Why are The Witcher 2 fans so defensive?

[Bran1470]

because that shit sucked

 

[Bardikus]

I found the witcher 2 the shittiest ,full of bugs,packed with bad combat mechanics and bad lip sync,all straped to an endless text of information and death-boring dialogs game.
But atmoshpere,actual morality choices(not the same bioware type of dialogs where every choice has a beneficial ending via the the good or the bad side that you have chosen,hell you can even,die in this game if you decide to take some paths in dialogs),and the best developed main character i have seen in a while will bring,in my opinion,at least 1 award to this game this year. I know my logic doesn't really make sense,but i guess it is just like those sort of things that you know they are bad,yet you like them cause you they have that inner spark that makes them unique and beautiful.

p.s: not a fanboy,i haven't even played the witcher 1,and i'll most probably never will,but the witcher 2 is like a mouth of fresh air in terms of innovation and originality in gaming these days,where pretty much everything else is a sequel or a copy pasta mechanics from another game.

 

[Ren3004]

Because they're insecure and feel the need to dismiss any criticism of their game as the reviewer's bias, or bribes, or people just not getting it.

Guys, it's a game. You're supposed to have fun with it. Different people like different things. Just because you like the game enough to see past its flaws, doesn't mean that other people are. Reviewers aren't supposed to review things for you specifically, they're supposed to say if the game appeals to the average audience. Similarly, developers aren't making games for YOU, they're making games for a broad audience. Making deep, complex, long games, with rich storylines, awesome graphics, top-notch music is great, but ultimately if only a handful of people buy the game, the company is losing money. And then they won't make any more games. So please, stop considering not making a game exactly how you'd want a personal insult.

So please, if you like a game, don't let someone else's opinion drive you crazy. Especially when that someone is a reviewer who is known for dissing every single game, isn't a big RPG fan in the first place, and just likes straight-forward, mindless, simple, bloody fun.

 

[TheHardcase]

Maybe I'm just an overly critical twat who can't have any fun, but I've never played a game that I couldn't come up with at least one criticism towards. This is what leads me to not really care when Yahtzee tears apart a game I've loved, because it's not like I'm sitting there playing it and thinking it's perfect. Frankly, I haven't played The Witcher 2, so I don't know much about it. My brother's been playing it while I was in the same room, and it really does sound like you have to learn a lot of shit for yourself. This didn't stop him from enjoying it, and I think if you're like that then congratulations on finding a game you love, we all hope to find that one day. That doesn't mean you get to claim it's perfect; it isn't. The fact that Yahtzee has ALWAYS exaggerated the negative elements of a specific game is just his thing. If you honestly don't like the way he critiques, then why the bloody hell are you watching him?

This reminds me of Isaac Hayes leaving South Park when they insulted Scientology. Sure, I bet all you Witcher 2 fans laughed at his attacks on those puny mortal console games, even though I can guarantee he's been misleading before, but now that he's attacked YOUR game? YOUR GAME?!?!?! Yahthzee, you blundering buffoon, you can't possibly do THE EXACT SAME THING YOU'VE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS to my precious game!

 

[bentley2210]

It's a matter of opinion. That's all there is to it.

You either like something or you don't. By all means discuss your personal pro's and cons of a game, but don't tell them like they are fact. Don't smush your opinion down someone's throat because chances are, it's not going to change their mind. The Witcher 2 is probably a prime example of current affairs like this..

Games are exactly that, games. Play them and enjoy them, or if you don't, don't play them. It's that simple.

It's like the never ending "PC IS BETTER THAN CONSOLE" argument. Yes, I agree, I prefer PC gaming, but I'm not going to try and change someone's mindset if they actually enjoy console gaming. People need to get down off their high horses and just enjoy the content they personally enjoy from the devs.

At the end of the day, the person you're trying to convince doesn't care about your opinion either way if they're deadset on theirs. So, it's pointless.

I understand this post is a little on and off the topic, but still, it applies.

 

[IamGamer41]

Im a fan of the Witcher 2. I'm on my 4th play through at the moment.I played on medium my first run then on hard since.So ill answer your first question.

They are a lot of different gamers out there.Games are meant to be fun.Some people get their fun from games being challenging wile others enjoy the game for story,graphic,characters ect.

