Review Epic The Witcher 2 Review Extravaganza

VentilatorOfDoom · May 25, 2011

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher 2, The

The Witcher 2 continues to score favorable reviews.
 
<a href="http://www.g4tv.com/games/pc/62794/The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings/review/" target="_blank">G4TV found out</a> that unlike many games that claim your choices have consequences, The Witcher 2 actually makes good on the promise. 5/5
<blockquote>
It’s not often I feel like applauding when the credits roll on a videogame, but this time, I may have put my hands together for the folks at CD Projekt RED Studio. Seemingly out of nowhere, they have produced a game that can easily hang with the multi-million dollar triple-A crowd. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is clearly a labor of love, with tremendous thought put into the story, presentation, and writing. If you have a PC capable of running it, do not hesitate to play it. If you don’t…well, this is one of the best arguments in favor of high-end PC gaming to come along in quite some time. You might want to start pricing video cards.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.gamefront.com/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review/" target="_blank">Gamesfront score it 92/100</a>, saying that no self-respecting RPG fan can afford to miss this game.
<blockquote>
All in all, The Witcher 2 is a huge step forward for CD Projekt. They’ve taken the series from the first chapter, which was the nearest thing to an indie game, to the second, which is a AAA title that still stays true to its indie roots. It’s the best RPG I’ve played in a long time. Its 25-30 hours may not make it the longest game around, but I haven’t seen anything that comes close to it in terms of giving the player control of what’s happening in the world around him. It’s loaded with great moments, and the passion CD Projekt has for the subject matter is plain to see. In short, it’s a game that no self-respecting RPG fan can afford to miss. I will be very surprised if there’s a better RPG in 2011.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.ausgamers.com/games/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/review/" target="_blank">AusGamers dish out 9/10</a>, being impressed with the character system.
<blockquote>
So yes, the first few enemy encounters in the game are ludicrously difficult, and you’ll quickly realise that when faced with a group of enemies they’ll quickly work together to surround you and try and hit you from all angles, including the time-old classic of a sword to the back. Being an RPG, getting hit in the back means that the damage taken is amplified as is the time taken to recover from being stunned and be able to retaliate. Combat-wise you’re definitely thrown into the deep end with no real tutorial or even strategy clearly presented, meaning that the early parts of the game can get frustratingly difficult, and at times feel more than a little ridiculous. But eventually (with the time depending on your natural gaming ability) you’ll come to the realisation that being a Witcher means that you’ll have no choice but to use a combination of magic, bombs, traps, ranged weaponry, in the addition to standard sword-play to better your foes. This is when the role-playing nature of the game truly becomes apparent.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/864254-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review-the-moral-maze" target="_blank">Metro mourn</a> the dire absence or bugginess of questmarkers, 6/10, also they seem to have an irrational fear of nipples.
<blockquote>
The laughably coy sex scenes (Geralt is sterile so can afford to put himself about a bit) of the first game have thankfully been de-emphasised this time, and the ridiculous 'sex cards' have been given the boot. This at least counts as an improvement on last time, but relatively little else does. As attractive as the graphics are the animation is still terrible and the game world full of minor glitches. Some of the worst concern the quest information, with map markers and descriptions regularly not showing up.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://review.techworld.com/games/3281824/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review/" target="_blank">TechWorld don't score but like it</a>, being happy with the difficulty.
<blockquote>
Another touch that makes The Witcher 2 so enjoyable, at least for an old school CRPG player like me, is its difficulty. The game does offer some rudimentary tutorials, but it doesn't explain a number of its aspects. Some may criticise the game for not doing a better job of explaining its mechanics.
You can add mutagens to your skills to boost a number of your stats and abilities. The game explains that when a skill has a circle next to it, you can enhance it with a mutagen. But you won't know a skill has a mutagen slot until you pick it. I didn't begin finding mutagen slots until my Geralt, who reached level 33 by the end of my playthrough, was in the 20s. And it can be a bit difficult to figure out how to take on some bosses (pro tip: the first boss is especially hard).
</blockquote>
Honest Gamers <a href="http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/9408/The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings.html" target="_blank">are honestly a bit confused</a> with all the storytelling and whatnot, 7/10.
<blockquote>
