Review The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Review

[toro]

I've just started the second play-through and stopped. The game interface is simply an abomination born by a sick mind. QTEs and all other shit are just the topping. So, right now I cannot defend this game.

Was the designed-for-gamepad interface and QTE's only added on the second playthrough? I had them in my first as well!

Very funny Let's say no. The interface, QTE's and the other stuff was annoying from the beginning. But at least then I had motivation to continue playing, but right now, it's simply unbearable.

 

[Blind Eye]

Just go to TES NEXUS and download the UI mod "panel tweaks". It makes the game much more enjoyable.

you can sort inventory by cost, alphabetically, when received etc.. it also adds a junk filter category.

It also sorts potion ingredients better, so making potions is WAAAAY more convenient.

Many other adjustment as well.

Highly recommend.

 

[Esquilax]

It was voted best RPG of 2009, wasn't it? Beating Risen, KotC, MoW, Drakensang, and GF5.

I haven't played The Witcher 2, so I'll stay out of that discussion, but I think that this is unfair. Dragon Age won in large part because it was by far the most popular game listed and it surprised people by being better in some regards than a lot of other BioWare games. A lot of folks hadn't played Risen, KotC and Geneforge, so Dragon Age simply happened to win by default.

 

[Excidium]

And those Codex polls are prety retarded anyway. Diablo 2 is one of the 5 RPGs of the decade.

 

[Vault Dweller]

First, Risen was released a month before Dragon Age. DA was one of the last releases of 2009, so claiming that people simply didn't have a chance to try other games is simply incorrect. Second, the impressions and mini-reviews were mostly positive. From the 80+ page thread:

Trash: It's pretty much the best rpg in years.

Monocause: The game is simply the best done by Bioware since BG2 - compared to everything else, I'd say it's good. To those who can't decide whether to get it or not - do give it a try.
...
Look, when I downloaded the game I had very low expectations. I played a while expecting the idiotic shitfest to begin around the next corner. To my surprise I got good dialogue, likeable NPCs, combat that requires thinking, palatable graphics and a story that keeps me happily playing.

Arcanoix: VD, if I may, the game isn't as bad as you think. I'd say it's like a party-based Witcher with a hint of NWN2 graphics.

Killzig: Reading over my posts it sounds like I'm not enjoying the game. I'm actually liking the combat quite a bit, enough that I didn't mind at all replaying the mage origin story to see the different conclusions and enough that I will probably end up replaying that segment again a third time to get that staff...

Multi-headed Cow: It's fun. Still enjoying the hell out of this. Not sure how C&C will hold up since it's seeming KotOR/Mass Effect-esque in that each area is its own self contained chunk, but they're quite enjoyable chunks thus far.

Vibalist: Enjoying this game very much so far. There's too much combat for my tastes, but the combat system is still solid enough. I'm very delighted with the fact that they actually went ahead and made it hard. You can't just wade through enemies or lure single opponents away from their pack anymore. It actually takes tactics now, so thanks for that Bioware.

What I've experienced so far of dialogue, story, NPC's, side quests and so on are above the level I expected. People are right when they say this is the best game since Baldurs Gate 2.

fizzelopeguss: Just finished, game is pretty awesome.

Gay-Lussac: Oh yeah and I just pulled an all nighter playing this shit (to think I didn't go out with my friends to study and ended up on the PC all night Confused ). So yeah it's pretty damn fun, combat is the right amount of challenging (playing on nightmare) and everything else the people who actually played it already said.

I'd say that most people whose names I recognized liked the game.

 

[Esquilax]

I didn't say that people didn't have a chance to play those other games, rather that DA was played by the greatest number of people. A lot of people simply missed out on Risen, KotC, Geneforge 5, etc. because they weren't as popular, not because they didn't have a chance to play them.

Mainstream popularity skews things a lot. Look at 2007: IIRC, Witcher was voted best RPG over Mask of the Betrayer. Despite the fact that MotB was significantly better, more people played the Witcher and the resident potatolanders supported their national product, so it won out. Fact is, more people played the game, and a voting system is inherently counter-intuitive to picking out which game is the most .

And I'm saying this despite the fact that I thought Dragon Age was a decent game.

 

[Forest Dweller]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

 

[FatCat]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

There is not much to say , all it does is add few one liners and let you import some items , that's it.

