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eisberg77: I agree with you, but something that puts TW2 over TW1 for me is the replayability.
I love this game, but I actually dont see this game being highly repayable by RPG standards. I'll get a couple playthorughs to check out the different story options, sure. But most of the re playability in the most repayable RPGs comes from trying out different characters, classes, skill and equipment loadouts, companions, etc. My biggest disappointment with The Witcher games is that there isnt much of that with the pre fab Geralt. The different ways you can tweak his abilities dont amount to a substantially different experience, in my opinion. He might have slightly different tricks, but Geralt is always Geralt.

Take for instance Baldurs Gate 2, which I play once a year. There are just so many options for a protagonist, class kits, protagonist gear and abilities, and party makeup...in addition to a wide array of story choices...I still dont feel like Ive explored them all.


I do love the game, and I love the combat especially. I love feeling like a complete badass, and flying across the battlefield to stab someone in the face. But I would very much like to see a Red Engine game in the witcherverse, with witcher storytelling quality, but with a wider array of character choices.

Hopefully TW2 will be wildly successful, and we can see some spin off games :)
Post edited May 24, 2011 by Cyjack
My take on the combat is this, when you first start it is off-putting because the difficulty is very sharp right off the bat. Then it takes time to build up your skills so they are more useful in battle. Then the difficulty drops off significantly, with jarring noticeable spikes. A rebalancing could be in order, but so far after learning how the game wants you play (use the right potions, apply oils, research) I am finding the combat to be adequate, and fun.
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sol7402: My take on the combat is this, when you first start it is off-putting because the difficulty is very sharp right off the bat. Then it takes time to build up your skills so they are more useful in battle. Then the difficulty drops off significantly, with jarring noticeable spikes. A rebalancing could be in order, but so far after learning how the game wants you play (use the right potions, apply oils, research) I am finding the combat to be adequate, and fun.
I didn't find the difficulty dropping off significantly, the fights in chapter 3 were still difficult, maybe except the harpies, which were a joke. But the gargoyles, mercenaries, nilfgaardians or golems were just right. Yes, the second fight with Letho was easier, but still no cakewalk.

No, the combat is great and I wouldn't change it, personally I'd be happy for more content in future DLCs. Also what was slightly annoying for me was that you cannot drink potions like in any other game, so the Poles could change that, but otherwise no big complaints.
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k.e.i.n: PRESS ALT TO LOCK ON TARGET!! Nobody looks at the controls page/setting anymore? Console freaks...
I have been told this before, and I still say that first artificially restricting your combat system so have to add a lock-on just so that you can still fight in a group at all is ... well... bullshit. Just don't design it so that you need lock-on, we got mouses, they're accurate dammit!
I dislike the way combat has evolved with TW2. I realize it’s really a matter of taste and that I am probably in the minority, but for me the issue was pretty clear cut.

In cRPG I dislike real time fights based on skill and reflexes and prefer turn based fights based on strategy and stat optimization. I don’t mind difficulty, I just dislike when that difficulty is based on how well I can use the controls of the game.

TW1 was not turn based, but at least combat was a fluid experience that you could approach in a laid back way. Therefore, it seldom was an obstacle to the development of the story.

Unfortunately for me, with TW2, combat has become much more action oriented, getting a feel very akin to a God of War title. As such, it requires, concentration, reflexes, skill and so on…

I’m sure this pleases a majority of gamers, especially those who also enjoy console’s action Rpg titles, but for me this really wasn’t a positive point.
I love the combat. Slim pickings for a RTS Sword Fantasy genre for the PC...
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Alesdrobek: In my view, the combat and the graphics are the only two things that Witcher 2 excels over Witcher 1. Combat in TW1 felt more like a nuisance, the system in this installment is IMO the best action-based combat so far devised in RPGs (turn-based combat is of course superior, but we won't get any more of that).

Otherwise TW2 is a great, gorgeous looking game, but TW1 is richer, longer, the characters are more memorable, the side quests are more plentiful and enjoyable, the world is larger and the environments are more original and awesome (the chapter in the fields with noonwraiths is something I'd hardly ever forget).

