Posted May 28, 2011
Where do I start.
I completed more than half the quests - and hell's bells, I'm slow - and I've only spent 30 odd hours on the game :(
I was expecting an epic like Witcher 1, where I wound up playing the game and adventuring as Geralt for half a year real time (probably only 300~ hours or so; I played it through 4.5 times)
The combat is not introduced very well, there's too many woops, you're dead in the introduction. Deaths that you can only get through by try, try, try again. You can't go into a situation smartly (in the introduction) and be reasonably certain of winning.
The new skill trees are interesting, but explained in an abominable fashion - you don't find out the rules about mutagens till it's too late.
The map system is horrible, a vast step back from the first game. The terrain is laid out in such a way as to slow you down and force you to take wrong turns - very irritating when you get to a bunch of bushes between you and your objective, and you can't just walk through them like in real life.
Alchemy and weapon oils are nearly impossible to use due to their short timers, and the sheer freaking weight of all your crap.
The inventory: everything weighs an insane amount. There is no sort button for the junk so you're stuck strolling through a list looking for each piece of useless crap you picked up so far.
Crafting looks useful on the outset, but you can't see your traps hardly at all, meaning you're the one who triggers them, not your prey. The crafted gear is thrown at you but there's no way to sort the crafting diagrams into some sort of order.
Dreeadful.
Portions of the story telling are beautiful - in particular segments of the romancing of Triss.
But on the whole, any spot you've got problems, it seems the only way through is the thug way - beat'em up.
The whole feel of many of the quests is pointless posturing.
And there's several irritating, rigid, "choose X or Y" - you can't do both, even tho you should be able to hatch a plan for it.
And like uncle says, One more thing! there's no neutral option.
I really liked how in The Witcher, there was a way to be neutral, to earn friends from both sides of the fighting. It's what I loved most about it, I suspect.
I never get a real choice to stay out of their problems, or to kill both sides if they're trying to force the issue.
The game tries to make me feel guilty because I allowed a king to die - he was a rapist who couldn't control his underlings. Screw you king henselt. If I'd've had the option to gut you myself I would have.
All in all, this is not the game promised to us in the trailers.
I believed in CD Projekt because of how well they did the witcher. I preordered to show my support.
I won't preorder from them ever again - they're no better than mass effect. At least mass effect 2 kept me entertained for a few months.
Seneschul
I completed more than half the quests - and hell's bells, I'm slow - and I've only spent 30 odd hours on the game :(
I was expecting an epic like Witcher 1, where I wound up playing the game and adventuring as Geralt for half a year real time (probably only 300~ hours or so; I played it through 4.5 times)
The combat is not introduced very well, there's too many woops, you're dead in the introduction. Deaths that you can only get through by try, try, try again. You can't go into a situation smartly (in the introduction) and be reasonably certain of winning.
The new skill trees are interesting, but explained in an abominable fashion - you don't find out the rules about mutagens till it's too late.
The map system is horrible, a vast step back from the first game. The terrain is laid out in such a way as to slow you down and force you to take wrong turns - very irritating when you get to a bunch of bushes between you and your objective, and you can't just walk through them like in real life.
Alchemy and weapon oils are nearly impossible to use due to their short timers, and the sheer freaking weight of all your crap.
The inventory: everything weighs an insane amount. There is no sort button for the junk so you're stuck strolling through a list looking for each piece of useless crap you picked up so far.
Crafting looks useful on the outset, but you can't see your traps hardly at all, meaning you're the one who triggers them, not your prey. The crafted gear is thrown at you but there's no way to sort the crafting diagrams into some sort of order.
Dreeadful.
Portions of the story telling are beautiful - in particular segments of the romancing of Triss.
But on the whole, any spot you've got problems, it seems the only way through is the thug way - beat'em up.
The whole feel of many of the quests is pointless posturing.
And there's several irritating, rigid, "choose X or Y" - you can't do both, even tho you should be able to hatch a plan for it.
And like uncle says, One more thing! there's no neutral option.
I really liked how in The Witcher, there was a way to be neutral, to earn friends from both sides of the fighting. It's what I loved most about it, I suspect.
I never get a real choice to stay out of their problems, or to kill both sides if they're trying to force the issue.
The game tries to make me feel guilty because I allowed a king to die - he was a rapist who couldn't control his underlings. Screw you king henselt. If I'd've had the option to gut you myself I would have.
All in all, this is not the game promised to us in the trailers.
I believed in CD Projekt because of how well they did the witcher. I preordered to show my support.
I won't preorder from them ever again - they're no better than mass effect. At least mass effect 2 kept me entertained for a few months.
Seneschul