The Witcher was, perhaps, my favorite game of all time. The Witcher 2, unfortunately, disappoints a bit. It's still a great game, but some of the changes made from the first installment were a bit of a let down. The storyline is fantastic. In fact, it may be a bit better than that of the first Witcher. But I found myself missing the old sword fighting system. Instead of the specific combat stances of fast, strong, and group, you merely have the choice of delivering a quick and light blow, or a slower and heavier one. Character development has took a slight hit in this version of the game in favor of more dependence upon gear. Also, the cut scenes in combat are cool about the first two or three times you see them, but after that they just become an annoyance. If you are in a fight with several opponents, and you score a quick kill move, perhaps by stunning one of your enemies, it takes you into a quick little cut scene clip. It takes away from the fluidity of the fighting for no real good reason, and can cause you to get hit as it is hard to be prepared for the transition back into live action. Also, the immense gulf between the difficulty levels is simply absurd. I'd still recommend it as a buy, but with the caveat that it will not quite live up to the first game.
