The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Review

[Owlslayer]

Well, i may check the game out.
It really has got loads of different reviews from horrible to best thing ever.
Seems interesting.

 

[cieply]

snip

But it says! There is really nothing else I can tell, it tells you how to block and use signs, sure, in crappy tooltips but that was really all I needed (I missed some things sure but checked journal then and it brought me up to speed).

 

[Plinglebob]

And the capital sin here is that the reviewer didn't point out at all that this game has biggest decision based changes to content and world in any game in years. It's not ME "changing a few dialogue lines" but "changin the whole location of CH2" with completely diffrent town, quests, allies and even main quest and it's consequences. This is what truly amazed me, that I missed around 33% of the game on my 1st playthrough (probably 50% as I'm watching various playthroughs now). How the hell it's good journalism not to notice such a huge feature?

I can think of 2 possible reasons. The first is that so many games that claim to have a choice only shift a couple of lines of dialogue and the reviewer thought "Oh, a choice, probably won't change anything significant" and so didn't mention it. The second if you only do 1 playthrough and do no further checking/reading, you would never know that there are large branches of the story that get changed if you make different choices. However, considering the original Witcher was praised for it, I'm very surprised it wasn't mentioned.

 

[Edli1]

so can you explain to me how targeting is done in this game. For me it's pretty broken. all this timing stuff is nothing new it's been there in gaming for quite some time and quite a number of us are familiar with that. But using timing in this game becomes utterly useless when you get swamped by enemies and you trap spell is taking way too long to trigger.

Tactical combat starts with the targeting mechanic if that doesn't work properly tacitcs often go out of the window.

You target the one in front of you. It's the camera that does the targeting job in this game which I think it fits the playstyle in here. For example when you're in the middle of 3 soldiers you start with one and quickly go over the others by turning towards them.
You can see when the guy behind you is raising the sword to hit you then turn the camera quickly and interrupt his attack while keeping the combo going. You don not have to stick with one soldier alone, keep rotating the attacks between each soldier and if you do it right the combo goes higher and higher. You just have to keep an eye and time the attacks.

Swordplay is quite fun and satisfying once you understand how it works. For those who don't it will feel clunky and it will not make sense.

 

[sunburst]

So can you understand peoples problems with DA2 getting 5/5 and W2 getting 3.5?

There exists a reviewer who prefers DA2 to W2. That is not unbelievable. DA2 has better characterization and is a hell of a lot more welcoming. I personally disagree. While W2 was hard to get into due to questionable tutorial structure, DA2 was impossible to enjoy due to sloppy design. Clearly, the unforgiving nature of W2 annoyed Mr. Tito more than DA2's lazy framework. I am honestly surprised that's not the dominant opinion. Just be happy that most reviewers managed to enjoy W2. Complaining when someone disagrees and insulting their gaming ability is pathetic.

 

[abija]

I can think of 2 possible reasons. The first is that so many games that claim to have a choice only shift a couple of lines of dialogue and the reviewer thought "Oh, a choice, probably won't change anything significant" and so didn't mention it. The second if you only do 1 playthrough and do no further checking/reading, you would never know that there are large branches of the story that get changed if you make different choices. However, considering the original Witcher was praised for it, I'm very surprised it wasn't mentioned.

W1 was praised for it, they pointed to that feature in almost all their presentations of the game, the fans keep asking for it over and over again and cling to every tiny bit of C&C like the ones found in Bioware games. It also requires a lot of work to be done properly and lots of attention to detail.
Yet this reviewer doesn't even bother with it and instead complains about problems/weird decision designs regarding crafting, UI and inventory (it must be some safe zone for reviewers since most RPGs are plagued with them and they always hurry to surgically point out said flaws) or wonderfully relates us his inability to experiment with the game without having his ego hurt by the "load last save" message or how having quest information in the journal entry is too hidden for him.

 

[quantumsoul]

I just use lots of grapeshot bombs. Takes care of groups of enemies nicely. Groups of enemies is really the only hard part as you take massive damage if hit from behind. Use some alchemy people. It's useful.

 

[VanBasten]

For a reviewer, you really can't get any more objective than "I found that core mechanics of the game were poorly designed."

And from that are we supposed to infer that Button==Awesome is by contrast a good game mechanic design?

And the endless mob respawns, and the infinitely reused and recycled areas, and ultimately meaningless choices in a pretty linear storyline...

Surely you can see how the claim of objectivity is on shaky ground when the game with all those issues got a perfect 10 and got labeled "the pinnacle of RPGs" by the same reviewer.

 

[Dragonborne88]

He HAS a point. I love the game, myself, but yeah, when you pick the Dragon Chapter first, the game has a brutal learning cliff to cover. And the mechanics CAN be odd for a lot of people who are used to other games. I play a lot of foreign titles, so I'm used to wonky interfaces, but not everybody is. Mr. Reviewer even said it has some excellent storytelling, he just couldn't get into the mechanics. Which is totally valid, I think. YOu do die a lot trying to figure out the right strategies.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

There is no excuse whatsoever for the "can't drink potions in combat" mechanic

Want to try it sometime? I assure you that drinking anything in combat is impossible.