The setting is generic, but there’s a whole load of complexity to the storytelling. Perhaps too much at times, as it can get confusing, but the narrative scope on offer is impressive. The writing is decent, characters are well-rounded, and despite working on a skill-tree system rather than more traditional experience points, there’s a real sense of progression as you fight through the many hours of your journey. There’s even a well-managed sex scene, which certainly makes the original game’s ridiculous porn cards look like the sexist drivel that they were. It feels natural, and human, and never gratuitous despite being fairly explicit.
</blockquote>
Globe and Mail <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/video-games/controller-freak/review-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/article2032908/" target="_blank">have no score either</a> but like it too, recommending *easy* difficulty.
<blockquote>
And then there’s the unforgiving level of difficulty, especially at the start of the game before you begin the long and rewarding process of snaking a path through the enormous abilities tree that allows players to customize the sort of fighter their Geralt will become. Enemies are relentless, eager to swarm, and deliver attacks that can be devastating. Don't get me wrong; combat is action-packed, strategic, and loads of fun, but death can be quick and unexpected. I’ve tried both keyboard and gamepad control configurations looking for some sort of combat advantage, but neither are perfect solutions. My advice is to save often. And set the difficulty level to “easy.” There’s no shame.
</blockquote>
Here's another 9/10, <a href="http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/the_witcher_2/" target="_blank">given by Neoseeker</a>. 
<blockquote>
Despite these flaws, The Witcher 2 has proved one of my greatest gaming affairs in all respects, and represents some of the finest the genre has to offer. It's been my experience some of the best works (whether games, music, or whatever else) are the ones you want to dive into again immediately after experiencing fully, and The Witcher 2 is exactly that.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thewitcher2/review.html" target="_blank">GameSpot rate it 9/10</a>, saying that The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a gift, gilded with moments that stay with you even after the curtains close on its dark tale of uncertain pasts and uncertain futures. *sob*
<blockquote>
The Witcher 2 is not an open-world game in the way of The Elder Scrolls games; each area is relatively contained though expansive enough to encourage exploration. The rewards for doing so aren't just pretty vistas. You might uncover a chest that can be opened only by interpreting the clues on a nearby scroll or stumble upon a giant arachnid guarding treasure. However, the game's flexibility isn't a result of wide-open journeys; it is the extraordinary ways you can influence the story and fundamentally change the direction of your future travels. For example, choices you make at the end of Act 1 not only determine how immediate story events play out, but also have a dramatic impact on the entire game. The characters at your side, the enemies you face, the dialogue--they all differ based on a series of decisions that the game never forgets. And these aren't "good" or "bad" choices: these are ambiguous circumstances with ambiguous results, which is just as well. Geralt is not interested in heroism or villainy. He navigates turbulent waters seeking neither justice nor injustice, only answers.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.shacknews.com/article/68543/witcher-2-assassins-kings-review" target="_blank">Shacknews like it too</a>, saying that The Witcher 2 outdoes everything in its class.
<blockquote>
The moment I completed the campaign, I started a new game. The excellent core of The Witcher 2’s combat and conversation remained the same, naturally, but what followed was an entirely different, equally absorbing game. So it goes when developers leave players to their own devices instead of spelling out all the answers. I adored stumbling into tucked-away corners of the country, meeting (quarreling with, helping, killing) interesting new characters, and chopping my way through The Witcher 2’s dense quest line. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings outweighs anything that tries to bring it down, and it outdoes everything in its class.
</blockquote>
And last but not least, <a href="http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/witcher2/1500/review.html" target="_blank">here's StrategyInformer with 9.1/10</a>.
<blockquote>
It will be the story that keeps you going as much as the quests, taking in some truly epic encounters and some exceptionally tough choices. It’s almost a Choose Your Own Adventure story come to proper life. Despite me loving every minute though, it has to be said that Act 3 and the finale are really short and don’t wrap up the storyline at all. The much vaunted “sixteen endings” don’t mean that much when they only last a minute each and don’t end anything. Still, this isn’t KOTOR2, we’ll definitely get a sequel that finishes these threads. You may have seen the score already. It’s a 9.0, which puts The Witcher 2 in classic must-buy territory, but I’ll admit that it’s slightly grudgingly so. I’ve never come across a game that I wanted to berate as much as sing its praises. I felt like I was grumbling to myself or my friends every few minutes, like about the map being useless or a boss fight being tedious, but would I consider stopping playing? Never. The Witcher 2 can be frustrating, but it’s also a game that will suck you in and keep you talking about it for years to come.
</blockquote>
If you're not into reading, <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-the-witcher/714184?type=flv" target="_blank">there's a video review available</a> on Gametrailers.
 
