Zero Punctuation: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Xman490

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May 29, 2010
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I am shocked at how many comments this review has: over 700. Very few ZPs get more than 500 comments. I guess Witcher 2 fans are real "chatterboxes", in a way.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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I'm a bit sick of games like this. It's hard enough for me to find intriguing fantasy games and the Witcher promised respite from games like Oblivion and World of Warcraft that while appealing didn't have a lot of depth to them. Seeing the Witcher was like sitting across the river from a woman doing yoga in a bikini but when I finally build a boat strong enough to handle the river's demanding current she pulled a Crying Game on me and now I'm just left unsatisfied and a little ashamed that I put in so much desperate effort for it. It really doesn't matter that he/she looked good or had an engaging mind and deep personality because ultimately we just weren't compatible.

Is it really so impossible to make a video game with a clean and concise controller layout that doesn't read like a Microsoft Flight Simulator? Because no one plays that anymore.
 

MadeinHell

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Jun 18, 2009
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SnakeoilSage said:
Is it really so impossible to make a video game with a clean and concise controller layout that doesn't read like a Microsoft Flight Simulator? Because no one plays that anymore.
I played the game with a mouse and a keyboard. I used 7 buttons (w ,a ,s ,d ,q ,r and alt) 9 if you count lmb and rmb. It that amount of control options is too much for you than clearly you are missing a few fingers.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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MadeinHell said:
SnakeoilSage said:
Is it really so impossible to make a video game with a clean and concise controller layout that doesn't read like a Microsoft Flight Simulator? Because no one plays that anymore.
I played the game with a mouse and a keyboard. I used 7 buttons (w ,a ,s ,d ,q ,r and alt) 9 if you count lmb and rmb. It that amount of control options is too much for you than clearly you are missing a few fingers.
And how drastically did you alter the default controls to do it?
 

-Seraph-

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May 19, 2008
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SnakeoilSage said:
MadeinHell said:
SnakeoilSage said:
Is it really so impossible to make a video game with a clean and concise controller layout that doesn't read like a Microsoft Flight Simulator? Because no one plays that anymore.
I played the game with a mouse and a keyboard. I used 7 buttons (w ,a ,s ,d ,q ,r and alt) 9 if you count lmb and rmb. It that amount of control options is too much for you than clearly you are missing a few fingers.
And how drastically did you alter the default controls to do it?
...Those ARE the default controls. Oh sure there are more buttons, but they are extra functions for shit you can already do with those listed commands. I find it baffling how people think this game is overly complicated in its gameplay and controls. People really overblown the whole issue when these controls are basic rudimentary stuff you see in tons of other games, hell the game was optimized to work with a 360 controller.

Seriously, if people think either Witcher games have complicated controls....I fear to see how problematic other PC games are for them. I mean damn people, this ain't calculus.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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-Seraph- said:
...Those ARE the default controls. Oh sure there are more buttons, but they are extra functions for shit you can already do with those listed commands. I find it baffling how people think this game is overly complicated in its gameplay and controls. People really overblown the whole issue when these controls are basic rudimentary stuff you see in tons of other games, hell the game was optimized to work with a 360 controller.

Seriously, if people think either Witcher games have complicated controls....I fear to see how problematic other PC games are for them. I mean damn people, this ain't calculus.
No it isn't calculus, but it's about as fun. You don't need to know all of the buttons to fly a plane either, but that doesn't make it more exciting when you're left flipping through the manual in the middle of a nose dive.

Lemme put this forward; do you believe that Witcher 2 and World of Warcraft have a similar number of command keys? If so, do you believe that World of Warcraft should be as difficult to handle as Witcher 2? If not, why? If they both have a roughly equal amount of keys, and tons of commands and menus, why is WoW so much easier to play?
 

-Seraph-

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May 19, 2008
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SnakeoilSage said:
-Seraph- said:
...Those ARE the default controls. Oh sure there are more buttons, but they are extra functions for shit you can already do with those listed commands. I find it baffling how people think this game is overly complicated in its gameplay and controls. People really overblown the whole issue when these controls are basic rudimentary stuff you see in tons of other games, hell the game was optimized to work with a 360 controller.

Seriously, if people think either Witcher games have complicated controls....I fear to see how problematic other PC games are for them. I mean damn people, this ain't calculus.
No it isn't calculus, but it's about as fun. You don't need to know all of the buttons to fly a plane either, but that doesn't make it more exciting when you're left flipping through the manual in the middle of a nose dive.

Lemme put this forward; do you believe that Witcher 2 and World of Warcraft have a similar number of command keys? If so, do you believe that World of Warcraft should be as difficult to handle as Witcher 2? If not, why? If they both have a roughly equal amount of keys, and tons of commands and menus, why is WoW so much easier to play?
All the difficulty in the Witcher is more due to the game difficulty and not the controls itself. I dunno if you have even played through the Witcher 2, but really, people over blow the difficulty of this game. The controls are so simple and the challenge comes from the fact that the game doesn't pull any punches when it comes to confronting enemies which will wreck your shit if you don't pay attention.

Using WoW as a comparison doesn't work either given that WoW is an MMO is is very hotkey intensive while the Witcher is an ACTION RPG where on the fly tactics matter most. The fundamentals of each game are vastly different so it doesn't matter if they have the same number of keys or not.

Again, if you've played any sort of action RPG, the Witcher 2 isn't that difficult to PLAY, the main problem is the inverted difficulty curve and that's it. And it's not even that difficult if you play smart and don't just rush into battle like a lunatic.
 

SnakeoilSage

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Sep 20, 2011
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-Seraph- said:
All the difficulty in the Witcher is more due to the game difficulty and not the controls itself. I dunno if you have even played through the Witcher 2, but really, people over blow the difficulty of this game. The controls are so simple and the challenge comes from the fact that the game doesn't pull any punches when it comes to confronting enemies which will wreck your shit if you don't pay attention.

Using WoW as a comparison doesn't work either given that WoW is an MMO is is very hotkey intensive while the Witcher is an ACTION RPG where on the fly tactics matter most. The fundamentals of each game are vastly different so it doesn't matter if they have the same number of keys or not.

Again, if you've played any sort of action RPG, the Witcher 2 isn't that difficult to PLAY, the main problem is the inverted difficulty curve and that's it. And it's not even that difficult if you play smart and don't just rush into battle like a lunatic.
It's the helicopter and airplanes arguement - both fly differently but they both have a lot of complex controls, and if you think WoW isn't one of those games where you need to know where your keys are you haven't been to a lot of the recent raids.

But you raise a valid point. I should really give it a proper chance before I got running off after the "controls scare me" wagon. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt if I find a copy at my local game shop.
 

asdfen

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Oct 27, 2011
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i enjoy zero punctuation because its entertaning and because I reviewrs opinions fairly ofen alligns with mine.

Review of Witcher 2 hower, game that has a good deal weak spots none of witch are mentioned in review left me buffled. As many other have mentioned before, not figuring out how to use potions, upgrades and witch direction the pointy end of the sword goes is not this games faults in my opinion.

I also am amazed by how anyone who plays games for living can find Witcher 2 to be a hard game.