I finally finished last night, and I'd like to share my thoughts on the game in my own thread instead of at the far end of that other, 50+ page TW2 thread elsewhere here in GRPG. I think the game deserves some reflection by others like me who were and are too lazy to trudge through that behemoth of a thread, the RPG in question being the minor yet terse tour-de-force in my estimation it was.
So yeah, I really did like it.
My overall impression of The Witcher 2 is one of largely satisfied gratification, but incomplete as a game in its efforts to thoroughly win me over. It's certainly the best action RPG I've ever played, surpassing F:NV and TW1, mainly due to its quality and responsible execution, missing the mark in only a few ways.
From the very outset, I appreciated all the attention to detail, no particular aspect of the game standing out, or on my toe as it were, as being obnoxious or lacking, save for its technical performance which eventually mostly got solved with the patches. Geralt's presence, his depicted demeanor and behaviour throughout the movie reels that dominate the game, seemed quite on to me and engaging. Everything from the excellent lip-synched animations, to the use of the otherwise useless to me cinematics throughout, the clean soundtrack, the pleasing natural (non-piss-filtered) color palettes -- it all added up to a game that if I were involved in its development, would be proud of.
Not having read... uh, any, of Sapkowski's fiction, I found myself often referring back to my journal and struggling a bit to immerse myself into the plot and my place in it, but the interestingly contrasting block art flashback sequences filled in some blanks nicely and were elegant touches. The art direction in particular probably impressed me the most with this title. The credits listed, IIRC, only a single individual responsible for this, and if true, that man deserves an extra potato.
The abruptness of the game didn't upset me too much. I can handle a short but sweet classic. Rather, its restrictive environments turned me off a little. Some of the areas extended out a little more than I had expected on initial inspection of that area's map, but playing a game in a closet is the feeling I eventually came away with. I think, had we gotten a much larger world to tromp around in, Witcher 2 might've gone down in RPG history as one of the all-time greats. Whatever inevitable expansions CDPR have planned will certainly march their way through my DSL modem at first sight.
Geralt's control scheme didn't take long for me to master, the double-tapping dodge technique soon feeling oddly appropriate. I hated the delay casting Quen and I think my left ring finger and my keyboard's Q key are both beyond repair, but that was a pretty obvious near-cheat anyway so I can't complain too much. The also restrictive nature of most of the combat arenas actually contributed to the fighting's enjoyment IMO, forcing me to remain alert all the time. Autoaim was wonky, yes, but learning to stay on the periphery of most enemies' groups gave me a good glimpse into the role of a Queensland Heeler and was thus doggone good. I especially enjoyed the stand at Vergen even though the fog and all them actors conspired to kill my precious framerate.
There were a lot of loose ends that I'm sure were intended to be and will be tied up, the developers knowing they already had a solid and very polished (heh) title ready to unleash, so I'd like to give an ovation to them Serczwieksy's and other weirdly-named farmers over there for a job well done. There are many other aspects of the experience that go beyond what a casual backwords look like my little post here should and can cover, and that's actually a sign of a really good game.
This is one of those ones that I'll recall fondly for a long time.
So yeah, I really did like it.
My overall impression of The Witcher 2 is one of largely satisfied gratification, but incomplete as a game in its efforts to thoroughly win me over. It's certainly the best action RPG I've ever played, surpassing F:NV and TW1, mainly due to its quality and responsible execution, missing the mark in only a few ways.
From the very outset, I appreciated all the attention to detail, no particular aspect of the game standing out, or on my toe as it were, as being obnoxious or lacking, save for its technical performance which eventually mostly got solved with the patches. Geralt's presence, his depicted demeanor and behaviour throughout the movie reels that dominate the game, seemed quite on to me and engaging. Everything from the excellent lip-synched animations, to the use of the otherwise useless to me cinematics throughout, the clean soundtrack, the pleasing natural (non-piss-filtered) color palettes -- it all added up to a game that if I were involved in its development, would be proud of.
Not having read... uh, any, of Sapkowski's fiction, I found myself often referring back to my journal and struggling a bit to immerse myself into the plot and my place in it, but the interestingly contrasting block art flashback sequences filled in some blanks nicely and were elegant touches. The art direction in particular probably impressed me the most with this title. The credits listed, IIRC, only a single individual responsible for this, and if true, that man deserves an extra potato.
The abruptness of the game didn't upset me too much. I can handle a short but sweet classic. Rather, its restrictive environments turned me off a little. Some of the areas extended out a little more than I had expected on initial inspection of that area's map, but playing a game in a closet is the feeling I eventually came away with. I think, had we gotten a much larger world to tromp around in, Witcher 2 might've gone down in RPG history as one of the all-time greats. Whatever inevitable expansions CDPR have planned will certainly march their way through my DSL modem at first sight.
Geralt's control scheme didn't take long for me to master, the double-tapping dodge technique soon feeling oddly appropriate. I hated the delay casting Quen and I think my left ring finger and my keyboard's Q key are both beyond repair, but that was a pretty obvious near-cheat anyway so I can't complain too much. The also restrictive nature of most of the combat arenas actually contributed to the fighting's enjoyment IMO, forcing me to remain alert all the time. Autoaim was wonky, yes, but learning to stay on the periphery of most enemies' groups gave me a good glimpse into the role of a Queensland Heeler and was thus doggone good. I especially enjoyed the stand at Vergen even though the fog and all them actors conspired to kill my precious framerate.
There were a lot of loose ends that I'm sure were intended to be and will be tied up, the developers knowing they already had a solid and very polished (heh) title ready to unleash, so I'd like to give an ovation to them Serczwieksy's and other weirdly-named farmers over there for a job well done. There are many other aspects of the experience that go beyond what a casual backwords look like my little post here should and can cover, and that's actually a sign of a really good game.
This is one of those ones that I'll recall fondly for a long time.
