巫师2：国王刺客加强版

(My review is for the newly released xbox 360 version. Please excuse any differences I reference here. The content in the game is the identical and my overall view of the game is the same.) I am one of the lucky ones. Even though I had pre-ordered and paid off the Dark Edition, I applied and was chosen as a reviewer. I received my review copy from CD Projekt Red on Mon. the 16th. I ripped open the packaging with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas day. I received the full game, a thank you letter and access to a special ftp site to use in my review. I even took the time to install the game to my hard drive. So by the time I was ready to play, my excitement level was through the roof. Of course I was promptly disappointed. After an amazing new intro scene I was thrust into a tutorial mission. This mission would have been fun if not for the constant, irritating and poorly timed tutorial pop ups. Often times describing the play and controls in a less than optimal fashion. This ended in an ever more typical arena fight that decided the recommended difficulty for the game. Of course I did poorly and it was recommended that I play on easy. Of course I chose to play on normal and went forth to delve into the actual story of the game. Within five minutes I had a better grasp on the controls than the tutorial gave me. Within another 5 minutes I was hooked. While the movement and camera work is a little on the sloppy side, the game as a whole is incredible. The graphics are better than most and honestly at times downright beautiful. The story is deep and immersive. Though at times you might feel a little lost if you didn't play the first game. Especially when you run into characters from the first game who reference things from it. It also doesn't do a great job explaining your memory loss issues that persist from the beginning of the first game. All of these things are minor gripes. There are control issues and glitches as with many other modern games, but nothing game breaking. Nothing even close to the issues from Skyrim. Every issue I have with the game can easily be patched out. Can we get an adjustable camera speed please? Even as it is I love this game. As I'm writing this I can't stop thinking about when I can get back into it. I want to learn more about the characters and story. I want to flesh out the world. I want to milk all the juicy goodness from this game. MMMmmm delicious. One of the more odd things I've found is that I can't stop walking. For those of you that may not understand. In games like this you walk faster and then begin to run the more you tilt the analogue stick. I just can't get myself to run. As I walk I feel like a traveler in this world. I want to walk at a normal human pace for multiple reasons. I want to enjoy the beauty of the scenery. I want to hunt for herbs and ingredients. I don't want to run into a group of bandits I didn't see coming. I'd rather get the jump on them. The Witcher 2 just makes me feel like I'm Geralt of Rivia and I love it. All the decisions I make feel real with legitimate repercussions. Not just pointless filler that pretends to have an affect. I am shaping my world and my story as I play. All of these things add up to one wonderful game. Oh and to prove my point, I went in this morning and picked up my pre-ordered Dark Edition. If you have any interest in this game and have managed to get to this point in my wall of text, just get it. You won't regret it. Thanks for reading.

As one of the (hot female) characters in Witcher 2 says, sometimes we need the bare truth to penetrate our self-deception. I have some bare truth for the creators of this game. Problems are rife. Here are some examples: - You're fighting a room full of bad guys.. suddenly you enter into a killing blow animation. All the other bad guys vanish, the camera angle changes to cinematic, and neither you or your target are standing where you were standing in battle. What? - Changing running direction results in a 1 second delay while the character turns around. This makes moving about very unintuitive and laggy.. perfect for an interactive story but not for a combat game. - After fighting side-by-side with the King's men, you then go on a killing spree of those same men while the story still has them as your allies. What? - Set pieces are abysmal. In one scene, you run from a large and intimidating foe, and the entire mechanics are: run in one direction, occasionally press 1 button. The visuals are impressive but who cares? Space invaders requires you to move in 2 directions and press one button - that's 50% more engaging. To think that a team of people spend weeks on scenes like this is really disappointing. It really proves the critics have lost all credibility.. old news, I know. "Redifines expectations of the genre"? Please!! It's not all bad though.. the good: - Beautiful looking scenery and landscapes. Really rich detail in your surroundings - Satisfying spell and combat animations - Great dialogue for a game - Rich, deep characters. The king is like no other fictional king I've ever seen, and in subtle ways. - High level of visual and audio polish - When the story isn't completing shooting itself in the foot, it's actually great Should we be judging a game against it's peers and past games? Or should we also judge them against future potential? I would be really really disappointed if this is the best that CD Projekt can do, or the game industry in general. This game rocks in many ways, but some fundamentals are shaky. This game is Anna Kournikova, not Venus Williams. To score a 10, we want the best of the two.....

I was actually surprised at how good the witcher 2 is (after being let down by other video game sequels lately), Its full of content to keep you interested, Quests are varied and have some very interesting storylines, Decisions are an excellent aspect to the gameplay and can have huge impacts on how certain plots unfold. The graphics and voice acting are fantastic and the combat is still fun. I am extremely glad i decided to buy this.

