Witcher

[Crises^]

Hello Fellow Escapists

from viewing these forums I have come to the conclusion that you people know your shit when it comes to RPGs.
Now I have been wanting to play Witcher 2 for a while but I never played the first would you lot recommend playing the first game or going straight to the second?

Normally I would just play the first but some of my friends said it was terrible and I should go straight to the second while others loved it, so I'm kind of torn on what to do.

Help me fellow Escapists your my only hope.

 

[kingthrall]

You dont need to play the 1st to Understand the second.

However a lot of the first will give you a better understanding of the lore and characters. Even better read the books and will have much more enjoyment.

The problem with the Witcher 1 and 2 is that they are trying to squeeze a lot into the game lorewise and its fairly difficult to get a grip of all the smaller factions that make up the big ones and a better understanding of how powerful they are (which isnt shown in great detail).

 

[Dandark]

I just recently bought and started playing the second one without ever having played the first or knowing anything about the universe and lore. At first I was confused and didn't have much of an idea what was going on but now I have a somewhat decent understanding of the setting which is actually pretty good.

If all else fails do what I did and just read the plot for the first game from Wikipedia but I found it to be fine to just get the second one and not the first. Or do what Kingthrall suggested and read the books, I enjoyed the story so far so im tempted to buy the books from amazon and try reading them if they have been translated to English.

 

[Crises^]

Cool I didn't even know there were books for it, thanks for the advise.

 

[kyogen]

You'll be fine as long as you pay attention to NPCs and the environments. The Witcher 2 is not hack-'n-slash with stats, so ignore story and characters at your peril. The game will treat you like an adult. It will give you a quest log and a map, but be prepared to have to understand some things from context rather than having them spelled out for you.

The Enhanced Edition (PC update/360 version) of The Witcher 2 also has a pretty good tutorial level if you want to use it to get used to gameplay. It's optional if that's not your thing.

Personally, I loved The Witcher 1 (2007) and still think it's one of the best rpgs around, but it's quite different from The Witcher 2 in terms of gameplay design (tone, story, and characters are consistent). It's much more old-school, partly because it was CDPR's first game and partly because it was built using a heavily-modified version of Bioware's Aurora Engine (think Neverwinter Nights but better in some ways thanks to the rewritten code).

 

[BathorysGraveland]

You wouldn't need to play the first to enjoy the second, but I'd still recommend playing it. It has many flaws, yes, but the heart of the game is there and it's great. I'd say it's a good game to experience, though one you probably wouldn't play a second time. The storyline is pretty damn good, the characters are.. mostly okay, the environments and areas are all well done and the quests are pretty unique and varied as far as modern action RPGs go. And hey, Geralt is just an amazing character, period.

Its biggest fault is probably the chunkiness of it, and the lack of polish though it's nothing you can't overlook.

However, if you really don't have any desire to play the first, you can jump right into the second and there should be no real problem.

 

[hazabaza1]

Don't even touch the first. It's utter tripe.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I liked the first, personally I would recommend it, it's not essential but it does help enrich the sequel. You can pick it up fairly cheap too.

Edit: It also comes fully patched, with all DLC, and the best fan made quests. Well worth it.

 

[Crises^]

Just found http://store.steampowered.com/app/20900/ for $7.99 its not a bad price even if I end up not liking the game.
Next question really is should I play it vanilla or is there some mods I should install(if there is any).

 

[Jason Rayes]

It should be the enhanced version that comes fully patched and modded, it should ready to roll. Its hardcore by the way, don't try to play it as a mindless hack and slash or it will eat you alive Good luck

 

[kyogen]

GOG also has it for $9.99 if you want it completely drm-free and not tied to your Steam account.

The Enhanced Edition is the developer/publisher's complete and fully patched version of the game (and it's good). It comes with two additional little adventures from CDPR plus a selection of popular community-developed mods, but if you're looking for extra tweaks, I'd recommend strolling over to the forums <en.thewitcher.com> and asking the dedicated community for their suggestions.

 

[Baralak]

Cool I didn't even know there were books for it, thanks for the advise.

Yeah, the games are based off a series of books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher

 

[kingthrall]

Don't even touch the first. It's utter tripe.

I found the gameplay and plot mechanics better than number 2 actually. SO THERE EAT A BOWL OF CEREAL. Witcher 2 was far superior in graphics but I found the runes less useful and the world far more linear.

 

[hazabaza1]

Don't even touch the first. It's utter tripe.

I found the gameplay and plot mechanics better than number 2 actually. SO THERE EAT A BOWL OF CEREAL. Witcher 2 was far superior in graphics but I found the runes less useful and the world far more linear.

I haven't even played the second.
All I know is that the first is a pile of shit.