The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition

I never really played the first Witcher, so I was really afraid that I wouldn't understand the backstory to the sequel if I didn't finish the first. Fortunately, this was wholly untrue. You don't need to know the backstory to the original game in order to fully appreciate and understand the second (although it would really help). The Witcher II is a masterpiece, though. (Boobies) It's a fun, mature RPG that takes itself seriously even through the brief and frequent moments of comedy. (Boobies) It's a pretty good game, all around. (Boobies) This game also shows RPGs how a true romance should be done. (Boobies)

Just like the first game, this one rewards multiple playthroughs -- the story becomes clearer, you get a better understanding of the skills, alchemy, and combat. The game simply does not hold your hand and what can seem confusing at first will make sense after your 2nd or 3rd time. Art design and graphics are top notch, battle animations are fluid and realistic, lacking the God of War over the top antics that plagues so many games. The game is hard at first, and then eases up about 2/3 of the way through, perhaps too much. But it rewards a thoughtful approach and punishes severely a foolhardy one. There's lots of people saying it doesn't live up to the original, and that it's been consolized - mostly bollocks. Alchemy is more useful now, as are bombs and traps. You have many more options in combat, and most of all, the repetitive timed click sequences are gone. The writing is superb, never overly serious. In fact there's more humor this time around. People have also complained about only two paths, which is again, bollocks. TW2 offers more dynamic choice and consequence than its predecessor. The plot branches in wildly different directions based on your choices. About the only thing that's been consolized is the UI. CDPR could work on doing a better job next time. Even for consoles it's not very good. There's still some delayed input issues such as hotkeys not working , but the EE has improved the flow of combat and fixed most of the bugs. In the end, this game is a rich and complex RPG, something all too rare these days, and CDPR continues to prove they eschew a mainstream approach for an uncompromising and unique experience.

I bought this game on GOG because it was DRM free, and that is a nice thing. I hate games that requires you to install tons of crap on your computer in order to work. So I thought it was a good idea to reward the initiative. Now for the game itself. I did not like it, at all. Here is what I felt of the game : In Witcher 2 you play the role of a crippled weakling whose delusion is to think he is a mosnter killer. Basically anyone in this world is way stronger than you. It takes you about seven to eight swords slash to bring down an unarmoured skinny bandit, while you can wistand about three or four from the same bandit. Most tougher opponents will bring you down in two to three blows. Geralt as many handicaps, the most frustrating being that he can hardly open a door unless he is at the right distance and at the right angle. This can leave him struggling at the front of an Inn for as much as twenty second while you try to gently make him take a walk around the door to position yourself correctly. Geralt also as a very bad vision, its depth perception seems to be completely off for example. When in a fight he will instinctivly choose the furthest less dangerous opponent among the pack. and jump at him (only to immediatly change target unless you lock your opponent at that moment). Doing this he will land right in the middle of the pack only to be hacked down since he is a weakling (most peasants, low soldier and even girls can survive for quite a long time in the middle of a pack of monster, Geralt cannot last more than 10 sec). Geralt also seems to be afflicated by some grave psychomotor afflication, once he starts a move he will finish it. If you click on the mouse button more than once and the first blow is countered, Geralt wil refuse to try escape or parry until the complete combo is done. This makes "strike once then run away" the most powerfull attack in the game. Expect for one detail, Geralt cannot back properly, if you tell him to move out he will also immediatly turn around, leaving his back open to enemies (who will then cause double damage). So you end up doing some kind of an awkward crab dance trying to keep one enemy in focus while praying not to get surrounded. Another technique consist in laying lots of traps, kitting enemies into them then runnig to the point where they will give up the chase and starting over. In both case you will have a lot of fun and feel like a real hero.... I stopped playing the game with the fight against the Kayran. The first time I fought the Kayran I would kill me in two attacks. So I went back to an earlier save, did all the side quests, upgraded my stuff to the maximum possible, gulped quite a few potion and then ... the Kayran would kill me in two attacks. After learning patterns by heart and slicing quite a few tentacles, I noticed a little something : a QTE challenge. It is quite hard to miss, because QTE informations are displayed in bright orange, so it really stands out against the bright orange Kayran skin, the bright orange herbs or the bright orange reflexion on the water of the bright orange sky. Add to this the fact that the camera is constantly changing against your will (new angle when you cut a tentacle, new angle when the Kayran strikes the bridge, new angle when you are done cutting a tentacle, new angle when the QTE comes) only to come back in the worst position making you go exactly at the place you were trying to avoid when the angle changed. Al in all it is painfull. If you try to do anything heroic, you get chopped down in a flash, and if you play to survive, you get bored. None the less you will end up saving a lot, by fear that something horrible (two bandits, including one with a buckler for example) might happen. I got bored....

This is prime example of a great game that was revamped instead of tweaked. The original wasn't perfect but it was still a great game. Unfortunately, the developers decided to rework almost everything and it's very obvious that this is no longer a PC exclusive game. They made extensive use of cut scenes which can be very irritating when they are in the middle of a fight with multiple enemies! Not all is bad though, the signs are a little more helpful in battle. Alchemy is not as complicated and more useful. I know I won't scare away any of the original Witcher fans with this review but if you are new to the series I can't fully recommend it.

Graphically stunning game, however due to this probably quite limited gameworld. Does not feel as open as the first part and controls and interface are less than optimum. Maybe that will be fixed in a future extended edition. Playtime is also less than in part I. Storywise it is again a genuinely unique experience, however except for act one you really never stray to much from the main story, as everything really happens more or less in one plays. I'd probably like a less graphically stunning but more open game world more (and more towns, people, chickens, dogs, immersion). Still it is a good game, just not as good for me as the Witcher 1. 4 + 1/2 stars