The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition

I'm not going to pretend that this isn't a great game, or that I didn't enjoy it, but I can say with certainty that it PALES in comparison to The Witcher 1. The story is well composed, and the graphics are expectedly prettier, but nearly every other aspect is a step back from the predecessor. Where TW1 ASTOUNDED me with its depth and immersion, TW2 is simply another case of a great series being dumbed down for brain dead console gamers. I don't necessarily fault CD Projeckt Red for this; I understand developers want to make money, but at the same time, I cannot help but feel disappointed as a pc gamer. The combat, which previously required strict timing, has now been reduced to mashing. You can, *most* of the time, get by clicking Mouse1 as quickly as you can, even at higher difficulty settings. Battle stances based on the type of opponents you were fighting are also gone. The inventory is an absolute mess, but it almost doesn't matter, as you barely NEED anything. I played through on Dark, and never wanted for ANYTHING. With all the hand-holding this game does, everything will be provided if you just loot crates. If not, merchant's items respawn... Infinitely. Finally, as I'm running short of characters, Quicktime Events! No! BAD devs. I have so much more to complain about, but I'll leave the rest to others. It's a great CONSOLE game, but fails to live up to the first.

I have had this game for well over a year but the support that has been given is outstanding, free DLC, DRM removed and a free upgrade to the Enhanced Edition for people who had the regular edition! This game captures the essence of old school RPGs while modernising it at the same time. Its a mature game for adults that deals some very violent and sexual themes. The game doesn't treat you like a child and it has a fantastic D&D + medieval European feel (Regardless of the american voice actor for Geralt). This has got to be one of the best RPGs I have played in a long time and I'm looking forward to the Witcher 3 ;)

Very good RPG, but not as great as TW1. Hard to explain, maybe a bit too "modern" for me: too much politics, action-based fighting, a rather short and linear story, ... And it doesn't have the dark poetic athmosphere of the TW1. I hope TW3 will include best parts of the first 2 episods :)

For starters, and having just completed last month's combo deal offering both games, let me start off by stating that my initial introduction to the series was a positive one. The Witcher 1 wasn't a game of great depth by any means, but it did deliver fairly well on what was being offered up around a storyline that was both unique and immersive (with Geralt as one of the more interesting/appealing main characters i've seen in an RPG to date imo). By and large the game mechanics were solid, and while i usually prefer a much less linear approach to a game world setting, it's wasn't confining/linear to the point where the game around it essentially amounted to little more then a general/boring annoyance between that intriguing story being told. Which pretty much brings us to where the Witcher 2 essentially weighs in as a stand-alone game. In typical modern day RPG development fashion, CD Projekt pretty much follows suit with the development path seen in such games like Final Fantasy/Dragon Age. Ya know, completely stripping the emphasis away from the stuff that actually gives an RPG it's soul, in favor of that seemingly universal belief that a shiny new coat of graphical paint is all we REALLY want and care about. Even if it means you offer up Paris Hilton-level depth beyond that in the process. Basically, pretty much everything gameplay wise was a step backwards. Unlike the first game, the night/day cycles are more or less irrelevant this go round. Gone are the fighting styles, stripped down and condensed into a simplified steel/silver setup. The UI in itself is an utter mess, from the confusing in-game map, to the inability to compare weapons/armor to what you are wearing, down to managing your inventory in general...it makes for more then a few "wtf where they thinking?" moments. And the inability to remap keys in-game, or delete save files that can accumulate up pretty fast for that matter, is pretty much inexcusable imo. I can't even recall a game since before the original Zelda that wouldn't let me delete save files. Combat, minus the sword style strip down, is actually more challenging this time. Although in game that's THIS linear, and with so little reason to do any of the extremely limited and fairly meaningless/bare bone side quest stuff it offers, that's arguably not even a good thing. As make no mistake, if you are playing this game because you played the first one, you likely are going to find yourself in it solely for the cut scene progression. With little desire to have the 5 different mob models of yard trash take you X amount longer to clear between them. So yeah, overall this game was a disappointment, and pretty much kills off the gameplay/depth potential for the 3rd installment i'm sure we'll see in the future. If you haven't played the first one, or have no interest in doing so, I'd otherwise advise you take a pass on the Witcher 2. Or at least until it's down to bargain bin price status.

I almost quit Witcher 2 after tedious bossfight early on. What a mistake that would have been! It is an excellent RPG, which manages to be mature in terms of content and delivery. The reason it's short of 5 stars for me is that some early bosses are not very well done (I had a bug preventing me from beating the first and the second had bad scripting in my opinion) and that the last Act doesn't hold up to the rest of the game. However, if you like RPG in any way, shape or form this game is a must play!