Why The Witcher 2 Needed an Enhanced Edition

[Grey Day for Elcia]

You didn't actually answer my question.

It seemed foolish to answer a rhetorical question. But, no - I don't think they are EA marketers, they probably like it.

I just don't see why a reviewer would recommend it to everyone with a perfect store, despite a lot of people not liking it.

Because the reviewer liked it? Seriously, think about what you just said. Reviewer: "I really enjoyed this game! In fact, I thought it was great! But... a few people on this forum don't like it... Guess I better give it a 2 out of 5." Yeah... Not so much like how it works. You see, a critic reviews the game based on how they enjoyed the experience; a review is someone telling you what they thought of something. They don't read some forums and write a review from other peoples' perspectives--that's just silly.

Also,

What does the score represent? Luck, that it fell to the right reviewer for it? Should we put every review from the User Reviews section up on Metacritic so it can too influence developers' bonuses and payrolls?

try reading the review instead of looking for a score. Or does a game getting a certain number keep you up at night?

 

[Greg Tito]

Seriously, there appears to be a disconnect. If ME 3 is any indicator of what DAII was like, I can understand why people would have a problem with it.

Mass Effect 3 was much, much better than Dragon Age 2. Take that any way you like.

Sex and cursing, blood and filth, The Witcher 2's hallmarks work just as well on the console as they did on Steam - even if you can't pay a whore to do your bidding like you could in the 2011 version.

They took out the whores?! I liked the whores! =O
I always liked to roleplay that Geralt ended his day of witchery with a good old fashioned romp with the nearest doxy.

I'm sure it's still in the PC version, but I can't help but feel the poor console players are missing out on a vital aspect of the game.

To clarify, the women are still there in the whorehouse but, as far as I can tell, you can't pay them to do anything.

 

[Canadish]

This thread:

As shitty as Dragon Age 2 was and as poorly one sided as Mr. Tito's review seemed...
Can we actually talk about these really good developers for the moment, and just forget Bioware?

Bluntly put; Fuck 'em.

Anyway.


I just wanted to comment on how awesome the lads and lassies down at CD Project RED are.

They really handled this right, as they always do. Figured it should just be mentioned at least once.
I take my hat off to the team.
I wish Capcom would take some notes from these guys.
They're a much smaller company, and yet they can afford to give their loyal customers a free update.
Why can't anyone else?

I hope they continue to get more media attention based on their fantastic treatment of their customers and (obviously) top tier games. They've more then earned it.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I wish Capcom would take some notes from these guys.

I wish just about every major developer/publisher could take notes from these guys. Everyone else seems hell bent on treating their customers like shitty thieves while simultaneously spending millions making mediocre games because of "mass market appeal".

 

[370999]

The 5/5 for DA2 will forever stain this site's credibility.

The EA ad revenue's probably worth it though.

And all the players who said they liked the game...were they also paid by EA? I'm curious. A good swath of the people in this very community really loved DA2, so are they also on the payroll?

I think anyone suggesting that Tito was bribed is a moron. I bought DA 2 recently and I enjoyed it. I think part of the problem comes from the way in which Tito's review failed to mention the flaws of DA 2 from recycled environments to ninja spawn enemies. Now I don't see this as meaning he was bought but rather he messed up. Happens to us all. However his comment on the DA 2 thread where he accuses his accusers of being biased against the game before it came out was very ill informed. Yes having people take pot shots at your integrity is intensely irritating, but that response didn't help.

Then with his Witcher 2 review, many people felt that he was being misleading an unfairly critical to the game.

Look I think most of this is very much based on the belief that as a professional critic you should be trying to be as objective as possible. I tend to think in DA 2's case Tito wasn't and he suffered for it. He shouldn't be hounder over it but unfortunately that's life.

 

[Bors Mistral]

There was a lagginess to the commands that has been mitigated by the transition to consoles...

I'm pretty sure it was a patch released very soon after the game came out, not some console magic...

