The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Whoever said they were worried about this game being consolized was pretty much right. Everything from the controls, to the menus, to the way looting works has been streamlined to be controller-friendly.

But it's not really a negative thing. The first game was sort of a mash up of accessible forward-thinking ideas and this clunky Baldur's Gate-era stuff that didn't fit. I do kind of wish I could sift through item pick-ups manually, but the way it's done now certainly improves the pace of the game.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

I do kind of wish I could sift through item pick-ups manually

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You can with the keyboard and mouse scheme. This is the one thing that really bugs me about the controller input.

I agree that the game was obviously designed around a controller but I wouldn't call it consolized. Consolization is needlessly streamlining and removing features so that your average mouthbreather won't be confused by anything, and that definitely didn't happen here. Most every concept from the first game is expanded upon or improved, not hidden or stripped out.

You're thrown in the deep end right from the beginning, and it's a deliberate choice, not just a lack of dev time. You have full access to the combat system as soon as you see the first enemy. The same goes for the storyline. There's little exposition and you're expected to pick it up as you go. After playing through so many 2+ hour tutorials (see: any big budget game made in the last five years), it's refreshing.

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Originally Posted by epmode

Consolization is needlessly streamlining and removing features so that your average mouthbreather won't be confused by anything, and that definitely didn't happen here. Most every concept from the first game is expanded upon or improved, not hidden or stripped out.

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That's too cynical a view of console gaming. But you're right, they didn't dumb it down, they just rethought the way you interact with the game. But also the very actiony combat is very console-like, it just plays more like a console game. Not dumber/smarter, just different.


It's kind of amazing that an independent Polish developer has managed to put out a game that shames Dragon Age, not just in terms of gameplay, but production value. This game looks amazing and it's not just great lighting, it's an amazing attention to detail, really good writing, voice acting... This game is a real class act, I tell you.

This game is excellent. I'm running it on Ultra settings without übersampling at 1920x1080 and I've been getting a solid 30 frames/second. Shit is bomb!

This game is so good, but jesus do I suck at it. Swarms of nekkers still get me sometimes, and I have a ton of mats weighing me down. I'm afraid to sell alchemy stuff because I want to be able to make bombs, but I'm always missing Aether.

Eurogamer review

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Fans of RPGs should consider The Witcher 2 a must-buy. There's simply no competitor that can touch it in terms of poise, characterisation and storytelling, or the way in which it treats you not as a player - someone to be pandered to and pleased - but as an adult, free to make your own mistakes and suffer a plot in which not everyone gets what they deserve.

Everybody else should approach excitedly, but with a little caution. The Witcher 2's opening ten hours are as impressive as they are clumsy, and a little patience is needed until the game hits its stride. What a stride, though. What bravery and gravity. With a little time investment, this game offers everything the fantasy genre can be.

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9/10

Going by first impressions and after adjusting my expectations to "this is an RPG," this game balls so damn hard. Difficulty seems solid on Hard mode, combat seems to be inspired by Demon's Souls. Maybe a little sloppier, but not bad. A huge step up from stuff like God of War, Arkham Asylum and AssCreed.

Runs great on Ultra for me, too!

Whatever you do, hold on to the Queen Endrega Pheremones you can get in chapter 1. I whiffed while making a potion and it used both, and now I need them for a sidequest in chapter 3. Shit sucks.

Goddamn Letho is an asshole.

Beat it following Roche pretty much the whole way through. The ending of the game really kind of sneaks up on you, and it made me want to do another playthrough to check out the other side of the story. Apparently Chapter 2 can be 100% different depending on who you side with.