Now, there's been a lot of whining because of the steep difficulty. Tomek Gop <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-24-cd-projekt-defends-witcher-2-difficulty" target="_blank">answered the complaints</a> to Eurogamer.
<blockquote>
While The Witcher 2 landed in stores last week to almost universal acclaim a number of users, and reviewers, raised concerns about the RPG's brutal learning curve. Developer CD Projekt's response? Deal with it. In Eurogamer's 9/10 review of the game last week, Quintin Smith complained that the game was "ungodly tough" at the start before becoming more manageable later on. "Obviously we have been inspired by hardcore games, by difficult games, and maybe that might be the reason why it was not that obvious to us," answered senior producer Tomasz Gop. "But we didn't want the game to be a piece of cake at the beginning like, you know, an interactive movie. That wasn't what we were aiming for. We definitely wanted to introduce at least some level of difficulty. "I think the most common misunderstanding is that most people compare our 'normal difficulty' to other games' 'normal difficulty'," he continued. "Since we are a hardcore game, we do require a hardcore approach on the 'normal' skill. The 'easy' skill is basically for the guys who want to take it light.
</blockquote>
You might need some time to get used to the control scheme and the different abilities, but once you got used to it combat gets much easier. Isn't this the purpose of any combat system anyway? Being hard to master?

MasterSmithFandango · May 25, 2011

You missed an easy "Enhanced Edition" joke there. Surprising. You're off your game.

odrzut · May 25, 2011

While The Witcher 2 landed in stores last week to almost universal acclaim a number of users, and reviewers, raised concerns about the RPG's brutal learning curve.

Developer CD Projekt's response? Deal with it.

Witcher 2 being consolized Action RPG or not, CDPR rulez.

MapMan · May 25, 2011

Kane · May 25, 2011

But we didn't want the game to be a piece of cake at the beginning like, you know, an interactive movie.

computer games aren't interactive movies. more at 11.

<3 CDPR

villain of the story · May 25, 2011

DGayder is weeping in a dark corner in a damp room, for potato people beat him in his own game. Or perhaps he will become butthurt that his literary effort is underrated.

In before multikult accuses of TW2 of lacking gay sex and all that shit.

Yaar Podshipnik · May 25, 2011

I hate the fuckers who say that Witcher is a generic setting. That's bullshit.

Yes, you have elves and dwarves, kings and queens, magic and monsters, and more or less medieval level of tech. BUT, elves and dwarves are politically oppressed minorities. The pointy-eared dudes are also major assholes and not some elder, wise and sensitive civilization. Dwarves are of course living in mountains and like their beards, but they are also frequently city-dwelling businessmen. There is ton of intrigue between different kingdoms (and no lolz we are ze evilz!), battles are described realistically (though I know shit about such combat). No lawful good/chaotic evil dichotomy - people behave pretty much like an average rl folk. Also, the whole setting is pretty low magic, with possible dire consequences for the casters. Monsters are varied and not your typical D&D (though there are some similarities), and there is some attempt to make them fit into an ecological niche. Which is kind of hard, since all monsters in TW setting either come from different planets/dimensions or are results of mutation due to the event that brought monsters in (forgot its name in English).

Separate mention goes to science - there is lot more of it used than in any other fantasy setting I know (except Arcanum). Geralt and his fellow witchers are all products of genetic science (although with some magic involved). Nilfgaard tries to downplay magic as much as possible and replace it with science (which is a source of conflict between mages and Emhyr).

Feels good to vent.

curry · May 25, 2011

villain of the story said:
DGayder is weeping in a dark corner in a damp room, for potato people beat him in his own game. Or perhaps he will become butthurt that his literary effort is underrated.

Butthurt Potatos gonna be butthurt.

meh · May 25, 2011

Yaar Podshipnik said:
I hate the fuckers who say that Witcher is a generic setting. That's bullshit.

Yes, you have elves and dwarves, kings and queens, magic and monsters, and more or less medieval level of tech. BUT, elves and dwarves are politically oppressed minorities. The pointy-eared dudes are also major assholes and not some elder, wise and sensitive civilization. Dwarves are of course living in mountains and like their beards, but they are also frequently city-dwelling businessmen. There is ton of intrigue between different kingdoms (and no lolz we are ze evilz!), battles are described realistically (though I know shit about such combat). No lawful good/chaotic evil dichotomy - people behave pretty much like an average rl folk. Also, the whole setting is pretty low magic, with possible dire consequences for the casters. Monsters are varied and not your typical D&D (though there are some similarities), and there is some attempt to make them fit into an ecological niche. Which is kind of hard, since all monsters in TW setting either come from different planets/dimensions or are results of mutation due to the event that brought monsters in (forgot its name in English).

