I think a topic balancing all the whining and legitimate technical issues is in order. Cheers to CDProjekt Red for making it and cheers to GOG for selling it. The biggest thing I'm happy about is LITTLE TO NO HAND HOLDING. I died the first time I came upon the ballista scene and I cackled in delight. I knew my failure was my own fault because four against one, even for a Witcher, isn't good odds.

I've been handed (for $45 :) ) a beautiful world created with a great combat system (it is great, it's not my fault you suck at games), a compelling story and let loose. I've barely scratched the surface of this magnificent game but it's already my GOTY.

since when is 4v1 in favour of the 4 when the 1 is a witcher? especially the white wolf

Certainly one of the better games of 2011, and definitely the very best RPG of the year so far. I knew the game was going to be fun, but I expected less than what I got; this has been an extremely pleasant surprise for me. CD Projekt made a great game, and their distribution of it through GOG is also top-notch (woo lots of bonuses and no DRM!).

That's a good point but I'll take the ramped up difficulty over the laughably easy combat of the first game.

I really, really hope they don't nerf the game via a patch. Normal gives just the right amount of danger and will prepare me for a hard playthrough.

i couldnt agree more even though games that are challenging i usually give up but the witcher kept me comming back for more!

I wish I was a good enough artist to draw Gearalt spanking the shit out of a little baby version of Shepard ...

So far, I'm not so enthousiastic about the game.
It leaves me with mixed feelings at best. Might change when I progress more (I hope so).

I do encourage CD-projekt's vision on game distribution though.
The DRM free version with all the extra's might just be what the pc industry needs after years of ever more aggressive copy protection and authentication methods.

id say this one has more action elements tho. but with a reliance on rpg tactics.

its BEAUTIFUL

The first game satisfied my RPG/story side and this game satisfies my action/graphix side

I think it's a great followup. I miss TW1 and its style but this one is great, very great.

yeah it has more action I suppose but it still has alot of RPGness to it. everybody loves more action, more action is a good thing and more RPG is also good.

So do you agree that it has MORE than those other 2 games I mentioned? Not only does it do more but better.

no i dont, they are all their own vision, and all have their own methods. for what the other 2 games are they are great RPG games, but this game has its own way that is unmatched in the way it does it.

Fair enough, I just feel this game is heaps better than the other 2 games I mentioned. I have no dissapointments with this game yet, as I was left dissapointed with those other games. But dont get me wrong, those games were good aswell, just this was better.

I'm enjoying the game, but to be honest one thing is annoying the crap out of me -QTE's- I hate them with a passion, lol... otherwise, very nice game.

The hard difficulty is what makes it a great game!

This is THE game many of us have been waiting for because it's instant boot to the face isn't new, it's actually old ... like NES old. Having to slow down, time my strikes, get things perfect, and still end up getting killed reminds me of playing an early Castlevania. At the same time it's not just the how hard the game is, plenty of games out there are just as tough an unforgiving, however most of them have this way of really grinding in that you failed.

Resident Evil games can be pretty hard, but when you die it's always really with lots of screaming and "da zobies iz eatins you!" sound effects; not to mention how there is never a save spot anyway near a really hard part of the game so you constantly gotta backtrack. it's like it's not good enough that you screwed up and have to do it over again, when you die in those games it's like the game is calling you a stupid shit hit, and a little pussy for dieing. In the Witcher (well THIS Witcher) when you die the game there is none of that guilt trip bull shit, Gearalt just flops over and bam it's back to the continue screen.

the best way I can metaphor it is that it's like the game offers you a hand to help you get back on your feet, then says "try it again ..."

the thing is that people don't need to be able to puss out and crawl off to ME, DA, or TES (where the rubber bands live). People need to start sitting down with tough games and figuring them out, not crying about it before crawling off to suck on mamma's tit. Everything in a video game is a puzzle (no matter what type of game it is): in a fighting game the puzzle is to figure out the patterns and vulnerability of your opponents moves, in farmvile the puzzle is how to get out if the game the quickest (ok, it's actually how to get the most cash in the shortest amount of time), in adventure games it's how to find a hidden item and use logic to bypass an obstacle.

in the Witcher (2) the puzzle is how to overcome multiple enemies in short order. everyone is complaining that Gearalt is now suddenly a big pansy because he can't play superman and wade in, however to my eyes Gearalt has always been more of a Batman than a Superman. His greatness comes not from sheer physical prowess, but from outsmarting his opponents and chewing through their ranks by striking at the most vulnerable until there is nothing left to strike at.