The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition

Much as I want to enjoy this game, the optimization is clunky and the interface is awful. Clearly not designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard. Witcher 1 felt like a PC game; this feels like a pretty lazy port. The game menu offers a "gamepad" option which would probably help, but it would not work for me, and the official word from GOG support was that game controllers are not supported. If you have a Windows machine that natively supports an XBox controller you might have better luck. Otherwise, can't recommend it on this platform.

The game installed and ran fine on LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit using AMD Phenom II X6 1055T CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM. An older computer for sure, but it ran with no performance problems that effected game play with the default medium graphical settings at 1920x1200 resolution. The only performance issue I had was a generous pause just before new quests are added or quests are modified. This does not effect game play. The game froze once, focus was lost on the character once, and several times the character got stuck. This is not too terrible considering the size, complexity, and length of the game. Heads up, this game requires software dependencies that are not included and will not be automatically installed during the game installation. They must be installed via the terminal. I've made a post in the GOG forums detailing how to do that. Game play: This game reminds me a lot of Dragon Age: Origins. If you liked that game you'll probably enjoy this one. You control a single character in third person from behind mode. Very dungeon and dragons like. Good plot. It's very political with lots of subterfuge, and you have to makes choices that effect the outcome of the game. So thusly there is no good or evil. You just support one side or the other. The fighting mechanics was interesting with some flaws, but not amazing. The graphics, story line, and creativity is well done. My biggest issue with this game is that approximately half of it is watching videos. I don't find this interesting at all. If I wanted to watch videos I'd do that. I want to play a game and interact with it. This is why I gave it a two star rating. I want more game play in a game, less watching videos. In addition, I find the re-playability of the game to be low.

Witcher 2 holds as an extremely well made game even after Witcher 3 came after and was declared a masterpiece by most people. Witcher 2 tells a focused and compelling story in a beautifully crafted world. Your choices in this game really do matter and some will change the main story arch of the game itself early on causing your main story experience to be potentially completely different; few games if any can replicate this. Well worth it to anyone, even if you started with the Witcher 3. Witcher 2 will focus on the Northern Realms' conflicts, all while the rebel band Scoia'tel lead their uprising against their oppressors. I particularly liked how the Witcher series does not give you a "Good guy" vs "Bad guy" option most of the time (like in Mass Effect). So much of this game lands in the grey zone, sometimes with unexpected consequences leaving you thinking about your decisions. Some decisions will carry over from Witcher 1 (although I wouldn't recommend you start with that ironically*), while others will carry into Witcher 3. Many things are handled very maturely (certain romance options, morality, mortality, etc)... It's all masterfully woven. While not perfect (what game is when you really scrutinize), this is truly a wonderful game. *If you're wondering where to start, W2 is a great place. W1 is really a game that true fans of the series will enjoy, but due to its many technical flaws (CDPR were still a small budding studio) it can turn off many new players to the franchise. W2 and W3 are the perfect companions for my tastes, although you will find people who swear that W1 is best game of the series.

Even today on my GTX1080 this is one gives current games a run for their money in terms of looks with all of the texture mods. To complete a full run the first time takes probably something around 30-40 hours which is a great value for the money, especially as this game often times goes on sale for 5-10 USD. The story is compelling, the dialogue extremely well written, the choices actually matter, the characters have wonderfully fleshed out personalities (Dandelion narrates the tale with a whimsical, foppishly irreverent tone) that make the world feel alive. Geralt is an amazingly compelling protagonist who "is not a good man but tries to maintain his humanity" which is much more interesting and realistic than most high fantasy. He fits in this dark nasty world that is not about chosen ones and good vs evil. The combat in the game is a little clunky but FCR mod made by one of the workers at CDPR is made with a lot of love and makes it much better. It's still not Dark Souls but it's more than passable for a game that focuses primarily on choices and storytelling. Lastly, CDPR has some of the best customer services I have ever experienced with any game company; my CD key that I bought here was stolen 4 years ago somehow but I did not find out until earlier this week. CDPR gave me another key within ten minutes(!) of providing proof of purchase! While not holding as many accolades as the masterpiece Witcher 3, this game is obviously a great advancement from Witcher 1 and made with a lot of love (like in W3 there are hundreds of voices for minor characters!). If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, RPG games, monster hunting, well-written dialogue or Lord of the Rings references you'll be very glad you picked this game up!

One of my all time favorites. The story can be incredible if you've chosen correctly. I'd rank it in my top 3 along with Bioshock, Dragon Age Origins. A bit of a brutal start. You can still find a perfect save from the first one online to load up and start with some nice goodies.