Posted June 06, 2011
Just wanted to preface this by saying I am truly and thoroughly enjoying The Witcher 2. I've been playing it exclusively since it was released, and I feel it's a worthy successor to the original in every way.
...Well... almost every way.
Having replayed TW1 fairly recently, I was reminded of all the things it did right, and it's easy to see why it's regarded by so many people as one of the best RPGs to come out in the past couple of years. The story was engrossing, the characters were fleshed-out and memorable and the setting was well-realized and just so damn interesting.
So, just what was it about the Witcher's setting and Geralt's personality that made this so? There are many reasons, of course, but I feel that all of Geralt and co.'s drunken antics played a pretty big role.
Even as early as the Outskirts, Geralt is drinking and haggling over the price of an echinops contract. After many bottles they finally reach an agreement, and our hero stumbles out the door to go monster hunting at midnight, being too drunk to actually hit the monster half of the time. Then, there's also Leuvarden's fancy noble party. What better way to get someone to violate a vow of silence than to drink them under the table?
When Triss or Shani asks Geralt for a ring, what does he do? He does what anyone would do, he gets plastered with Zoltan and Dandelion and they all talk about their love lives. When Geralt stumbles back home, Alvin is appropriately disturbed and Geralt gets scolded for being a bad role model.
And how often in RPGs do you even see quests like 'Shani's Party'? The quest could play out in a number different ways depending on who you invite, each situation unique, and each hysterical. At the end of the day you're still stumbling downstairs and stealing from grandma, but the amount effort the devs put into an optional sidequest that's inconsequential to the main plot is, in my mind, part of what makes TW1 stand apart from other RPGs.
....And those are just examples from the top of my head. Drinking, and being put in silly drunken situations is to me, just as much a part of Geralt's character as monster hunting or dead-pan sarcasm.
The 'hung over' quest in TW2 set my hopes high, and I burst out laughing when I saw Geralt's awful tattoo. But that's the only drunken quest that lives up to TW1's legacy. In TW1, these little drunken detours did so much to lighten the mood in an otherwise dark game, TW2 is dark enough, and it could really benefit from more of this type of thing. I want to fight Letho with double-vision, tripping all over myself, or to just get wasted spend more time waxing philosophical with Zoltan and Dandelion. The lack of this stuff was a glaring omission, imo.
Sorry for getting a little long-winded here. I realize I just wrote a damn thesis on getting drunk in video games. But I can't be the only one who feels this way. Seriously, why is a barmaid selling me fish and bread? Please, CDP, give us some booze!
...Well... almost every way.
Having replayed TW1 fairly recently, I was reminded of all the things it did right, and it's easy to see why it's regarded by so many people as one of the best RPGs to come out in the past couple of years. The story was engrossing, the characters were fleshed-out and memorable and the setting was well-realized and just so damn interesting.
So, just what was it about the Witcher's setting and Geralt's personality that made this so? There are many reasons, of course, but I feel that all of Geralt and co.'s drunken antics played a pretty big role.
Even as early as the Outskirts, Geralt is drinking and haggling over the price of an echinops contract. After many bottles they finally reach an agreement, and our hero stumbles out the door to go monster hunting at midnight, being too drunk to actually hit the monster half of the time. Then, there's also Leuvarden's fancy noble party. What better way to get someone to violate a vow of silence than to drink them under the table?
When Triss or Shani asks Geralt for a ring, what does he do? He does what anyone would do, he gets plastered with Zoltan and Dandelion and they all talk about their love lives. When Geralt stumbles back home, Alvin is appropriately disturbed and Geralt gets scolded for being a bad role model.
And how often in RPGs do you even see quests like 'Shani's Party'? The quest could play out in a number different ways depending on who you invite, each situation unique, and each hysterical. At the end of the day you're still stumbling downstairs and stealing from grandma, but the amount effort the devs put into an optional sidequest that's inconsequential to the main plot is, in my mind, part of what makes TW1 stand apart from other RPGs.
....And those are just examples from the top of my head. Drinking, and being put in silly drunken situations is to me, just as much a part of Geralt's character as monster hunting or dead-pan sarcasm.
The 'hung over' quest in TW2 set my hopes high, and I burst out laughing when I saw Geralt's awful tattoo. But that's the only drunken quest that lives up to TW1's legacy. In TW1, these little drunken detours did so much to lighten the mood in an otherwise dark game, TW2 is dark enough, and it could really benefit from more of this type of thing. I want to fight Letho with double-vision, tripping all over myself, or to just get wasted spend more time waxing philosophical with Zoltan and Dandelion. The lack of this stuff was a glaring omission, imo.
Sorry for getting a little long-winded here. I realize I just wrote a damn thesis on getting drunk in video games. But I can't be the only one who feels this way. Seriously, why is a barmaid selling me fish and bread? Please, CDP, give us some booze!
Post edited June 06, 2011 by derkaderkaderka
