard Phenrig, after he is sent to the city of Stonehelm to accompany an expedition trying to retrieve a powerful artifact known as "The Skull of Shadows".

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King</i> (video game) 2003 Video game

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 hack and slash action game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the PlayStation 2 and Windows. It was ported to the GameCube and Xbox by Hypnos Entertainment, to the Game Boy Advance by Griptonite Games, to mobile by ImaginEngine, and to Mac OS X by Beenox. The game was published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the 2002 game The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring</i> 2003 video game

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring is a 2003 real-time strategy game (RTS) developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal Games. Set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth, it expands upon the events of the War of the Ring as told in his fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings.

<i>Valkyrie Profile</i> (video game) 1999 video game

Valkyrie Profile is a role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the PlayStation. It was released on December 22, 1999 in Japan and on August 29, 2000 in North America. Inspired by Norse mythology, Valkyrie Profile follows the titular valkyrie, Lenneth, as she travels through Midgard, collecting the souls of slain heroes to serve either as einherjar or her personal companions for Ragnarok - the battle to decide the fate of all creation - and trains them by fighting monsters and performing additional quests. As she journeys, she learns more about her original human life, removed from her memory upon becoming a Valkyrie.

<i>Orcs & Elves</i> 2006 video game

Orcs & Elves is an adventure role-playing video game for the mobile phone and Nintendo DS. It was developed by id Software and Fountainhead Entertainment and published by EA Mobile and licensed by Nintendo for the DS version. It was released for mobile phones in May 2006 before being ported to the Nintendo DS in November 2007. The game is based on Doom RPG's engine and is id's first original intellectual property since Quake. The DS port of the game included graphical enhancements, such as 3D environments and camera cutscenes, along with improved character sprites, two new levels and the use of the touchscreen feature.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East</i> 2007 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East is the second expansion pack to the turn-based strategy game Heroes of Might and Magic V and the first stand-alone expansion pack released for the fifth series. It was developed by Nival Interactive and was released by Ubisoft in 2007.

<i>Magicka</i> 2011 video game

Magicka is an action-adventure game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios. It was released via Steam for Microsoft Windows on January 25, 2011.

<i>Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness</i> 1995 video game

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy real-time strategy computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1995 and Mac OS in 1996 by Blizzard's parent, Davidson & Associates. A sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the game was met with positive reviews and won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996. In 1996, Blizzard released an expansion pack, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation, Warcraft II: The Dark Saga, for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The Battle.net edition, released in 1999, included Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows one.

<i>Of Orcs and Men</i> 2012 video game

Of Orcs and Men is a fantasy action role-playing game developed by Cyanide and Spiders for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The Empire of Men's oppressive threat looms over the territories of the Orcs and the Goblins. Goblins are systematically persecuted and slaughtered, while Orcs not killed in battle are captured and enslaved.

<i>The Elder Scrolls: Legends</i> 2017 free-to-play digital collectible card video game

The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a free-to-play digital collectible card video game, published by Bethesda Softworks for Microsoft Windows, iOS, macOS and Android in 2017.

<i>Blood Bowl 2</i> 2015 video game

Blood Bowl 2 is a turn-based fantasy sports video game developed by Cyanide Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive. It is a sequel to the 2009 video game Blood Bowl, based on the board game by Games Workshop. The game was developed for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and was released on 22 September 2015. A OS X version of the game was launched in May 2016.

<i>Styx: Shards of Darkness</i> 2017 video game

Styx: Shards of Darkness is a stealth video game developed by French developer Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game was released worldwide on 14 March 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the sequel to the 2014 game Styx: Master of Shadows, and the third game set in the fictional world of the Of Orcs and Men series.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (May 26, 2015). "Out This Week: May 26, 2015". IGN . Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  2. ↑ B, Todd (2015-11-10). "Magicka 2 co-op action adventure now available for Linux, SteamOS and Mac". Linux Game Consortium - News, Reviews, and Proton Gaming. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  3. 1 2 Kubba, Sinan (9 June 2014). "Magicka 2 hiring wizards on PlayStation 4 [update: PC too]". Joystiq. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. ↑ McElroy, Justin (4 March 2015). "Magicka 2 meets Game of Thrones in release date reveal". Polygon . Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Magicka 2 - PlayStation 4". IGN.com. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  6. 1 2 "Magicka 2 for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Magicka 2 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Hansen, Steven (27 May 2015). "Review: Magicka 2". Destructoid . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Tack, Daniel (2 June 2015). "Friendly Fire Fulminations - Magicka 2 - PC". Game Informer . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  10. 1 2 Todd, Brett (2015-05-29). "Magicka 2 Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  11. ↑ "Magicka 2 review". GamesTM . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  12. ↑ Whittaker, Matt (26 May 2015). "Review: Magicka 2". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Magicka 2 Review - IGN". Uk.ign.com. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  14. ↑ Birnbaum, Ian (27 May 2015). "Magicka 2 review". PC Gamer . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  15. 1 2 Fraser Brown (4 June 2015). "Magicka 2 PC review". PCGamesN.com. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  16. ↑ Henningsen, Jay (28 May 2015). "Magicka 2 fizzles with repetitive and frustrating gameplay". VentureBeat . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  17. ↑ Orry, Tom (29 May 2015). "Magicka 2 Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Riccio, Aaron (9 June 2015). "Magicka 2". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.