DANGERMAN Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 a few of us have been chatting on twitter about this, and it's a bit late at night to write too much (and I'm 15 hours in so there's too much to write about). I never got around to playing the pc version prior to the Enhanced Edition patch so I've no idea what's changed, but fuck me this is a good looking, and really enjoyable game. You get a tutorial at the start that teaches you the mechanics, a few of them are beyond what you'll get at the start of the game (countering for example isn't open to you until you hit at least level 5). It's tough and shows you that combat needs you to be fully concentrating all the time, dodging behind, laying traps, picking the right magic type for the right situation (it generally plays like a normal adventure rpg game). I didn't do very well on the tutorial so was told to play on easy, which I have and it's a much breezier. You can still plan ahead, taking potions before big fights (done because potions take their toll on Geralt and so he needs to be concentrating on recovery), using your shield and trap magics, but really it's about comboing between light and heavy attacks and keeping an eye on your health. I'm getting to the end of the first proper chapter (there's a prologue that sets up the games plot), I don't want to spoil much but I guess I can say that I've fought the kingslayer. I've met a troll, who looks great. Fantasy always seems really one note to me, trolls generally look like trolls, orcs look like orcs, elfs look like elfs, so it's nice that the troll in Witcher 2 looks unique. It's good too that they've captured the tone of the books, the first two of which were short stories, kind of like fairy tales, the side missions really feel like part of that world, so for example the troll is an alcoholic and as such isn't doing his duty in keeping the bridge he lives under maintained. One of my favourite stories was stumbling across two 'scientists' who'd got themselves in a bit of trouble. It turns out they were actually soldiers stationed at a mental hospital who tortured and murdered a spy in front of the patients. This huge trauma created a curse, and they've been brought back to the hospital to face their death. It's quite creepy, really well done, and gives you a choice at the end, one that I went against my better judgement on because I've read the bloody book http://www.mfgamers.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wave_smiley.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 From the footage I've seen, would it be right to say this is more action-based than, say, Oblivion/Skyrim/Fallout? Looks like a more hardcore Fable to me. Or a less brutal Dark Souls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 yeah I guess so, it's got the more structured approach of a Fable than the openness of Skyrim. for example I've just finished chapter 1, I think that means I can never go back to Flotsam again, there's a set number of missions to do too, rather than being able to wander the tundra discovering your own. That said the combat does feel like a more involved Skyrim, you can build Geralt to be better with magic, alchemy, swords, and on easy at least it is about mashing attacks like Skyrim/Oblivion, and pairing that with magic/bombs every now and then. For those that are playing it, I've just had a choice, I chose Ioreth. I read around a bit in case I needed to reload, apparently it's the way to go if you dont want to feel like a twat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I haven't gotten around to this yet, but i've played The Witcher 1 and it's closest rpg cousin is Fable. The best way to describe The Witcher 1 is that it's the closest i've come to playing a fantasy novel - the characters, the world, the atmosphere, the dialogue - they are well developed, and feel authentic. It doesn't hurt that the game is 100% for adults, with no concessions to being family friendly. Probably the Eastern European touch. I don't think an American studio could make a game this raw. The game's biggest achievement is the abandonment of ridiculous good versus evil, black and white choices. Basicially it presents its world, and its characters, and then says - who do you want to side with, or do you want to side with anyone? And it's a decision you have to think about. There's no right or wrong answer. Of course, TW1 had its problems. The backtracking got tedious. The freedom the game gives you in its middle section probably bloats the game too much, all in all it's a marathon that easily takes 50-70 hours. It's a flawed gem. From what i've heard, The Witcher 2 is a much more focused game and should be all the better for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroed Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 For those that are playing it, I've just had a choice, I chose Ioreth. I read around a bit in case I needed to reload, apparently it's the way to go if you dont want to feel like a twat I did the same, and this is the first I've had anything to do with the Witcher series. That side quest you mentioned was brilliant, and I went for the other outcome. I'm near the beginning of chapter two now, after playing for around 13 hours. It's excellent. I think I would have to describe it as a hardcore Fable, as well. CDProjekt have done a superb job bringing this over to the 360, I'm quite amazed at what they've managed to pull off on the ageing system. It looks absolutely beautiful for the majority of the time, there's the odd pop in and screen tear, but not enough to distract from the experience. The story is deep, I am fully immeresed in the world now and grown attached to vaious