Witcher 2 Released!

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As I recall they were saying that you could import a save from the original in to The Witcher 2. Do you already have an idea of how much of this is noticeable in the game, Olimikrig?

 

Hmm, I haven't noticed it much at all. I did start with Raven's Armor and moonblade though .

Btw Rawgrim I don't think there's any specific plans to get it out on consoles. As far as I've read it's meant to be a PC exclusive tittle, at least for now, with the posibility that it might be ported to consoles at some time.

 

You will also start with Gwalhir if you had it. Although the swords are quite basic in TW2 and you will get better ones soon, especially steel swords.

 

Ok, I used G'valchir, it didn't import .

 

Witcher 2 runs smoothly on an Intel quad 9450 with 8 GB with an ATI 4870. As for my other experiences, I'll just quote myself:

Except for these moronic quick time events, Witcher 2 is brilliant game. Boxing was fine and worked well in the original Witcher. Why fix what ain't broken? Well, they had to 'consolize' it. The controls are pretty identical conceptually to what you find (and what I hate) in about every Playstation or X-Box game. 'Consolizing' is the single most pernicious trend in gaming today. It was also precisely what made Deus Ex 2 such a crappy successor to Deus Ex (well that and the lame story). Just look at what it did to Dragon Age 2.

Also, the bigger the company, the greater apparently the urge to engage in 'cross-platform releases' to maximise market share (which is reasonable from a business point of view, and, of course, because apparently such buzzwords get hammered into the mindless heads of BS students). While that succeeds, more or less, it is at the expense of the quality of games - in particular the quality of interfaces (usually dumbed down) and game dynamics. In that respect Witcher 2 compares very favourably to the over-the-top and utterly consolish 'let's kick body parts around wielding house-sized swords' nonsense of Dragon Age 2.

That cross platform thing and unified UIs, well, to my dismay, I feel that it is there to stay Cross-platform releases aim on cutting development costs and are an attempt to appeal to the broadest possible audience. They have IMO 'levelled' the sequels of good games into mediocre or outright crappy products. The same crap dynamic makes sure that pop music remains as uniform, stale and boring as it is. And you see a lot of sequels since originality is not a big strength of large gaming software houses like EA. As a gaming exec once told me, established brands are considered a lower development risk. I for my part have a hunch my gaming future lies with smaller companies. I may eventually give the prequel to Drakensang a shot.

I mean, it is said they have 'shooterised' ME 3, in order to attract more shooter players (i.e. the HALO morons) to that game? Just as if it was too much of an RPG in the first place? Excuse me? A joke. Hey, why not add cat ears, tails, and manga eyes and manga boobs to bag that target audience as well? Soo sad! Hopefully Deus Ex 3 will avoid these mistakes, but given my recent experiences I am sceptical. /rant

 

I hear Deus Ex 3 has had the UI built separately for PC and console. Here's hoping.

 

I hope you heard right, even more so so since I already pre-ordered.

If true that's one of the rare examples where a gaming company actually learned a lesson from a sequel's failure and listened to gamer (i.e. customer) criticism. I still recall the disappointment that NWN 2 was, UI wise. I found the game unplayable without xUI, a second party (fan made) add on. I could go on. Usually it's as with NWN 2 and 'We give a damn about what the custom thinks and do as we see fit'. In the case of Deus Ex it's not all that surprising considering that a lot of the criticism on Deus Ex 2 pretty much was primarily about that abomination of a UI that they built.

God, am I jaded today.

 

Yeah the boxing mini game is pretty bad. I don't really see how it's possible to loose (not that boxing was hard in the first game mind you); you just have to memorize the location of four keys and then press them in order...

I really wish there was a way to store items. I find my self often having to sell ores and the likes because Geralt is at his carrying capacity, only to have to buy the exact same items later when I wish to craft something...

I would also have liked corpses to stay at least until you've looted them. It can be very difficult to find all the loot in areas with high vegetation.

 

Oh stupid me, THAT'S how it goes! How come I didn't think of that?!

 

Always here with helpful advice .

I'm sorry if you took offence, though.

 

Oh never mind, I grumble at everyone today.

 

Just a small mod recommendation: The Zero Weight Mod.

I'm definitely going to use this in my next play-through and until they (if they) introduce some way to store items. No more having to sell my crafting components to make room, only to have to buy them again at a later point...

I'm in Chapter 3 now, and the game is nearing it's conclusion. How far along are you guys?

 

I am still in Chapter 1 as I have not had much time to play. Maybe today or tomorrow...

 

I just finished it. Anyone who hasn't gotten this game yet, go get it now!

On a side-note, this game seriously needs a crosshair! Targeting is absolutely terrible...

 

Combat is horrible.

 

I don't think it's too bad once you get used to it. If they'd just improve the targeting system it would be fine, imho.

 

It does not work with crossfire.

So, I must use one card, meaning no high end graphics. I got over the shame, but it still is not nice.

 

AMD should release hotfix drivers that add better crossfire support soon.

 

Gametrailers.com review. Not much to add, they summed it up well. Although it is worth to note that the second chapter can take place in two different areas depending on your choices. So to see both of them you have to play the game twice. Overall this game has excellent replayability.

Also, AMD should release hotfix drivers this week for The Witcher 2 (and Brink 2) and the first patch for the game should be out this week too.

@Ragusa: Do you mean the fistfighting minigame which is based on QTE? The one where you have to press one or two (at least I have not yet encountered any where more is required) keys from WASD in sequence? I simply cannot understand how anyone could have any trouble whatsoever with it... O_O

 

Erod,
&%@*~?!&%!!!