 

[jklinders]

Overall decent review but if the gaming press no longer has the patience for complex difficult games then I guess the whole industry is doomed to go into the realm of dumbed down crap like DA 2.

I don't think the reviewer is talk about about complexity here at all. And DA 2 on higher difficulties require far more tactical play than witcher 2. what more 12 hours into the game witcher 2 has become mindlessly easy combat experience much like DA:2 felt like in easy mode.

What witcher does far better that DA 2 is on the story, narrative & atmosphere. Combat wise it's no better than gothic 4.

Most of the reviewer's frustration would have been avoided by reading the manual rather than depending on in game tool tips to learn how to play. That was in the part of my post that you did not quote. You know my astonishment that a member of the gaming press couldn't be arsed to RTFM. frankly that was pathetic.

You may note that I otherwise agreed on other points made about the UI.

And the only reason DA 2 can pretend to be more tactical is because DA 2 gave you a party of 4 to nanny over and had non mystical enemies appearing out of thin air on all sides all the time. DA 2 has more in common with a classic side scrolling beat 'em up like Golden Axe than it does with any RPG I've played. To each their own I guess.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

Press Alt.

Stop planting traps right infront of enemies.

Just solved your problems - can you now call yourself broken?

LOL!

ALT locks onto specific targets. it doesn't solve my primary problem, which is the lack of proper targeting mechanism. pressing alt is the worst thing you can do in this game. it makes rapidly switching between multiple targets is even harder. easy way to get killed when you get surrounded.

What makes you think i plant traps right in front of enemies. Planting traps inside combat is suicide anyway.

Actually it isn't.I've salvaged some pretty screwed situations by kiting and planting traps.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

The reviewer said in the very first line of his review that he loves this game. And at the end of his review he said that he will play the Witcher 2 again and again, despite the problems he experienced.

Why is everyone being so butthurt about HIS opinions? :/

Anyway, I thought it was a good review and explains the flaws/problems that alot of other people seem to be experiencing. 3.5 stars out of 5 is not a bad score tbh. I can't wait to play it!

 

[Relin]

Nice review.

I had also a somewhat similar problem when I played Fallout 3 on PC and Xbox360.
Using thumb sticks or a mouse to orientate is a very flawed design choice.

Particular the bugs at the beginning of the game was an impossible task. I couldn't kill them. I was right in front of them while pulling the trigger and nothing happened.

In Doom 2 I just walked around and pulled the trigger an everything in front of me died.
That's what I call innovation.

 

[PopcornAvenger]

"But there is sometimes a terrible lag between pressing a button and witnessing Geralt respond, which encourages a weird constant tapping of the keys to make sure the command goes through. For combat whose fun depends on flow, this is a monstrous error."

I never experienced this delay, however I've a pretty stout box to run games on. Nor is this problem noted - at all - by anyone on the GoG forums. It sounds to me like a FPS issue; you might want to look at that and the games configuration, as well as your graphics driver. This "monstrous error" seems isolated to your game.

. . . but those recipes never materialized. I defaulted to only using the few potions that I couldn't do without, namely Cat, Swallow and Tawny Owl which let me see in the dark and regenerate health and vigor, respectively. Another opportunity missed.

You couldn't find the recipes? Never had this issue, either. My biggest problem with crafting and alchemy was lack of money, heh.

This review is a good example of being unable to see the forest for the trees, really. I love the game, but would be the first to admit the UI needs improvement in areas, and other aspects of the game could use a tweak here and there. The game is challenging, and unforgiving to those wanting to button mash without thinking about tactics. None of these issues, however, really have an impact on how deep, immersive this game is. The beautiful settings, thrilling combat, intricate plot and characters. For those willing to actually put in the effort in learning the game, combat, and navigate around it's quirks, it's time well spent.

Comparisons to DA2 are inevitable, although a bit unfair to DA2, given how badly it was rushed into publication. Giving it a stellar 5 stars is highly questionable; and Witcher 2, 3 1/2. . . . *shake of the head*.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

It terrifies me to think what Dwarf Fortress will get if Witcher is too hard to get a good score. Especially with those graphics.

 

[Leo Alli]

You can't really blame the game only because you suck at it! The Journal and Character screen have all the information you need. Yes, you have to read them. Much more comprehensive than the manual or game guide or in-game tutorial popups that show for a short time, I'll give you that.

Now, if you detest thinking, learning and feeling great with that, there is always the "hands holding instant gratification" of Dragon Age 2 for you.. the Rebecca Black's Friday of all RPG... 411,000 likes ... 2,900,000 dislikes!