 

[Storyfag]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

There is not much to say , all it does is add few one liners and let you import some items , that's it.

That is, untill you import a savegame in which Geralt helped the Order of the Flaming Rose. And the choice to save/kill Adda in Act 5 of TW1 has pretty big impact in Act III of TW2

 

[Mrowak]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

There is not much to say , all it does is add few one liners and let you import some items , that's it.

That is, untill you import a savegame in which Geralt helped the Order of the Flaming Rose. And the choice to save/kill Adda in Act 5 of TW1 has pretty big impact in Act III of TW2

No.

Neither of these choices were truly meaningful. Yep, they added a bit of story fluff here and there but apart from that? They did nothing to change gameplay significantly.

 

[Storyfag]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

There is not much to say , all it does is add few one liners and let you import some items , that's it.

That is, untill you import a savegame in which Geralt helped the Order of the Flaming Rose. And the choice to save/kill Adda in Act 5 of TW1 has pretty big impact in Act III of TW2

No.

Neither of these choices were truly meaningful. Yep, they added a bit of story fluff here and there but apart from that? They did nothing to change gameplay significantly.

And why the fuck should I care about changes to gameplay? See my nickname? Know what it means?

And you're wrong. Having the Order on your side changes a lot in Act 3 on the Iorveth path. Having saved Adda *changes* "story fluff" as opposed to "adding a bit".

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Dammit, I ended up using someone's save in which Adda died because I figured it wouldn't impact much

 

[Mrowak]

BN, one thing you didn't talk about was the save import. Can you touch on that? Or anyone else for that matter.

There is not much to say , all it does is add few one liners and let you import some items , that's it.

That is, untill you import a savegame in which Geralt helped the Order of the Flaming Rose. And the choice to save/kill Adda in Act 5 of TW1 has pretty big impact in Act III of TW2

No.

Neither of these choices were truly meaningful. Yep, they added a bit of story fluff here and there but apart from that? They did nothing to change gameplay significantly.

And why the fuck should I care about changes to gameplay? See my nickname? Know what it means?

As a fellow storyfag (you are not the only one who played Starcraft for the story twice) I must say that even from the story perspective the impact of your choices was negligible. They changed so little in the story they are practically meaningless. The overal story plays as if unaffected by them in any way. If they at least influenced how the political map of the North looked like... but no. Nothing like that.

And you're wrong. Having the Order on your side changes a lot in Act 3 on the Iorveth path. Having saved Adda *changes* "story fluff" as opposed to "adding a bit".

It adds a bit of changed meaningless fluff. Satisfied?

Storyfag. Bro. I am not saying this to criticise you or the devs. I am saying that the approach taken here should certainly be improved upon. If you accept that the impact those choices carried is enough for you, and hundreds of others do the same you can count on TW3 having even less meaningful C&C than its predecessors.

We should recognise the flaw where there is one, instead of saying that "it's enough" and "I am satisfied". There is still a lot to improve here.

 

[Storyfag]

Also, come to think of it, having the Order *against* you changes Act 3 on the Roche path as much as having it on your side changes Iorveth's path. And having it on your side also adds minor gameplay changes to Roche's path.

Sparing Adda unlocks the optimal (purely from my persona point of view, of course) ending on Roche's path. This is less relevant on Iorveth's path, where the optimal ending can be achieved no matter the Adda choice.

 

[Storyfag]

As a fellow storyfag (you are not the only one who played Starcraft for the story twice) I must say that even from the story perspective the impact of your choices was negligible. They changed so little in the story they are practically meaningless. The overal story plays as if unaffected by them in any way. If they at least influenced how the political map of the North looked like... but no. Nothing like that.

Err... Having Adda alive

Spoiler

provides a united Temeria as a Redanian protectorate even if you didn't save Anais La Valette (Radovid doesn't get his hands on her automatically as he does in Iorveth's path), meaning you also get a selective witch hunt against Lodge members as oppsed to an all out witch hunt against all mages because you saved Triss instead of Anais.

Having the Order on your side on Iorveth's path

Spoiler

allows you to tread Loc Muinne as you please, as opposed to skulking in the shadows and avoiding patrols. That is a change to the gameplay.
It also unlocks the Order's merchant. That is also a change to the gameplay.