I believe that the people who said it was frustrationg to play simply need to buckle down and play it.I know its frustrating to be killed by one nekker who back stabs you just after you killed 6 or so of them.Thats just the nature of this game.Take Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox.I got that game and on the normal settings I got my ass kicked the whole game.I didn't know it was buffed up difficulty but I did beat that game.Later when I played the first Ninja Gaiden for Xbox on normal I destroyed it cause I was so use to the harder version.

Tutorials are nice but you are not thrown into battle unaware like so many claim.For instance at the very start you are in no danger of death if you want to take a few minutes to learn what buttons do what.Also the 'Read the manual' argument holds up.Even the digital copy of the game had them for download.

I got the game Dragon Warrior on the nes way back when I was a child.It took me over 2 years to beat that game.So if people are having that much trouble with it just drop it and pick it back up later.

 

[Zarcob]

Based on the response to this week's ZP and Greg Tito's review (in which he said that he liked the game but pointed out his frustrations with it), fans of The Witcher 2 seem to be really defensive about the game.

I haven't played it yet but you can see the truth driving the arguments if you look close enough. It's not about the witcher. It's not even about DA2 vs the witcher. It's the age old argument of streamlined console games vs more difficult and bigger PC games.

It's the PC vs Console argument just played out across the witcher. You can even scroll through a lot of the arguments and frequently find the "Pro console" players complaining about it and the "Pro PC" players defending it.

In fact when you really look at it a lot of the arguments have little or nothing to do with the game itself and more to do with elements that have been rehashed repeatedly between console and PC gamers, like UI design, difficulty curve or graphics. In most cases they're completely subjective elements that are simply embraced by one type of player and hated by another.

The witcher will get forgotten and another game(s) will take up the argument all over again. I'd rather the two types of players simply battle each other out to the death for my amusement but that's probably unlikely.

 

[Dark Prophet]

The problem with the Witcher is that it trys to be hard by using oldschool methods, that is not telling you shit and killng your stupid ass off if you fuck up even the slightest, trial and error basically, it was I good way to make a game challenging when games were linear and short with todays tutorials and other helping mechanics the oldschool games would have been over way too soon so that trial and error lenghtend also the gameplay. Witcher need neither, it's long as it is and could be challenging enough even with the tutorials. The tutorials could just be optional so the really hardcore gamers could turn them off.
And about the fan(boy) defensiveness, try telling a Halo fan(boy) that Halo has been nothing than another mediocre shooter after the 1st one and even the 1st one wasn't that good actually, they'll fucking murder you and will feast upon your flesh while dancing around Cortanas love pillow.
I'd probably do something similar if someone would insult my beloved Half-Life.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Well the ZP review was inaccurate and whiny. Mostly though I defend it because I think it's a genuinely good game and doesn't suffer from most the afflictions that are coming to the RPG genre lately. Just take a look at DA2 to see what I mean.

Yeah... No.
DA2 was not your thing, I get that. That doesn't automatically make the Anti-Christ of RPGs. The hatedumb on DA2 is outstanding, coming from a guy who prefers DA:O without a doubt.

OT: Because well, they're fanboys. It's what they do. It just so happens that Witcher fanboys are somewhat more obnoxious and vocal then other ones.

I haven't played Witcher 2 yet, but I've started on Witcher 1. I am enjoying it, how it doesn't hold your hand all the time is somewhat refreshing but I can understand why some people wouldn't want to dig through everything to find where they have to go to find x monster which they need to kill for a quest.

 

[Kahunaburger]

I believe that the people who said it was frustrationg to play simply need to buckle down and play it.I know its frustrating to be killed by one nekker who back stabs you just after you killed 6 or so of them.Thats just the nature of this game.Take Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox.I got that game and on the normal settings I got my ass kicked the whole game.I didn't know it was buffed up difficulty but I did beat that game.Later when I played the first Ninja Gaiden for Xbox on normal I destroyed it cause I was so use to the harder version.

Some people don't like that type of game. I do, but I think it's also fair if people like their games to be easier or more forgiving.

 

[Cenequus]

Based on the response to this week's ZP and Greg Tito's review (in which he said that he liked the game but pointed out his frustrations with it), fans of The Witcher 2 seem to be really defensive about the game.

I have two questions surrounding this turn of events. The first is more complex and dissects the nature of the way game experiences are presented. The second is more along the lines of your basic "why?" question. Pick your poison, or poisons, and "A" or "B" before your responses so we can see what you're responding to.