Separate mention goes to science - there is lot more of it used than in any other fantasy setting I know (except Arcanum). Geralt and his fellow witchers are all products of genetic science (although with some magic involved). Nilfgaard tries to downplay magic as much as possible and replace it with science (which is a source of conflict between mages and Emhyr).

Feels good to vent.

I feel you, dude. Only :obviously:

can differ between settings without shouting "the setting has elves, dwarves, magic, doesn't have technology -- it is generic neckbeard fantasy!" :rpgcodex:

commie · May 25, 2011

It's instructive that the only reviews that have scored TW2 as being shit, are those with the biggest fucktards reviewing them. Rare is the critical review that actually breaks down the real flaws in the game as opposed to hypocritical butthurt Biofag fanboy responses.

made · May 25, 2011

Heres a list of all the review scores so far (only scores matter, nobody reads the reviws anyway) directly from CDPR:

3DJuegos(Spain)
9.4/10

Bit-tech(UK)
95%

CD-Action(Poland)
9+/10

Cheat Code Central(US)
4.5/5

Cynamite(Germany)
9/10

Destructoid(US)
6/10

Doupe.cz(Czech Republic)
9/10

Eurogamer(UK)
9/10

Eurogamer Italy(Italy)
9/10

Everyeye.it(Italy)
9.6/10

GamesRadar(US)
10/10

Game Reactor(Norway)
10/10

Games Aktuelle(Germany)
9/10

GameBlog.Fr(France)
5/5

Gamesradar(US)
10/10

Game Informer(US)
9.25/10

Game Reactor(UK, Denmark, Spain)
9/10

Game Reactor(Germany)
9/10

Game Reactor(Sweden)
9/10

Game Reactor(Finland)
9/10

Game Shard(US)
10/10

GamePro(US)
5/5

GameSpy(UK)
9/10

GameSpot(US)
9/10

GameStar(Germany)
87/100

GameTrailers(US)
9.4/10

Gamezilla(Poland)
9/10

Gry OnLine(Poland)
9.5/10

Gry.onet(Poland)
9.5/10

Hrej.cz(Czech Republic)
9/10

IGN(US)
9/10

Joystick(France)
19/20

Meristation(Spain)
9.5/10

Multiplayer.it(Italy)
9.2/10

NeoSeeker(US)
9/10

NOWGamer(UK)
8.4/10

Pelit(Finland)
93/100

PC Gamer(US/UK)
89/100

PC Format(UK)
92/100

PC Games(Germany)
88%

PC Guru(Hungary)
92%

RPG France(France)
10/10

SpazioGames(Italy)
9.1/10

Strategyinformer(UK)
9/10

The Onion A.V. Club(US)
9.1/10

Videogamer(UK)
9/10

XGN(Holland)
9.3/10

Zing.cz(Czech Republic)
9/10

commie · May 25, 2011

And to think Bioware had to spend millions to get similar scores when putting the money into making a better game would have sufficed.

Mister Arkham · May 25, 2011

commie said:
And to think Bioware had to spend millions to get similar scores when putting the money into making a better game would have sufficed.

Oh, snap.

Wait...no, that's true.

Never mind.

Yaar Podshipnik · May 25, 2011

If I've ever had to give a score to TW2 it would be 8/10. It's not like the game doesn't have flaws.

The controls are a bit hard, the QTEs are not entirely optional (what is the first dragon fight if not one massive QTE); the facial animation looks very wooden; the inventory/journal/alchemy interface is a fucking consoletard disgrace; combat is a bit to twitchy IMO (liked Risen a lot more); camera could be a bit further away from Geralt's back; writing is a bit meh sometimes; world could be more free-roamy (again, Risen), and I could do without two or three crashes to desktop.

BUT it's a very nice game, with c&c (minor and major). Not an old school, classic RPG but a very solid title and much better than other stuff available now. While I don't salivate over it, I feel glad that my fellow potato men made it.

Also, there is an in-game book called "Trolls and Trolling" - it almost felt like a nod towards ze codex.

made · May 25, 2011

commie said:
And to think Bioware had to spend millions to get similar scores when putting the money into making a better game would have sufficed.

