Sage Reviews: The Witcher 2
It’s one of the best RPG’s of the last five years, and now it’s on the 360. What more do you need to know?
The Witcher 2
Players: 1 Offline
Publisher: Atari
Genres: Action, RPG
Publisher: Atari
Genres: Action, RPG
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Developer: CD Projekt
MSRP: $29.99
Developer: CD Projekt
MSRP: $29.99
The second installment in the Witcher saga features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline defining new standards for thought-provoking, non-linear game narration. The game also features an original, brutal combat system that uniquely combines tactical elements with dynamic action and a new, modern game engine puts players in the most lively and believable world ever created in an RPG game.
The Witcher 2 Review
Posted By Johnny Maloney about 11 months, 2 weeks ago
They’ve had two so far, and I’m honestly surprised at the amount of witching in The Witcher games. I’m not even sure I’d call what Geralt of Rivia does distinctly ‘witching.’ There are witchy things in what he does, but it seems to sit secondary to his other activities. He’s an alchemist, a pugilist, a gambler, a swordsman, an attendant to royalty, and depending on how you play your cards: a lover of notable repute. In any case, far be it from me to tell you how good it feels to oil up your sword and get a nekker, but The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been out on PC for a couple of weeks now, and I think I’ve finally got a handle on it.
| PROS | Mature Multi-branching Story, Rich Lore & Environment, Deep Strategy, Content |
| CONS | Ends Abruptly, Unusual Difficulty, Hits the Ground Running |
| WTF?! | Altair appears to have missed his landing |
There’s no use in hiding it, this game is gorgeous. For some time I’ve been mournfully looking at the now empty GTX 580 box, once home to the new graphics card I now have installed in the belly of my PC, wondering when I could put it through its paces. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings appears to do that just fine (with the exception of an unusual performance hindering bug if Nvidia’s 3D Vision drivers are even installed on your machine) with all the settings cranked up to maximum. The shadows of clouds moving overhead, or leaves rustling in the breeze dot each scene. The ambient occlusion directs light off textured and colored surfaces, enriching each field with warm wheat colored, golden light. It turns moonlight bleak and slick when rebounding off unpleasantly moist dungeon walls, giving each environment a more expressive mood.
I thought this was Assassins of Kings, not Assassins of Poorly-Misjudged Safe Places to Fall.
The graphics though, are only part of how much this game manages to express itself to the player. Nearly every character walking through the streets has a name, and they will stop to converse with other locals on whatever topics might dominate their thoughts. When you finish the prologue and reach the first chapter of the game, I wandered around the simple port town of Flotsam, randomly entering strangers houses just to see if I could. Indeed you can, and occasionally people are quite rude about the intrusions. Those looking for depth in a world need not look any further than Andrej Sapkowski’s Northern Kingdoms, as presented by CD Projekt Red. Books and treatises on history, kingdoms, lore and battles gone by litter bookshops, just waiting for hungry player to pick them up.
This can become a problem though, particularly for new and casual players. It’s not necessary for players new to the series to have played the original Witcher game, but it would certainly prime you to the point of advantage for it. The game starts somewhat languorously, but almost immediately drops into a bloody, and brutal castle siege, where most of the tutorials zip quickly by as players attempt to wrestle new controls in order to stay alive. These tutorials are all available through your journal system, but the awkward duty of pausing your first combat to look up text in the user interface jars against the drama, and prevents the game from finding a steady rhythm for practically the entire prologue.
‘They were beautiful, but about to be slaughtered, these… nekkers in the mist.’
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition Review
Finally one of the most critically acclaimed PC games of last year makes its way to the 360. With 4 hours of extra content and gameplay adjustments, does this action RPG stand up to the competition on home console? Find out right here…
The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 Will Bewitch You
Does the Xbox 360 port of The Witcher 2 still retain the magic, or is it just a junky pot of witches brew? Read my hands-on preview to find out!
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition Coming in April
Not content with releasing a 2.0 version of their critically lauded RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, CD Projekt Red has a new enhanced edition, set for release in April for the Xbox. PC copies will, of course, be upgraded for free.
Witcher 2, 2.0 Too.
Development Director for CD Projekt Red, Adam Badowski has a lot to say about upcoming support for the Witcher 2: DLC, patch notes, added tutorials and game modes, and more. That’s a lot of news for a game that was released over four months ago.
The Witcher 2 Sexy Review
Angry Joe takes a serious long hard lustful look at The Witcher 2, the most mature adult oriented RPG hes had the pleasure of playing. This game has sex and titties, but check out the review for what else you can expect!
The Witcher 2 Review
Johnny M. breaks out his regular sword, and also his good silver one for the guests coming over. He just can’t remember how ‘sharp’ a cheddar the undead prefer. It’s The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings review.