Question A:

I haven't played the game myself and I likely won't, but from what I understand, frustrations with the game are born out of the lack of a tutorial, i.e. "I kept dying because I didn't know how to effectively use the controls."

In response, TW2 fans say, "Why don't you read the journal? Why don't you look it up? Do you need your hand held all the time?"

It reminds me of the release of Final Fantasy XIII. Yes, I know I'm inviting flames by drawing a comparison between these two games, but bear with me.

I hate Final Fantasy XIII. My biggest gripe with the game is that the story makes little sense. FFXIII fans usually try to refute this by saying, "It TOTALLY makes sense if you read the Datalog." (the Datalog is a collection of plot summaries, backstories, bios, etc; similar to the Codex in Dragon Age)

In previous Final Fantasy games, the story was self-contained and could be appreciated just by playing through the game normally. In Dragon Age, which also had a "Datalog," reading the Codex would give a deeper understanding of the world of Dragon Age, but it was not required to understand the main plot and characterization. With previous Final Fantasy games as precedence and alternative experiences like Dragon Age, I argue that I'm justified in saying...

...I should not have to turn to other source material to enjoy Final Fantasy XIII.

How is this different from people playing The Witcher 2 and getting frustrated because they feel they shouldn't have to "look stuff up" to have a basic enjoyment for the game?

Question B:

So, people were frustrated with the game in ways that perhaps you weren't. Why is this so bothersome?

I would normally say they're so defensive because they have the reason on their side,but to be honest Yahtzee's "review" is as inaccurate as a fundamentalist chatolic preacher at a science convention. It's more of getting really annoyed that people actually believe he does reviews instead of just shock jokes. Lol I'd put Yahtzhee this weak on same level with Jimquisition and I actually think that guy is improving.

 

[Nenad]

snip

They do it because they're defending what the believe... and as every good planeswalker knows belief can move cities.

And why are all the fault of TW2 faults? One man's trash is another man's treasure. Maybe someone has fun "looking stuff up". Maybe that's why they're so defensive - because someone, somewhere is finally tending to their (although, probably weird) needs.

 

[IamGamer41]

I believe that the people who said it was frustrationg to play simply need to buckle down and play it.I know its frustrating to be killed by one nekker who back stabs you just after you killed 6 or so of them.Thats just the nature of this game.Take Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox.I got that game and on the normal settings I got my ass kicked the whole game.I didn't know it was buffed up difficulty but I did beat that game.Later when I played the first Ninja Gaiden for Xbox on normal I destroyed it cause I was so use to the harder version.

Some people don't like that type of game. I do, but I think it's also fair if people like their games to be easier or more forgiving.

You are right.The easy setting for the Witcher 2 to is meant for people who just want to enjoy the story.You don't even need potions in fights.Now if they do not want to play on the easy setting because of gamers pride or whatever then I would think they need to learn how to play the game better.

 

[Gametek]

snip

This is actually the answer to the op question. Because most of the detractor throw in annoying point. I posted many time speaking of the true down side of this game, like the short third act. And yet I have to ear, over and over how this game suck because the Ui, that it don't have any tutorial, and that it is hard. Worst is when I hear that "this kind of game" don't have place on the market nowaday, as we moved forward from that.

Worst, it's the people that bash in and start comparing with DA2, or that simply offend the game point blank with nearly no reason. Or that throw a line, like "that game is bad" and stop. Not even explain why they didn't liked the game. It's hard even only to argue with them.

As for the defencive attitude of the witcher supporter, well... at least most of their reason, in their post, make sense. Something on the line of "this game is not an action game, it's the kind f RPG I'm waiting for since Baldur Gate". This game was not made for the mass, nor for the "Pc elitist". It was made for the RPGer. The one that form group to play D&D.

 

[pliusmannn]

well to be honest, i disliked ZP reviews on complex games, first being EVE Online and secont TW2, mainly because Yahtzee seemed uninterested with the game and still made the review, it's his opinion, but as for the reviewer he has to do better than that, when he said that he didn't even play the game, then why the hell write the review, hat is what frustrates me, the laziness maybe. yes TW series are complex, EVE Online is complex (the game itself has a learning curve as complex as studying higher maths, but when adding political relation and humans in all then it becomes almos impossible to predict or understand even), there are a bunch of other games which are complex, but they don't get the review if the reviewer wasn't playing the game. Call it a successful troll, but ZP has a great influence so this dilatancy has to stop...