characters. The tutorial was a bit rubbish, but did get the job done in teaching you the basics. It suggested I play on Easy, which I went ahead and selected as I'm here for the story above all else. I'm enjoying the combat a lot, though, mixing traditional swordfighting with some magic and the odd trap. As well as creating potions that affect vaious stats for a limited period of time, you can also creat oils to coat your blades, increasing damage or bleeding for a set time. It feels a bit clunky at first, as does the whole menu system, but you soon become accustomed to it. It feels slightly old school, and I really like the way it's all laid out now. Magic wise I tend to use Quen, which provides a protective shield and, once upgraded, reflects damage back on the enemy. To begin with, levelling grants you acces to Training perks. These include stats such as parrying, vigor regeneration. Once you've levelled up a bit, three more branches open up. Swordsmanship, Alchemy and Magic. I'm mostly going down the swordsmanship route, and have so far unlocked perks including counterattacking and increased dodging. I think I'm going to upgrade a couple magics next. The side quests in The Witcher 2 are brilliant. Not one so far has been a simple fetch and return scenario. They're mini stories, such as the one Ben mentioned in the thread opener. It makes me want to try and do all of them before moving on. This game has drawn me in good and proper. I like that it's more linear than some other RPGs, such as Skyrim. When I finished chapter 1, I automatically failed one or two smaller side missions. That's because, like Ben said, once you finish that area you won't return to it. Thankfully, all the items I had stored at the inn can be accessed at any other inn throughout the world. Speaking of inns, you also have shops where you can buy and trade goods, and craftsman where you can have new items made, providing you have the required diagram and materials. It all works very well indeed. As you can probably guess, this game comes highly recommended from me. I reckon it'd be right up Hendo's street, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Of course, TW1 had its problems. The backtracking got tedious. The freedom the game gives you in its middle section probably bloats the game too much, all in all it's a marathon that easily takes 50-70 hours. It's a flawed gem. From what i've heard, The Witcher 2 is a much more focused game and should be all the better for it... I've got W1 but I couldn't get on with the combat, same issue as in the sequel I guess, I dont want complex combat in an adventure/rpg game, there's too much of it. Shame though because the story at the start of Witcher 1 is quality, and as much as I'd like to go back and give it a proper go I know it's never going to happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Of course, TW1 had its problems. The backtracking got tedious. The freedom the game gives you in its middle section probably bloats the game too much, all in all it's a marathon that easily takes 50-70 hours. It's a flawed gem. From what i've heard, The Witcher 2 is a much more focused game and should be all the better for it... I've got W1 but I couldn't get on with the combat, same issue as in the sequel I guess, I dont want complex combat in an adventure/rpg game, there's too much of it. Shame though because the story at the start of Witcher 1 is quality, and as much as I'd like to go back and give it a proper go I know it's never going to happen That's strange, i thought TW1's combat was quite nice. Timing the attack button in line with the cursor glowing orange became second nature quickly enough. And the game did a good job of incorporating the 3 fighting styles (fast, slow and group). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaolin_monkey Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I've been chipping away at this on my uber PC in glorious nVidia 3D Vision. Besides a few hiccups when it was first released, this is such a showcase for 3D. It's already a grand looking game, but with the goggles on it is just incredible. That said, I've only got as far as that dwarven mine - barely scratched the surface of the game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 I've just done the dwarven mine, in fact I've saved about to re-enter and collapse a tunnel (if I can find it, good place to grind at least). You'd think such a small race would get in the way less, but no. Starting to wish I'd picked the choice that goes against non-humans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 On chapter 2 I ended up doing the harpy cave a couple of times, it seems a good place to grind but it does flag up a problem I have with the game. There are things in the game where if you dont pay google a visit you aren't going to work it out yourself. Destroying nests is one, I came close to working it out myself, but because the items I needed were so hard to get I didn't really want to fuck around with it. In the same way I'd like the map to have a bit more detail, it doesn't have all the merchants displayed for example. On some plus points, trolls are awesome. There's achievements apparently for killing all of them/saving all of them, I dont know why you'd pick the former. Also I did a very odd mission involving harpy feathers and fucked a succubus she didn't seem that into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 I didn't notice the hoofs until it was too late to say no, but on that note, I went to a comic/games convention in manchester last year and there was a girl there wearing similar legs. I couldn't stop staring at her, and when I did I noticed the older bloke in front