Witcher 2

I don't really care ... the sooner the console version is out the sooner they can release the toolset, the sooner someone can fix those fucking inventory and alchemy menus.

I'm going to wait with a second playthrough for that (not finished the first one yet though).

 

Should my Steam version be updating? I don't see any 1.2 or barber DLC thing..

 

CPU and GPU Performance review:

http://www.techspot.com/review/405-the-witcher-2-performance/

 

Interesting. Intel+nVidia combo seems to have quite an edge in this game. Runs smooth with my i7 950@4.0/GTX 570 (core 830 mhz)

Been playing quite a bit more eventhough I'm still in chapter 1. Some of the sidequests have taken some time and Kayran took quite a few tries, Meliteles heart quest was good. I spent quite a bit of time searching for a second ship wreck, only to find out after maybe two hours of searching that, I can't get to it at this point...

I still don't think that the graphics are anything special, but I'm really enjoying this game. Eventhough the inventory could use a lot of work, atleast there are different armours etc. The combat is getting better with some well spent skill points and I'm enjoying it now aswell.

 

I finally crafted my new Armor of Tir na Lia in chapter 2! Now I'm invincible (at least in 1 vs 1 combat).

Really enjoying this game as I was first Witcher. I'm now 25 hours into it, but doing all sidequests and really exploring world, so only at the beginning of chapter 2. Done some minor quests outside of camp already.

Regarding graphics, well to me it's great. I like the style and attention to detail, especially clothes, armors, weapons and buildings. I just recently finished Mass Effect 2 and graphically there is no comparision at all. I love ME series for it being Sci-Fi and all, but Witcher is a better game with much prettier graphics. There are some spots looking a bit below average, but on the other hand there are plenty of brilliantly looking ones .

Combat is challenging, but I enjoy it as much as shooting in ME 2.


Geralt, full moon, lake. Such a nice place to contemplate!

 

You meant copulate? Haha

I'm in chapter 2 now aswell, I'm in the dwarf town. The leader midget looks like Hitler. Better go to sleep now and continue in the morning.

 

Yes, that mainly, but didn't want to admit it openly of forum

 

I just played the prologue. First impression: it looks nice, but it's mostly irritating.

The good:
1. It looks very good except for faces and hands.
2. No loading!
3. More gear, upgrading and crafting.

The bad:
1. Long, "interactive" cut-scenes, often followed directly by a hard or new mini-game, without save.
2. The stupid mini-games! Cool if you're an ADHD teenager with a controller, but mostly irritating otherwise.
3. The controls. Navigating around is a pain, looting requires moving around until you get the cursor.
4. The UI. More consolitis. Auto-scrolling descriptions, no overview, not intuitive.
5. The combat: randomly turning around with the mouse and keep clicking the left button works best (auto-aim). If you die: reload, meditate, use some potions and try again.
6. Potions and oils only last minutes and require meditating, so no strategy and little tactical use.
7. Third-person view only, no isometric or first-person.
8. You're on rails, and they're holding your hand.

I'll play a bit more to see if it opens up and becomes less irritating.


EDIT: I mean, when you're in a cellar, unarmed, and you just took down a guard who has a perfectly serviceable sword, of course you don't pick it up, right?

 

I'd say it get's a lot better once you progress further. The game opens up and the character development is well made. I wasn't a fan of the game either during the prologue or at the beginning of chapter 1, but now I think the game is great and most of the gameplay changes have been for the better. I think I'm on level 22 now and Geralt isn't such a wimp anymore. Plenty of interesting sidequests that don't feel like a chore to do like often in these games.

 

You can use the amulet to highlight the lootable objects. I had that bind to key Z, I'm not sure what's the default.

 

For anyone using the xbox360 controller, my recomendation is to map next sign and next item to the left and right directions of the Dpad. Dpad up for the journal. Adrenaline, set it to right thumbstick click, it becomes quicker to activate and use the back button as a direct shortcut to inventroy. Things get a bit better this way.

 

At the end of W1, I rarely bothered to swing my sword, except for weakies that went down at the first hit when running around. I mostly incinerated everything, and knocked down / stunned the bosses.

Can you do that in W2 as well? Alternatively, how about using bombs/traps?

Btw, I saw some videos of people fighting smart against groups of enemies, which took a lot of time, running and rolling around. But if you simply keep moving the mouse around, it will automatically target the nearest enemy in that direction, hit it and switch to the next one. So they stagger backwards and you won't get backstabbed. It even automatically executes rolls towards the next target, when they're some distance away. The only thing I actively do is hit the mini-bosses with Aard when they come too close and I'm inside a ring. I rarely get hit this way.

 

Ugh. What's up with the dialog options that are gone before you can read them, let alone choose one?

 

There are few situations where the reaction needs to be fast, but not too many.

 

I just found out that there's a mini-game in the mini-game dice poker: if you fail to throw your dice in the pocket, they don't count anymore.

Bah. I thought the first poker game was almost perfect as far as mini-games go. It even had a strategic element.

 

Strategic? Man, that mini game is better rigged than your average bomb. Not to mention that you always have to start with throwing.

 

Well, ok, I'm grumpy. It would have been a new classic if it was made for the PC. Now it's mostly tolerable. And it crashes regularly.

 

Btw, this is "PC Games", isn't it?

 

It doesn't crash for me at all, 28 hours in to game
Steam version.
It only crashed with that borked launcher written by group of monkeys in VB10, but that was fixed with first patch

PS. Ves is nice and all

 

Just finished it! Wow a great game. My playtime was about 38h. You really have to make a lot of big decisions in this game and their concequences are pretty big, chapter 2 being of course the biggest example of this, but there were plenty of other big moments as well. Excellent stuff.

Edit: oops didn't notice that it's past 3am over here already hehe, the sun is coming up soon and it's already quite bright out there. You lose track of time with such a great game