The Witcher 2 caught me by surprise for two reasons, one I was surprised by it’s release date as I hadn’t been following the game at all then realised it would be out in a few days and two it is one of the few fantasy RPG I’ve ever truly enjoyed.
Anyway on to the review, first of all I never played The Witcher 1 but The Witcher 2 does a great job of setting everything up. You play as Gerault, a Witcher which basically means he is a mutant who wields two swords and cast a variety of magic, he solves problems with those swords and magic for a price, pretty badass if you ask me. The game centres around Gerault clearing his name for a crime he did not commit but there is so much more to the story not to mention the side quests, reading up on characters/events in the menu will keep you fully informed about what’s going on. You’ll grow to love and hate some of the characters which makes deciding your relationship with them all the more interesting, the dialogue is brilliant with some lovingly crafted humour and subtle conversations that top most games. At the start of the game you find yourself locked in a prison having to explain what happened to a character called Roche, this is basically a tutorial where you can recall four events in any order, the opening of the game is simply fantastic as you’ll take part in an epic siege, straight away I felt like I was playing more of a fantasy game set in medieval times instead of pure fantasy as I was fighting humans instead of marauding orcs from the get go. While the opening and Act 1/2 are great and feel vast, Act 3 has a much smaller scale to it, which helps with pacing but just doesn’t feel anything like the previous Acts although it does retain some epic moments that I won’t spoil.
As the game opens up you’ll have access to a variety of side quests, these range from simple contracts to more complex quests that take more than slicing up enemies to be solved, there can be a lot of dialogue to sit through so keeping track of it is definitely in your best interests.
I played the game on easy but that didn’t stop me dying a fair few times in the first couple hours of the game, since I don’t play these types of games often I simply wanted to get through it although I did have to put up the difficulty halfway through the game as my character became a little too powerful. The combat is extremely visceral and tactical in equal measure (the dull thud of swords hitting enemies feels brilliantly realistic, almost unnerving at times) but sometimes there can be no other option but to spam dodge as block has to recharge, I feel this is a mis step as blocking/attacking is a big part of what makes swordplay fun, not roling around . There are a variety of enemies with the main distinction being humans/elf’s etc which require a steel sword to kill and monsters which require a silver sword hence the two swords. Monsters tend to rush you so using your Quen sign is paramount to deflecting their attacks back at them. Humans on the other hand can attack from afar with bows and arrow as well as getting in close, parrying their attacks can allow you to take them down much quicker. Potions can be created by combining items found throughout the world, these potions can’t be taken mid combat so drinking the potions in safe areas such as towns before venturing outside is recommended as they can last up to ten minutes. As the game progressed I used potions less and less due to the game becoming easier, I definitely recommend playing on normal or higher.
Graphically this game is stunning, the textures are highly detailed which makes your equipment look all the more layered and real although there is a fair amount of clipping on characters. What really stands out though are the subtle effects and vistas that make you simply stop and stare, such as the light beams coming through the trees or the smooth motion blur and towns that look lived in. A minor gripe would be that NPC’s repeat the same line of dialogue every time you pass them, it can get very annoying.
As you can see I really enjoyed the game, it isn’t perfect but the combination of a (mostly) satisfying combat system, beleivable characters & complex story as well as a beautiful world creates a combination that is hard to put down. The Witcher 2 is available on PC and will be coming to XBOX 360 later this year.