 

[Kahunaburger]

I wish Capcom would take some notes from these guys.

I wish just about every major developer/publisher could take notes from these guys. Everyone else seems hell bent on treating their customers like shitty thieves while simultaneously spending millions making mediocre games because of "mass market appeal".

I don't know, for all the good CD Project Red does, the PC gamers still shit all over there game by pirating it a whole bunch.

Ironically, the pirates cracked and distributed [http://www.techspot.com/news/47767-witcher-2-developer-swears-off-drm-says-its-ineffective.html] the version with DRM more than they did the DRM-free version. If this doesn't speak volumes about the worthlessness of DRM and the low level of skill/thought required to bypass it, I don't know what does.

 

[edgecult]

I wish Capcom would take some notes from these guys.

I wish just about every major developer/publisher could take notes from these guys. Everyone else seems hell bent on treating their customers like shitty thieves while simultaneously spending millions making mediocre games because of "mass market appeal".

I don't know, for all the good CD Project Red does, the PC gamers still shit all over there game by pirating it a whole bunch.

and as sad as that is the people of CD Project Red still look past the cancerous boil, the pirates and go on to reward the good people of the PC gaming community by treating them like valued consumers with good games, free patches, and all kinds of other goodies instead of punishing the good people with nasty DRM and forcing you to rebuy the same game for extra goodies like some people... As sad as it is people pirate these good peoples games it only goes on to show how much better at dealing with their customer base than other.. unnamed companies are.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

So, better or worse than Dragon Age 2?

I'm not saying it's about the graphics, but when you compare the two and see how each one looks, it's easier to see who put more effort into their game. Just look that this

Spoiler: comparison

And this

Not to mention that there is no absolute morality like in Bioware games where you're presented with right and wrong. You do what you think is best. Choices don't make you evil or good. You do things because you believe they are right and the game doesn't punish you by making you look like a psycho. Your choices actually change the world around you. And not as soon as you make a decision. Your choices have a long lasting effect. You choose what you think is more moral or what you think is the lesser evil. And based on those choices the game takes a different path after Chapter 1. You won't see all areas on your first playthrough. You make a choice and you have to live with the consequences. And every character has his/her own personality. You can't simply persuade people to do what you want based on some silly stat. There is some persuasion involved, but it's more like a Jedi mind trick used on weak willed. Characters you meat have their motivations, their judgements and their own prejudices. They think for themselves.

And just about everything else is superior to DA2. The combat, the music, the story, characters, atmosphere. There are some minor things like inventory system not being as good as some other games but it's nothing serious.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I don't know, for all the good CD Project Red does, the PC gamers still shit all over there game by pirating it a whole bunch.

Because only PC gamers are pirates, and all of them are?

If you notice, there's a trend. Generally speaking the games that are considered mediocre, poor or involve some sort of heavy handed DRM get pirated the most. Crysis 1 and 2 are one of the best examples. Crysis 1, a PC exclusive, was considered excellent among the PC gaming community and sold a solid 3 million copies. Crysis 2, a multiplatform release which is generally considered fairly poor aside from the outright lies from the developer, sold LESS than Crysis 1 (which was a PC exclusive mind you). Crysis 2 also got pirated a whole lot. Crytek pissed and moaned about how "PC exclusives don't work because of piracy", yet they failed develop a multi platform sequel that outsold it's predecessor.

I'm sick and tired of hearing all this whining about Piracy/used games when really it's the publishers/devs just looking for a scapegoat for their own incompetence. Stop worry about piracy and just make the damn game, because it's going to get pirated no matter how hard you try.

 

[Zoe Castillo]

---

 

[Waaghpowa]

I don't know, for all the good CD Project Red does, the PC gamers still shit all over there game by pirating it a whole bunch.

Because only PC gamers are pirates, and all of them are?

