I'm in Chapter 2 in The Witcher.
Playing on Hard.
Surprisingly, I'm having a better time with it than I usually do. Oh, it's still severely flawed in several ways, including the crappy combat system and the terribly rigid movement system, where you're forced to run back and forth much more than if you could simply climb a fence or step over a few inches of rock.
But I'm really enjoying Chapter 2, both because of the setting and the detective story. Chapter 1 was really quite awful, but this is much better.
I'm at the swamp area now, and I just killed the big plant thingy called something with a lot of Cs in it
I thought that was supposed to be a hard fight? I died a couple of times, because I thought it was just a regular plant monster - and I was shocked to discover it was the beast I've heard several people talking about as a hard fight. All it took was a few potions and the Igni sign.
I'm enjoying the story and the quirky philosophical musings of the characters. The character system is growing on me, and I'm focusing on magic for the moment. The Igni sign, as mentioned, seems to be particularly useful. I'm also focusing on the Aard sign, but it's starting to seem like a bit of a waste - as Igni takes care of most things, and the spell casting is so clumsy, you can't really rely on being able to cast multiple spells in quick succession. Maybe I just suck at it, though.
Any tips on that? Aard and Igni = superfluous combo?
I also think the potions are very well implemented and really add a nice strategic layer to combat.
That said, I sort of worry it's too easy -as I've yet to face a challenge I couldn't overcome easily with the right spell. The only trouble I'm facing is the abysmal way you have to constantly switch back and forth between fighting styles, and that you have to rely on the stars aligning, so the game registers your clicks on baddies
Having just played The Witcher 2 for ~5 hours or so before starting TW1, the combat system is particularly hard to accept. I can see the appeal of Witcher over its sequel, which is clearly about scope and style of story - but in terms of core gameplay, I have to say TW2 is MUCH better in almost every way. With the exception of mini-games, where Witcher is kinda fun. It reminds me of KotOR - in the way you have a decent incentive to play and win - both because of money and XP. Sure, they're too easy (fist fights can't be lost if you just block and hit in sequence) - but that's perfect for me. I don't really enjoy hard mini-games, as it tends to become an OCD thing to overcome.
But I'm so into the world and the characters now, for some reason (ok, it's the W3 trailer doing things to me), and I can see myself actually getting through this game. I hope so