Having the Order on your side on Roche's path

Spoiler

allows you to hand over Anais La Valette to the Temerians more easily (ie without having to fight the Order's patrol). Minor, but that is a change to the gameplay.
It also unlocks the merchant, like on the Iorveth path.

I'm not saying these changes are anything grand. Certainly not as significant as the one introduced through the Roche/Iorveth choice. But they are there. Yes, they should be expanded upon. But they cannot be ignored as if they weren't there at all!

 

[Forest Dweller]

Dammit, I ended up using someone's save in which Adda died because I figured it wouldn't impact much

Yeah, the saves aren't specific enough, just like with Mass Effect. I'll probably have to use a save game EDITOR like I did for Mass Effect 2. I hope it doesn't take long. But before that happens, someone will need to make a comprehensive list of all the choices in TW1 that have an impact.

Well, on the other hand, I still haven't played New Vegas and Divinity 2.

EDIT: Added the word that made my post make sense.

 

[Storyfag]

But before that happens, someone will need to make a comprehensive list of all the choices in TW1 that have an impact.

At your service (though the list might be incomplete!):

1) Siding with the Order or not.

Spoiler

I recommend siding with them, it adds quite a bit of stuff.

2) Saving or killing Adda.

Spoiler

I recommend saving her, it provides access to what I consider the optimal ending.

3) Saving Thaler or not.

Spoiler

Very minor impact, but saving him is acknowledged.

I think that's all. The Order choice has different consequences for each of the three possible outcomes, I think. These further modify gameplay differently, depending on whether you side with Roche or with Iorveth in TW2. The Adda choice has different consequences for both outcomes. The Thaler choice only has consequences if you saved him.

 

[el Supremo]

But before that happens, someone will need to make a comprehensive list of all the choices in TW1 that have an impact.

At your service (though the list might be incomplete!):

1) Siding with the Order or not.

Spoiler

I recommend siding with them, it adds quite a bit of stuff.

I don't think I'd be able to do it. It just feels wrong. In the Bank, for sure. But not in ch.4

Also, I have noticed one more fluff:
4) During Succubus quest, Dandelion mentions his poem for the Noonwraith, however I have no idea would he say it or not if you do not import the savegame. Or if you have used the alternative solution to the Midday Bride problem.

 

[ghostdog]

I don't like the fucking camera. It's too close to Geralt and Geralt is in the middle obscuring a lot of what's in front of him. It feels like goddamn dead space all over again and maybe this worked for a claustrophobic horror game but it doesn't work for this one.

Is it so hard to give an option to move the camera back, or even change to first person view whenever you want ? Is this so hard to comprehend you damn red project potatoheads ? I piss on your potatocamera and your consolized menus.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

But before that happens, someone will need to make a comprehensive list of all the choices in TW1 that have an impact.

At your service (though the list might be incomplete!):

1) Siding with the Order or not.

Spoiler

I recommend siding with them, it adds quite a bit of stuff.

2) Saving or killing Adda.

Spoiler

I recommend saving her, it provides access to what I consider the optimal ending.

3) Saving Thaler or not.

Spoiler

Very minor impact, but saving him is acknowledged.

I think that's all. The Order choice has different consequences for each of the three possible outcomes, I think. These further modify gameplay differently, depending on whether you side with Roche or with Iorveth in TW2. The Adda choice has different consequences for both outcomes. The Thaler choice only has consequences if you saved him.

mrowaks right
that shit not impact.



even mass effect better handled saves import

 

[Drakron]

I don't think I'd be able to do it. It just feels wrong. In the Bank, for sure. But not in ch.4.

No way in hell I am going to let a Sexy Elf I can have a sex card of die.



Well ...Truth is the Order did pissed me off because I was going to solve the issue but they jump in and screwed things up, I was inclined to go Neutral but they just pissed me off by doing that.

 

[villain of the story]

Clearly C&C in DA wasn't good enough to outweight the cons and justify playing it.

It was voted best RPG of 2009, wasn't it? Beating Risen, KotC, MoW, Drakensang, and GF5.

I fail to grasp why VD of all people would care to refer to mainstream opinion. FFS. Is Oblivion a good game now?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Voted on the Codex. Duh.