If you notice, there's a trend. Generally speaking the games that are considered mediocre, poor or involve some sort of heavy handed DRM get pirated the most. Crysis 1 and 2 are one of the best examples. Crysis 1, a PC exclusive, was considered excellent among the PC gaming community and sold a solid 3 million copies. Crysis 2, a multiplatform release which is generally considered fairly poor aside from the outright lies from the developer, sold LESS than Crysis 1 (which was a PC exclusive mind you). Crysis 2 also got pirated a whole lot. Crytek pissed and moaned about how "PC exclusives don't work because of piracy", yet they failed develop a multi platform sequel that outsold it's predecessor.

The Witcher 2 is one of the most pirated games ever, 4.5 million times. A game that was excellently reviewed and was considered by many to be one of the best RPGs of recent memory.
SOURCE:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114429-The-Witcher-2-Pirated-Roughly-4-5-Million-Times-Says-Dev


I'm a PC gamer too, you know, and I don't appreciate the implication that i think all PC gamers are pirates. It just saddens me that I belong to a community of people who shit all over a dev who are doing a lot of things right.

In short: quit putting words in my mouth, and implying i said things I didn't.

You do realize that number is merely an estimate right? Those numbers are never anywhere close to being accurate and people always blow them way out of proportion.

Spoiler: Just watch this regarding piracy, It's only 5 minutes

The Witcher 2 being "the most pirated game of all time", if that's even true, means nothing. It doesn't change the fact that your game is going to get pirated regardless of what security you put on it. Remember Assassin's creed 2 having that whole "always online because the other half of the game is on a remote server" DRM? That got cracked in a week.

Let's also not forget how often the console releases of numerous games being leaked weeks in advanced on torrents. So it's jut not "our" community, it's people in general who are the jerks pirating these games. Stop trying to put labels on this whole issue, because it's not simply one group at fault.

 

[The Madman]

I take it there wont be a review then? Pity, I was curious how Witcher 2 would do in a rematch versus one of its biggest critics in the gaming media.

There was a lagginess to the commands that has been mitigated by the transition to consoles...

I'm pretty sure it was a patch released very soon after the game came out, not some console magic...

You are correct, the '2.0 patch' was the one where the developers overhauled the combat to make it more smooth and enjoyable. So far as I can tell there have been no changes since other than some adjustments to the 360 controls and a few minor tweaks here and there.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Seriously, there appears to be a disconnect. If ME 3 is any indicator of what DAII was like, I can understand why people would have a problem with it.

Mass Effect 3 was much, much better than Dragon Age 2. Take that any way you like.

Sex and cursing, blood and filth, The Witcher 2's hallmarks work just as well on the console as they did on Steam - even if you can't pay a whore to do your bidding like you could in the 2011 version.

They took out the whores?! I liked the whores! =O
I always liked to roleplay that Geralt ended his day of witchery with a good old fashioned romp with the nearest doxy.

I'm sure it's still in the PC version, but I can't help but feel the poor console players are missing out on a vital aspect of the game.

To clarify, the women are still there in the whorehouse but, as far as I can tell, you can't pay them to do anything.

Awww, that's like having a lamp with no light-bulb, or a gun with no trigger.

What? You can still have sex with prostitutes.

There's some in the pub in the first town I got to.

 

[godofallu]

So is the patch out now? I quit a few hours into Witcher 2 long ago and haven't looked back. I suppose if there is a pretty huge patch that makes the game less annoying I might give it a look.

 

[Mr Companion]

Does it fix the bug where the game crashes all the time? I don't care how tweaked it is unless I can actually play it.

 

[Discon]

The new intro is the most amazing trailer I've seen since I first saw the one for WC3 many years back

 

[Waaghpowa]

Let's also not forget how often the console releases of numerous games being leaked weeks in advanced on torrents. So it's jut not "our" community, it's people in general who are the jerks pirating these games. Stop trying to put labels on this whole issue, because it's not simply one group at fault.