 

[Kahunaburger]

I believe that the people who said it was frustrationg to play simply need to buckle down and play it.I know its frustrating to be killed by one nekker who back stabs you just after you killed 6 or so of them.Thats just the nature of this game.Take Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox.I got that game and on the normal settings I got my ass kicked the whole game.I didn't know it was buffed up difficulty but I did beat that game.Later when I played the first Ninja Gaiden for Xbox on normal I destroyed it cause I was so use to the harder version.

Some people don't like that type of game. I do, but I think it's also fair if people like their games to be easier or more forgiving.

You are right.The easy setting for the Witcher 2 to is meant for people who just want to enjoy the story.You don't even need potions in fights.Now if they do not want to play on the easy setting because of gamers pride or whatever then I would think they need to learn how to play the game better.

Haha I think they could have fixed a lot of peoples' misgivings by renaming the difficulty settings Normal, Hard, Hardcore, and Insane or something of that nature, especially since they said that they shot for their Normal being equivalent to everyone else's Hard. There's such a stigma people have with playing on easy haha.

Ofc, I personally appreciate the fact that they make their game unforgiving (for instance, I died on Letho about as much as I died on Crocomire) but you've gotta cater to people who like easier combat in this era. There were apparently people who couldn't complete Dragon Age: Origins because of the difficulty, so I can see why people might have a problem with Witcher 2 difficulty, especially when the difficulty's paired with clunky controls.

 

[Snotnarok]

Because they bought it, and what I've come to think is if you insult PRODUCT A, they take it as you're calling them an idiot for buying it and therefore must defend it.

That's the only reason I can figure for that nonsense.

What I'd like to know is the ones that come out and tell you should be using something else and then lecturing you on why it's better with absolutely no evidence other than "It's made for that".

 

[CLEVERSLEAZOID]

Well for the first 2 hours of the Witcher 2, I didn't know how to parry/block. I just rolled away from everything. Then after a couple of frustrating fights I had the common sense to look at the control layout screen.

Seriously, we don't need our hands held for everything. People whining about a lack of tutorial need to take the time to read the instruction manual. The main reason games have tutorials now? Because people don't take the time to read manuals anymore, its time wasted when you've got a new game in your hands.

I'm about 27 hours into the game now [or at least, Steam says I've spent 27 hours playing], quite near the end I believe. I've enjoyed playing it to this point, the conversation with NPC's are well done, the graphics are beautiful [and I'm only playing on medium spec] and the combat is tricky but satisfying once you grasp it. The crafting system is quite cool as is the alchemy, although a little annoying getting the right ingrediants sometimes.

I've thoroughly enjoyed it as a time filler before Duke Nukem aha.

 

[Gametek]

Because they bought it, and what I've come to think is if you insult PRODUCT A, they take it as you're calling them an idiot for buying it and therefore must defend it.

That's the only reason I can figure for that nonsense.

What I'd like to know is the ones that come out and tell you should be using something else and then lecturing you on why it's better with absolutely no evidence other than "It's made for that".

Hhhhmmm... this logic is dump. If I don't like what I buy, I would not be buying it. And if I buy it, and don't like it, I have the right ot lament about it. It's quite the opposite.
As for the nonsense part... mmm... I kind of made up only an example...

Do you have know of etero porn? Isn't it bad? I really can't understand why someone should ever like it. Lesbian porn is much better!

The wrong part of your post is the idea that someone can't like a different thing from what you like.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

It's because there are hundreds of RPGs all following a similar style of play and model, so when one comes out which just resonates with use PC gamers (typically being different from the console gamers for whom the other RPGs are typically made) we want to defend it; we want to let the developer know that there are some out there who love what they did and understand what they were doing.

So when people who enjoy all those other RPGs come along and shit on this one for not being like the others, we get overcome with dread that this one developer who understands us will go "Well shit, guess we were wrong. Let's make a hand-holding RPG with a Press A To Win mechanic" and so react accordingly.

This isn't that uncommon a response. Shadows of the Colossus got a variety of review scores, the lowest ones of which were bombarded by angry comments. To the fans of that game, how would you like it if the devs saw those reviews and decided that their next game would be an Action/RPG similar to Fable (for example)?