Witcher 2 The Witcher 2 first impressions

ChienAboyeur said:

There can be good rpgs, there can be bad rpgs. There can be rpgs bringing enjoyment, there can be rpgs bringing disatisfaction.

So what? Wont change that games are RPGs or are not.

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Neither will your opinion. What qualifies as an "RPG" is completely subjective.

Why even communicate with someone who constantly, deliberately, and obviously ignores every single vital point presented against his claims.

There is an ignore button. Sorry to say it, CB, but you earned it a while back. Heck, Rith hasn't even earned that distinction.

Right, final first impressions. Just finished the game. Not much to add to the previous. Unlike some here, I liked Chapter 3, and the nice, symmetrical way it tied up the themes that had come up until then. This is clearly Act 2 of a three-act play, even more so than The Witcher 1 was Act 1; so definitely an Empire Strikes Back-esque feel to the ending that really left me waiting for more.

So, verdict on how it compares to The Witcher EE? Just a notch below, I'd say. Many improvements in many areas, but I preferred the looser narrative structure and especially the interlude in Chapter IV of the original -- and, at Hard, EE was better balanced too IMO. I'm hoping this is gonna be a really rousing success and they'll be able to use this now very capable and highly polished engine to put everything into crafting more story, so we'll get that in the sequel.

Likes: Characters, story, writing, C&C, visuals, voice acting, combat mechanics, character development, stability, performance, overall level of polish.
Needs improvement: difficulty curve, economics, too much awesome button, balance. Also the narrative structure needs more air; Chapter 1 was very nice, Chapters 2 and 3 felt a bit too tight and railroaded. Could've used an "interlude" type thing between 2 and 3; as it was the ever-tightening pacing got a bit exhausting.

After watching some you tube vids of the game, one thing that is very unappealing to me is why they made the main guy Geralt such a freaky looking dude. Weird eyes, pale vampireish like face, its just a big turnoff. And you have to watch him in many cut scenes in close ups, ugh. That is one big problem I have with games that have pre-set characters, if you don't like them you can't do anything to change it. But at least in other rpg like the Gothic games, the pre-made character looks normal and not so "specialized". Anyway, just my admittedly rather superficial complaint, don't mind me.

Arkadia7 said:

After watching some you tube vids of the game, one thing that is very unappealing to me is why they made the main guy Geralt such a freaky looking dude.

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Uhm, he's been mutated and experimented on from birth That's part of what makes him a Witcher. Frankly, I like it; I'm sick of supermodels in all my (recent) games.

JDR13 said:

Neither will your opinion. What qualifies as an "RPG" is completely subjective.

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If so, then anything is possibly RPG.

Gran Turismo RPG?

Europa Universalis RPG?

DArtagnan said:

Why even communicate with someone who constantly, deliberately, and obviously ignores every single vital point presented against his claims.

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Which one? Still have to read one.

But for sure, some here refuse to answer simple questions that would illustrate their points.

Who is refusing to communicate? Must be once again a matter of opinion.

Ok, I agree now with the guys who complained about the unresponsive controls. Especially when it comes to mobs and bosses...

Random remarks - the soundtrack actually gets better and better as the game progresses, and I found it pretty nice at the end.

Chapter 3 was a letdown to me, I felt too rushed.

Looks like they definitely have a Witcher 3 in mind...

As an aside, I started a Witcher 1 EE game for shits and giggles. I had totally forgotten the tedious bits. The gameplay in The Witcher 2 is really way, way, way better -- better, less mechanical combat, less pointless and time-consuming back-and-forth trekking, more interesting monster contracts, fewer continuity problems in the writing, alchemy better implemented, and so on and so forth.

I still think that "content-wise" The Witcher 1 is a notch ahead of The Witcher 2, but the improvements in presentation just about make up for it.

I disagree strongly on the potions, PJ, but I agree with the rest. However, I thought you could put off the main quest very easily in TW1 and do your own thing. TW2 leads you by the nose through the very linear story. I put it on the shelf in Chapter 2. I'll wait for some dlcs or mods to beef up the game.

The 'potions only while meditating' thing is still one of my biggest gripes w/ the game. Gotta be clairvoyant to know when you'll actually need them, and if you die it feels cheap to go back and quickly meditate and suck down a potion before the section. Using player knowledge is a total immersion breaker for me.

Yeah, that would really bug me too, Sammy.

I'm going to get it, but wait for another patch to hopefully fix the non-responsiveness, and a good price drop.

xSamhainx said:

The 'potions only while meditating' thing is still one of my biggest gripes w/ the game. Gotta be clairvoyant to know when you'll actually need them, and if you die it feels cheap to go back and quickly meditate and suck down a potion before the section. Using player knowledge is a total immersion breaker for me.

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Can't you run away find a spot and chuck a couple of potions ?

That is the way I was playing the Gothic's first time through. Scout ahead, plan, only reload if you die... Pretty immersive that way.

Not if I recall, Jonnik. You must be in meditation mode to drink potions and you can't meditate if your amulet detects danger. I "guess" you could run away for a long time and be able to meditate, since monsters stop following you after a time.

Yep that is what I meant (find a spot to meditate after they stop chasing you).

Pretty much like the Gothics then. Cant see that I will have a problem with it
as I don't find backing out of a difficult fight unrealistic the way I described it…

Pretty hard to play an unscaled game otherwise eh ? And this meditate to drink
potions seems very much in character as well as being an "against potion
spamming/tactics promotion" mechanism…

Cool!

Will have to play it for myself to see how it feels ofcourse.

Yeah, I plan on going back to it again someday too. I have troubles with rpgs where the story is the most important aspect. I prefer games like Might and Magic or the Elder Scrolls series. I like free-form exploration, stat/skill/attribute manipulation, and loot acquisition, much more than following a plot. I still get my money's worth out of story games, but I've never completed BG2, Planescape Torment, any of the Gothics, etc.

In the original game, sometimes you couldn't run away from encounters. You were trapped. That would break the potion mechanic in the new game.

JonNik said:

Pretty much like the Gothics then. Cant see that I will have a problem with it
as I don't find backing out of a difficult fight unrealistic the way I described it

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No, not really. He's not pulling a potion out of his backpack and drinking it. He has to actually sit on the ground cross-legged before he can drink it. It's pretty stupid actually.

Not a deal-breaker or anything... it just should have been done differently.

JDR13 said:

No, not really. He's not pulling a potion out of his backpack and drinking it. He has to actually sit on the ground cross-legged before he can drink it. It's pretty stupid actually.

Not a deal-breaker or anything… it just should have been done differently.

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Yeah I got that. I was referring to the fact that you essentially completely run away from
the encounter and then return prepared to have a chance of surviving it (or come back
after a lvl or 2). If you play it with that mindset…

The added time for the entering meditation to drink it: I can see some people getting aggravated from requiring that extra step and having the freedom of drinking potions everywhere taken away. (I do think that drinking potions in the middle of battle, surrounded by enemies is the actual immersion breaker though and I always like games that penalize this one way or the other).

Guess I gotta stop procrastinating and install the damn thing to see for myself…
Thanks.