This is 2011. High scores could just as well indicate that TW2 is so full of decline that even the derp sites love it.

commie · May 25, 2011

made said:
commie said:

And to think Bioware had to spend millions to get similar scores when putting the money into making a better game would have sufficed.

Click to expand...

This is 2011. High scores could just as well indicate that TW2 is so full of decline that even the derp sites love it.

Heh, not likely. Invariably a shit big name game will score better than a good game from a no name dev that hasn't greased the wheel. Even if everything has declined then TW2 would still be rated lower than DA2 it's closest comparable rival. What this shows is that even without hookers and blow, the reviewers ,derp addled or not, still decided to rate the game highly for the most part. Of course being a console friendly ARPG with eye candy rather than a TB iso game helps no end, but then what else was TW2 going to be anyway? TW1 EE was certainly as good if not better than other ARPG's of the time yet still wasn't that enthusiastically received.

Yaar Podshipnik said:
I the facial animation looks very wooden;

Really? As opposed to the quality facial animation in what game?

Jasede · May 25, 2011

Yaar Podshipnik said:
I hate the fuckers who say that Witcher is a generic setting. That's bullshit.

I only played The Witcher 1 for 5 minutes, watching the intro and the reading the first tutorial message. There's no way a "normal" person isn't going to think the setting is extremely generic. Maybe it comes into its own later, but the truth is that first impressions count and can easily turn you off so much that you uninstall the game.

Games need to be good from the start, not terrify you with a horrible intro cutscene and a forced tutorial.

MuscleSpark · May 25, 2011

made said:
commie said:

And to think Bioware had to spend millions to get similar scores when putting the money into making a better game would have sufficed.

Click to expand...

This is 2011. High scores could just as well indicate that TW2 is so full of decline that even the derp sites love it.

Jim Sterling from Destructoid gave it a 6/10, that means it MUST be a good game.

commie said:
Yaar Podshipnik said:

I the facial animation looks very wooden;

Click to expand...

Really? As opposed to the quality facial animation in what game?

LA Noire?

commie · May 25, 2011

MuscleSpark said:
LA Noire?

Some would disagree, like here on the Codex even. Besides, it's not even out so that's not only an unfair comparison( Hey TW2 facial animation suxors cause a game released in a decade does it better) but who knows how widespread the effort for facial animation is across the board in that game? In TW2 you can see that Roche is well developed for example while random peasant number 24 is less so.

Gragt · May 25, 2011

Jasede said:
Games need to be good from the start, not terrify you with a horrible intro cutscene and a forced tutorial.

Jasede · May 25, 2011

Hey, you can at least agree that forced tutorials are bad!

MuscleSpark · May 25, 2011

commie said:
MuscleSpark said:

LA Noire?

Click to expand...

Some would disagree, like here on the Codex even. Besides, it's not even out so that's not only an unfair comparison( Hey TW2 facial animation suxors cause a game released in a decade does it better) but who knows how widespread the effort for facial animation is across the board in that game? In TW2 you can see that Roche is well developed for example while random peasant number 24 is less so.

LA Noire is out for the consoles, in fact I've been watching a Let's Play of it and it looks amazing for all the characters. I definitely agree with you that it's not a fair comparison though (LA Noire's whole shtick is the facial animations, they must have spent millions on it). Not to mention there's plenty of stuff TW2 does better like environments and graphics overall.
And yeah, the main characters in TW2 are definitely better animated than the plebeians.

Gragt · May 25, 2011

Jasede said:
Hey, you can at least agree that forced tutorials are bad!

That I do, though it wasn't as bad in TW1 as I remember some other games.

Jasede · May 25, 2011

I'll give the game a shot one of these days, but until then it's uninformed, ignorant bitching for you.

Micmu · May 25, 2011

Metro mourn 6/10 said:
... Some of the worst concern the quest information, with map markers and descriptions regularly not showing up. ...

Next-gay idiot spotted in the crowd. Game has no walkthrough built in? Oh crap

Review Epic The Witcher 2 Review Extravaganza

Administrator

Arcane

Arcane

Arcane

I have many names

Arcane

Arcane

Arcane

Educated

The Last Marxist

Arcane

The Last Marxist

Scholar

Arcane

Arcane

The Last Marxist

Arcane

Augur

The Last Marxist

Arcane

Arcane

Augur

Arcane

Arcane

Magister