HardCorner: The Witcher 2 Deluxe Edition
THE ULTIMATE collector’s edition putting every other ones to SHAME ! Let’s dig in !
The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 Will Bewitch You
Does the Xbox 360 port of The Witcher 2 still retain the magic, or is it just a junky pot of witches brew? Read my hands-on preview to find out!
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition Coming in April
Not content with releasing a 2.0 version of their critically lauded RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, CD Projekt Red has a new enhanced edition, set for release in April for the Xbox. PC copies will, of course, be upgraded for free.
Witcher 2, 2.0 Too.
Development Director for CD Projekt Red, Adam Badowski has a lot to say about upcoming support for the Witcher 2: DLC, patch notes, added tutorials and game modes, and more. That’s a lot of news for a game that was released over four months ago.
The Witcher 2 Sexy Review
Angry Joe takes a serious long hard lustful look at The Witcher 2, the most mature adult oriented RPG hes had the pleasure of playing. This game has sex and titties, but check out the review for what else you can expect!
The Witcher 2 Review
Johnny M. breaks out his regular sword, and also his good silver one for the guests coming over. He just can’t remember how ‘sharp’ a cheddar the undead prefer. It’s The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings review.
HardCorner: The Witcher 2 Deluxe Edition
THE ULTIMATE collector’s edition putting every other ones to SHAME ! Let’s dig in !
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition Review
Posted By Yousif A. about 1 month, 1 week ago
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition Review
I have to admit I was a little worried about this one. Some may remember that the original Witcher title was scheduled for release on PS3, but was cancelled very late in production. So when I heard that CD Projekt Red were developing an ‘enhanced’ version of The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360, I had some doubts about it ever coming out. Thankfully for 360 owners everywhere I was wrong.
| PROS | Unique, Beautiful, Excellent port, Additional content |
| CONS | Daunting, Poor combat controls, Not for everyone |
| WTF?! | A white robed man who fell to his death next to a haystack |
For those of you who haven’t heard or paid attention to The Witcher before, you need to know two things. First, the game is based on a series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski which follow the exploits of one Geralt of Rivia, who is like a medieval alchemist crossed with a Jedi. Second, the superb Johnny M wrote a review on The Witcher 2′s PC release and can be read over here. There have been a number of updates since then, but the core of his review is still relevant to the 360 version.
You would be forgiven for thinking that The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edtion requires a play through the original game to understand what is going on, but even having completed the original, I found myself a little lost at the beginning of the game. The story settles down after a couple of hours and lets you relax into the title, but I can see many players turned away from the title due to the bewildering opening section. Unlike the original PC release however, The Witcher 2 now contains a tutorial which I highly recommend everyone plays before entering the game. This quick rundown of the controls and menus helps to reduce the confusion of the opening section significantly as it’s only the plot you now have to worry about, not how to live!
Many of you will be right at home with The Witcher 2. It’s an RPG some of you may liken to titles like Dragon Age or Fable. You travel between locations picking up side quests, leveling up your character and getting on with the story when you get round to it. You’ll kill your fair share of mythical beasts, raid dungeons and sell loot to the local merchant in hopes of having enough gold to by that thing you wanted. The difference with The Witcher is alchemy.
Play 5 minutes of the game and you can remove that logo.
Through the collection of herbs, spices and animal parts, Geralt can mix up potions and oils to boost his effectiveness in combat. Unlike other games were busting in the front door with your best weapon results in killing everything in the room, The Witcher requires you to prepare for encounters, drinking the right potions to fight your foes. Go in without this preparation and you will end up in a world of hurt, more commonly known as, your last save game. Potions can only be imbibed outside of combat, so players must plan ahead.
The Witcher 2′s control scheme is very different from the first game and is far better suited to a console experience. Console players will feel right at home with strong and light attacks sitting comfortably on Y and X respectively. The Witcher 2 feels more like an action game losing a huge portion of the RPG elements of the original when it comes to combat. Unfortunately, this does make the game lose some credibility on the console format. With a plethora of action hack and slash games available on 360, the way The Witcher 2 works feels poor in comparison, despite the control scheme receiving an overhaul for the console release.
I’ll give an example. Having held the left trigger to lock onto an enemy, I found my target obscured by another warrior. I looked to simply hack my way through this bystander without changing lock on targets only to find that despite the sword clearly passing through his head, no connection was made. The Witcher 2 feels like it turned up to big boy school still sucking its thumb. With a little effort I found myself suppressing gaming instincts and eventually retargeting enemies, but it really felt clumsy. Interaction with items and the environment is also a chore. Without the precision of a mouse I once found myself unable to target a bag of gold next to an intractable switch. Best not to even mention stealth sections. All of these issues can be overcome, but with the challenge of the game so high early on, many simply won’t bother to try.