I don't want to light a flame here, actually I want to heap praise on the Poles for TW2 which I thoroughly enjoyed, but....how to put it....TW 1 is in my all time RPG TOP 10, whereas TW2 isn't.
I agree. I enjoy having to think on my feet and avoid being surrounded. People have complained about Geralt being ganged up on but that's what any enemy would do in real life so all the more real to me. When I went from getting my butt kicked in the turorial to being able to take on 4 nekkers I actually felt I accomplished something. Plus Geralt gets more & more powerful as you level and add skills.
The combat is good, but definitely takes practice. Once i got the hang of it, i had a lot of fun with the combat. I can see where people would get frustrated, though. I think the prologue lacks as a tutorial, is the main problem. I just started my second playthrough, and while I died a lot on the prologue the first time, came through completely unscathed this time around despite not having Raven's armor and such this time. I think what I would do if i were them is create a separate tutorial that introduced fight mechanics one at a time, completely divorced from the plot of the game. Have it selectable from the main menu, then introduce each sign, the uses for steel vs silver swords, potions etc. so the Prologue can stay the way it is, and people aren't thrown into things with no clue as to what they're doing.
The combat rules. I played the hell out of Arkham Asylum, Demon's Souls, Ninja Gaiden Black and 2 so I felt right at home. I think more people would like the combat if they actually paid attention and understood the mechanics. Also, I think some people are letting their fear of consoles and rpg stubbornness get in the way of enjoying the combat for what it is, a HUGE improvement compared to TW1 and one of the best examples of 3rd person combat in a PC game.

To the guy calling this Gothic combat, come on man....know what you're talking about.
I also love the combat system, though it surely has its quirks. What I don't like about the game is, at least in chapter 1, there seems to be cutscene after cutscene and I have the feeling, I didn't have the opportunity to actually play, i.e. running around, talking and fighting. Nevetheless, the story is great so far, love the game, though there are some things I really hate about it, mostly UI stuff.
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Crular: I also love the combat system, though it surely has its quirks. What I don't like about the game is, at least in chapter 1, there seems to be cutscene after cutscene and I have the feeling, I didn't have the opportunity to actually play, i.e. running around, talking and fighting. Nevetheless, the story is great so far, love the game, though there are some things I really hate about it, mostly UI stuff.
I've read its darn hard in the beginning. I'm looking forward to that...I like hard...good for character building ;-)...
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ThulsaDooom: The combat rules. I played the hell out of Arkham Asylum, Demon's Souls, Ninja Gaiden Black and 2 so I felt right at home. I think more people would like the combat if they actually paid attention and understood the mechanics. Also, I think some people are letting their fear of consoles and rpg stubbornness get in the way of enjoying the combat for what it is, a HUGE improvement compared to TW1 and one of the best examples of 3rd person combat in a PC game.

To the guy calling this Gothic combat, come on man....know what you're talking about.
Remember in this day and age, people can't waste their time with silly things like reading manuals. (How did we get here...and how did we ever get through Baldur's Gate/Icewind dale..the spells alone...)
Post edited May 27, 2011 by jlibster
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jlibster: Remember in this day and age, people can't waste their time with silly things like reading manuals. (How did we get here...and how did we ever get through Baldur's Gate/Icewind dale..the spells alone...)
I know! I saw a post on another forum, "This is the first game to make me read the manual in 10 years. I love these guys."

I despise tutorial levels and I usually forget everything it tells me to do because I rush through it to get to the real meat and potatoes of a game. I do kind of wish we had more hard encounters in the later chapters but at the same time, I want to feel powerful after struggling, learning and leveling up.

I printed out the Steam manual before the game was released and read it on the can. Nerd status confirmed!
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jlibster: Remember in this day and age, people can't waste their time with silly things like reading manuals. (How did we get here...and how did we ever get through Baldur's Gate/Icewind dale..the spells alone...)
We stopped beating our children and look at today's youth now.

;p
Combat is great, BUT there are some improvements I would like to see:

1) Possibility to walk while parrying

2) more options of dodging, like jump, pirouettes etc, not just rolling on the ground