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I was surprised to see that there were no topics concerning this game on the forums, so I decided to make one.

Though I've only been playing for a couple days, The Witcher 2 has really grown on me. Since I never played the first game, the prologue was a little jarring, though I was able to piece things together for myself eventually. The difficulty is absolutely insane at first (I'd put it almost on par with Demon's Souls, believe it or not), and the combat system has a few quirks, but once you get everything down, the action is incredible, rewarding, and surprisingly varied. It's easily my favorite action RPG, as the way everything blends together is just perfect (especially how the stat system affects the combat profoundly and makes every little percentage point count). I've never felt so rewarded by simply being able to defeat numerous enemies at once, and since the storyline is great, it makes it easy to push onward (unlike most hardcore games of this type).

The storyline is wonderful. It breathes life into a somewhat generic concept with amazing dialogue and voice acting that seems completely natural, and by presenting the game in a very cinematic way. You have a lot of profound choices to make, and a lot of the time you don't even realize the consequences of your actions (though you will definitely appreciate them once they manifest themselves). You are never forced to choose between 'good' and 'evil'. Overall, this feels much better than any other game with a branching storyline, as nothing ever seems to feel forced or unnatural.

The game is absolutely beautiful. While it's not the most realistic game out there by any means, the attention given to detail is practically impossible to find anywhere else. The world itself feels so lifelike that you hardly give it a second thought, simply because everything is exactly as it should be. The level design is awesome and suitably epic, the animations are incredible, and all of the little details that you can take in really sets the bar to a new standard and garners a lot more respect for the development team than most games deserve. Note that this game is incredibly dark. Monster design is more unnerving than most horror games, and any gore is actually deeply disturbing (seeing the decapitated head of a king, slackjawed and bloated, has really stuck with me). There is also nudity, though it doesn't feel tasteless or senseless like videogame nudity tends to.

The menu system is very robust and streamlined, though it takes some getting used to (the game doesn't exactly give you a crash course on the way that everything works, but once you figure it out, you really start to see the brilliance in it). There are tons of things to do (including a fully-featured crafting and alchemy system), but they never seem to detract from each other. Everything within the game compliments itself.

If you're a fan of Dragon Age or Demon's Souls, you need to play this game as soon as possible. This is the RPG at it's apex, and it's very rare to find a game that is this excellent. I hear that the ending is not so great, but everything I've experienced up to this point has been so amazing that I don't care. There is a fairly steep learning curve, but once you push past it, you'll find yourself enamored by it.

A side note: The regular PC version of the game comes with a strategy guide, a making of DVD, the soundtrack, and other miscellaneous memorabilia. I find this to be incredibly generous, as you're basically getting the collector's edition for $49.99.

I will have to give it a shot, I heard bad things about the first Witcher, but I loved KotOR more than any other game ever, so hopefully this will bring back at least some fond memories

I wish I could play the game but my system just isn't good enough.

I really want it, I played the crap out of the first one, but I think I'll wait a little while and see if they manage to get it out on the 360.

Supposedly this was in the plans the whole time, but they never got around to finishing up the port over. Maybe now that the game is finished and out on the PC, they can turn their attentions to getting it to work on console.

Chrysaor686 wrote:I was surprised to see that there were no topics concerning this game on the forums, so I decided to make one.

Heh, you mean other than the witcher 2 post near the bottom of the 1st page?

So far I give Witcher 2 a 4.8/5. Its made for an older audience (thank you). It actually has challenging combat encounters (thank you). Looks great and sounds good (always a good thing). You control a single character at an action level pace, instead of fumbling around with an entire party under your control or idiot AI partners (thank you). Good depth to the crafting, alchemy, and skill systems(Good for an RPG). Contains neat little easter eggs (like the dead altair that gives you a skill when you find it ). And its quests aren't mind numbing grinds.

Verdict: Get the Witcher 2 and enjoy. *EDIT* And set it to easy if you have trouble and are new to the genre. I'm working on my hardcore (no deaths allowed) play through.

Jaon wrote:I will have to give it a shot, I heard bad things about the first Witcher, but I loved KotOR more than any other game ever, so hopefully this will bring back at least some fond memories

The Witcher was simply vulgar for the sake of being vulgar, but The Witcher 2 does not make that same mistake. It is much more refined and natural. Also, the action in The Witcher wasn't direct (it was almost based on a minigame), which kind of killed the fun.

This will undoubtedly bring back at least some memories of KOTOR, but be prepared for a wildly different real-time combat system. Geralt almost reminds me of a badass medieval Jedi in a way, as he's a mutant who's far beyond the abilities of a normal human, he's unrivaled in swordplay (he even has a small chance of deflecting arrows back to his attackers if you spec him right), and he can even use mind control!

daedalus-templarius wrote:I really want it, I played the crap out of the first one, but I think I'll wait a little while and see if they manage to get it out on the 360.

Supposedly this was in the plans the whole time, but they never got around to finishing up the port over. Maybe now that the game is finished and out on the PC, they can turn their attentions to getting it to work on console.

The game is in the works for the X-Box 360 and the PS3, and is due for release sometime this year. It will take some time, as The Witcher 2 was designed to take full advantage of current PC hardware instead of making the 360 the leading platform.

Unfortunately, there's no way the the 360's hardware can handle this game in it's current state (even on the lowest settings). They will have to work on scaling it back quite a bit. Fortunately, gamepad support is fully functional on the PC, and I couldn't imagine playing this game without a controller.

Strimen wrote:Heh, you mean other than the witcher 2 post near the bottom of the 1st page?

I didn't see that; sorry.

I can't imagine playing on Hardcore. I've already died hundreds of times, and I'm playing on normal. It's lessened as I've figured the combat system out, but still, I'd like to see anyone who could play through this game without dying once.

Easy is definitely recommended unless you're a bit of a masochist, as even normal is ridiculously hard at times.

Ths game just keeps getting better the more I play it.