I have waited for this game so long and I finally got to play it. It was a really good experience, just what I wanted from my Witcher game. I liked a lot of these new changes what they made. Combat was more enjoyable, though it was not bad either in the first witcher game. Also the maps were really nice and detailed. But the best part of this game is the storyline, definitely. There is no boring parts in the story. I hope we get Witcher 3 someday. Keep it up CD projekt red!

I can remember there was a time in my life where I considered myself an RPG fanatic. I played WoW, Final Fantasy, and a few others. Unfortunately, my obsession with the RPG dissolved over the years, as the FPS genre crept its way into my gaming nerve. No more than 6 months ago, I went and purchased another trophy for my "RPG" collection, in an attempt to revitalize the same feelings of exploration and mysticism that I once experienced all those years ago. It was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I dumped a solid 100+ hours, questing, starting new characters, trying different factions, different classes and races, the list goes on. I could say that my old RPG itch had been scratched. Having set Skyrim aside, convinced that I had played a reasonable amount, optimistic that is was the single greatest game I had ever played, I moved on. Now, after 6 months and a steam summer sale, I'm absolutely positive that Skyrim IS NOT the single greatest game I have ever played. The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings has to be, by a landslide of a margin, the single most enriching, intriguing, and rewarding game I have had the pleasure of playing. To start of, the Witcher 2 is something of a gaming marvel, in that it takes nearly every element of the RPG experience that I have grown to love over the years, and combine them together, into some sort of all knowing, all seeing RPG hybrid god. There's an eloquence in the Witcher 2's gameplay and presentation that has been sorely lacking since that days of FFX (For me at least). From the real time/slow down/pick your weapon, action, to the diverse and intelligent dialogue, CD Projekt Red's attention to deal and dedication to telling a gripping and down right fun to play story really shows. Perhaps the second greatest aspect of the game stems from the previously mentioned dialogue. Every character within the game, major and minor alike, brings something fresh, unique, and often times unsettling to the table. There's no shortage of deep, complex characters to read into and attempt to understand. I often times found myself, scrolling through journal entry after journal entry, enticed by the need to understand the characters and their stories. Where other game have lost me in the past, The Witcher beautiful integrates into its experience. I can't count the number of times I'd skip over storyline base books in Skyrim, while during my time with the witcher, I'd take no greater pleasure than reading line after line of character development and text. It's a fine testament to the games expertly crafted storytelling. Finally, it is important to note that the game looks absolutely gorgeous. I can remember telling myself "Look at the mountain! It's so lush and beautiful" in Skyrim (And skyrim's graphics aren't half bad) But compared to the rendered magic that CD Projekt Red has given us, the distinction between "not half bad graphics" and borderline photo realism starts to become more and more apparent. This game is truly a sight to behold (even if you can't run it on make settings) The leaps and bounds that CD Projekt Red took after running The Witcher on the aurora (Morrowind) engine, to creating their own, that looks great and plays great, is staggering. That being said, this game is not for everyone. At times, I found myself dying to what seemed like insurmountable odds (I'm looking at you Nekkars), only to retry again and again, however, the Witcher 2 was never met with frustration, but with analysis. “What did I do wrong?” “What should I do differently?” “How can I mix things together to achieve a different outcome?” It forced me to slow down and think about fights, not just running head first into the fray.. The game takes a level of patience to understand and play efficiently. It's not something most people (if anyone) can just jump right into and play flawlessly. There's a noticeable level of finesse that evolves from the trial and error of the game. This leads the game to have a generally slower pace than most RPGs (and most games in general) on the market right now. It's not a bad thing, it's just something to bare in mind if you're migrating from Call of Duty or something over to this (Not sure why you would though.....) On an artistic side note, the soundtrack for the game is jaw droppingly epic, mixing both the tried and true medieval-esc orchestral arrangements, to the heavy metal accompaniments, the game covers a wide spectrum of music from emotional to rip roaring. It’s a lot of fun to listen to, and it further enhances the experience. It's been awhile since I've sat down at a computer (or gaming console) and felt the urge to play a game to it’s fullest extent. No skipping quests, not skipping cutscenes, not leaving any stone unturned. It feeds that RPG obsession that I’ve hungered for so long like nothing before. It's a challenging game, but one that rewards its players, and the sum of it's parts are 100% absolutely worth the price of admission. If you're a fan of RPGs, check this game out. If you're a fan of well crafted and intelligent games, check this game out. An absolutely treat that should be enjoyed by as many people as possible.