of me staring at her too. I was very confused by why I would but I definitely would Edit: got all the dreams, thought it might have been hers (no spoilers) at first and that was going to be a story point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 "my favourite kind of magic, lesbomancy" got back to playing this today, finally picked a few upgrades that had mutagen slots, In theory I'm at the point where I'm getting fairly high-end, so with the mutagens I should really feel the difference, but playing on easy it's hard to really see the benefits. That said the boss on the battlefield in chapter 2 kicked the shit out of me, I couldn't get close to him to do any damage, not really sure what the right way to go about it was but I got past him. The story bounces from awesome to incomprehensible, but I'm at the point where the chapter is about to end and I'm pining for side quests Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 Finished, and it's a great game. I heard it ends badly but I it seemed fine to me, Chapter 3 structurally is a bit of a mess, there's less to do but at the same time Geralt has time to arm wrestle. It made me laugh that the 2nd the game was complete it just dumped me out of the game completely. The plot isn't anything like as complicated as it's presented, essentially it's about wrestling for control, but it's presented using names and sub-texts. There's a level cap, which is a bit disappointing, I probably could have got another couple of perks had it not capped out. Dont really know what to say about it, there was one point where I had prblems, a fight involving 2 mages (one of which split in to 3). Not enough room to dodge, you can never spend too long fighting an enemy, and unless you roll back to a previous save you cant use potions. i also sold a book that I think might have been something that carries over in to the 3rd game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 The ending was fleshed out for the Enhanced Edition i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 A few hours into this now, it's good to be back in The Witcher universe. Combat seems to be a slightly more Dark Souls-ified version of The Witcher 1's combat. Aard is as trusty as ever... For some strange reason the writers seem to be obsessed with the word "plough", or adjective "ploughing". I've heard it at least five times already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Finished the smaller sidequests around Flotsam (boxing/dice/arm wrestling), getting into the swing of things. Seems to be every bit as good a game as The Witcher 1, rpg gamers really are spoiled at the moment. My fIrst encounter with endregas gave me a bit of a fright. I left town through one of the side doors and the battle music came on straight away. "Please don't be spiders" I said. What came lurching into view but two of my furry favourites... I preferred my low res kikimores thank you very much! Ah to be fair as the fight went on they started to look less and less like spiders, I think i'll be able to cope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 started this today, just finished the prologue, quite enjoying it. did struggle with some bits of the tutorial where info is a bit lacking, and got stuck at a silly point early on but it's been mostly going well after that bit. anyone know what the green dot things are on the mini map? spent ages trying to work out what a few of them were but there's seemingly nothing at their location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I'm about 15 hours in now but i'm taking my time, so not too far ahead of you. All side missions rinsed and am now taking on the Kayran. My game froze during one of the limb-hacking animations which i took as my cue to end the session - I'm hoping it was a once off. Really enjoying it so far, much more fun to play on the 360 than The Witcher 1 was on PC. I'm pretty sure the green dots refer to quest givers (or just "important" characters in general), and the blue dots semi-important npcs who have a dialogue cut-scene or something. That's my understanding of it anyway. Whereabouts are the green dot locations you can't find anybody at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I'm pretty sure the green dots refer to quest givers (or just "important" characters in general), and the blue dots semi-important npcs who have a dialogue cut-scene or something. That's my understanding of it anyway. Whereabouts are the green dot locations you can't find anybody at? cheers, i'll check out the next one i see. it was right at the beginning when you have to find a tunnel, might have been a bug? there's a green dot - the only thing on my map so i thought it was where i had to go - it was inside a house wall near a door, but there was nothing there, no people. there was a locked door in the house - but not near the dot. spent ages trying to work out what it was. anyway the next green dot i couldn't find anything there either but after the hastle with the first one I didn't spend much time investigating the next one. looked on the main map too but the key doesn't seem to match the mini map. sort of wish i was playing on xbox too, room is getting far too hot playing pc games in the summer, doesn't help that the pc is right next to my feet either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiofloyd Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 On to chapter 2 now, around 20 hours in. The quality of this and The Witcher 1 have instantly made CD Projekt one of those devs where you know everything they make is going to be gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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