I didn't just say it was our community who pirates games. I said that The Witcher 2 was pirated a whole bunch even though there wasn't intrusive DRM. I mentioned the PC gaming community because it was (at the time) a PC only release. You seem dead on trying to disprove a point I'm not trying to make. I never said console games never get pirated, but The Witcher 2 DID get pirated a whole bunch. The sad fact of the matter is, is that developers are going to use this as reason to include more DRM

First off, there's a bit of a "well not shit" moment when concerning PC piracy with a game that was, at the time, a PC exclusive.

Second, there's no concrete proof that the game was pirated that many times since it was an "estimate" from someone at CDPR. I assume you didn't watch the video.

Third

The fact that it got pirated a whole lot is irrelevant. Piracy will occur whether you put security in your game or not. Some of the most heavily pirated games are the ones with DRM. CDPR understands that DRM does nothing but punish your honest customers and the people who are going to pirate it are going to get pirate it anyway. You do not make life harder for the honest people in an attempt to stop the dishonest when it's ultimately futile. Companies should take notes from CDPR because they understand the issue and know not to waste their time on it. You can't stop piracy. Sure they made it easier to pirate, but they'll have returning customers.

The only developer who even came close to stopping piracy was Croteam with the Pink scorpion and that was also broken.

In case it wasn't clear, point 3 was what I was getting at. Note the bolded section.

I wish just about every major developer/publisher could take notes from these guys. Everyone else seems hell bent on treating their customers like shitty thieves while simultaneously spending millions making mediocre games because of "mass market appeal".

It's nice to have someone sell their product to you without a suspicious glare and a test of my loyalty after I've handed them my money for it.

 

[cieply]

The 5/5 for DA2 will forever stain this site's credibility.

The EA ad revenue's probably worth it though.

And all the players who said they liked the game...were they also paid by EA? I'm curious. A good swath of the people in this very community really loved DA2, so are they also on the payroll?

I never met one person that genuinely liked the game, but ok, maybe it's my friends with their tastes. What infuriates me however, is that even people that liked the game would point out numerous flaws of it. Most fans would say some of the characters were cool (even I liked varric, and I think DA2 was the worst moneygrab BW ever pulled) but they complained about the graphics, combat system, endlessly spawning enemies and EVERYONE complained about reused maps.

You simply cannot give a 10/10 to a game with that many glaring flaws. I know EA didin't pay you, I know you probably had to give it a good score to have review copies, bonuses, invites and such, this is the reality ov reviewing nowadays. But giving DA2 10/10 was totally bending over to EA and it forever stained this sites credibility. And you know it.

 

[Susan Arendt]

The 5/5 for DA2 will forever stain this site's credibility.

The EA ad revenue's probably worth it though.

And all the players who said they liked the game...were they also paid by EA? I'm curious. A good swath of the people in this very community really loved DA2, so are they also on the payroll?

I never met one person that genuinely liked the game, but ok, maybe it's my friends with their tastes. What infuriates me however, is that even people that liked the game would point out numerous flaws of it. Most fans would say some of the characters were cool (even I liked varric, and I think DA2 was the worst moneygrab BW ever pulled) but they complained about the graphics, combat system, endlessly spawning enemies and EVERYONE complained about reused maps.

You simply cannot give a 10/10 to a game with that many glaring flaws. I know EA didin't pay you, I know you probably had to give it a good score to have review copies, bonuses, invites and such, this is the reality ov reviewing nowadays. But giving DA2 10/10 was totally bending over to EA and it forever stained this sites credibility. And you know it.

Oh, I know it, do I? Gosh! Also, we don't do scores out of 10. Just a minor nitpick.

We gave it the score we did because we believed it was an excellent game. We never said it was perfect - we've never said any game was perfect. We didn't feel pressured to say it was good because of review copies or invites or any such bullshit like that. We actually just genuinely liked it.

If you can't accept that because your friends all hated the game, there's really not much else to be said.