You know, sometimes, just sometimes, The Witcher 2 can take your breath away
Disappointing as the combat mechanics may be, they are worth getting over. The actual visual display of the combat is gorgeous, as is the rest of the game. While the 360 version is absolutely nowhere near the PC version on full spec, that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best out there. The developers have done their best to keep all the effects from the PC version in, including lighting and particle effects. The lighting specifically stands out for me, still giving that warm glow that I remember gawking at on the PC version. It must be said that if you took each visual aspect individually (character models, environments, etc) then nearly all of them would be considered subpar to today’s standards, but when combined together, The Witcher 2 can be jaw dropping.
Technically the game stands up very well too. The loading times are more than reasonable, menu navigation has been adjusted nicely for console use and the framerate stays at a constant level. Admittedly, I think this framerate level is far from 60fps, but it’s not disastrous. Strangely, the tutorial section is perhaps the only section where I really noticed framerate drop and was quite surprised that the busy opening section of the game ran smoothly in comparison.
The Witcher 2 is a long game, even if it does end rather unceremoniously, taking around 30-40 hours depending on your skill level and penchant for exploration. However, the game should take you a little longer than the PC version with a ton of new content and a claimed 30 minutes of additional cutscenes. This added content is of the highest quality too, not just an afterthought. New characters are introduced and the missions are relevant to the overall plot, making it well worth your time. Knowing CD Projekt Red, this content will be released on PC for free at some point, so original purchasers shouldn’t be too disheartened.
best…Reference…ever!
The Witcher 2 is a great game, but I agree with Johnny’s original review, it’s not going to be for everyone. The challenge level combined with frustrating control issues will put many people off before the game even gets started, and the huge scope of exploration in every location will leave some feeling lost. When you can enter pretty much every house in a city and be given a quest, finding everything in the game can be daunting. It’s a title that makes you think that you missed a tutorial, didn’t get a weapon or simply, have walked into the wrong area when things get tough. Powering through is well worth your time, but you would be forgiven for walking away.
As console ports go, The Witcher 2 is a brilliant piece of work that allows console players to get their hands on a fantastic action RPG without having to get themselves a high end gaming PC. While it may have its flaws, The Witcher 2 is a great ride with a very intriguing plot, far better English voice acting than the first game and interesting mechanics that truly makes it stand out from the competition. There is nothing like it, and I can see great things coming from a third installment in the future.
This game was provided by the publisher for review purposes on Xbox 360. The game was played for roughly 45 hours and was completed. Some of this time was dedicated to replaying sections of the game.
- April 26, 2012 at 06:52pm
well i just got it and I’m really enjoying it so far. I was going 2 get prototype 2..im pretty sure i made the right choice. What do you think?
- April 15, 2012 at 07:52am
The date given to freely download the extra content for the PC is April 17, that is in two days, if everything remains on schedule and PC players don’t overload the servers downloading it.
Also, “daunting” is a con, now? When was the last time a book, a game, or a movie was “daunting”. “Daunting” is a pro, not a con.
- April 18, 2012 at 05:42am
I disagree, Daunting is a con.
Definition: Tending to overwhelm or intimidate
I used Daunting in reference to the second to last paragraph and how the game will turn some players away.
- April 14, 2012 at 04:06pm
Hi, I’m form Poland and author of The Witcher is not Andrzei it’s Andrzej. You may want to change it ;]
- April 13, 2012 at 10:37pm
Sure, console controls are more limited than those for PC, but they don’t have to be as awful as they actually are.
Ah well, maybe I’ll check out this game eventually, if I can get over the game’s low fantasy style.
I like low fantasy as long as the creators explore life as it could be and take a decided stance that it ought not to be that way.
Does the Witcher fulfill this Dostoevsky-like artistic requirement?
- April 14, 2012 at 09:01am
If your looking for the game to bring to life the low fantasy world created in Blood of Elves, The Witcher 2 will not disappoint. There is plenty the developers crammed into the title to keep players busy just exploring the culture alone.
- April 13, 2012 at 01:03pm
I didn’t have a single issue with the combat of this game, I was playing in a PC with a Xbox 360 controller, and all I read in this review regarding the controls feels far off of what I experienced… There’s nothing wrong with the controls, the game was simply made to be a little hard, that’s what I feel.
You gotta know when to roll, when to strike, when to guard, what signs to use, and so on, and sometimes it is a little troublesome to get rid of certain enemies, but it’s due to the complexity of the combat itself, and not because of lame controls.
But I do agree with Yousif in one thing: it’s not for everyone.
- April 13, 2012 at 01:55pm
The controls have been changed for the 360 version. I too played the PC version on a 360 pad.
Also compared to other hack and slash games on console The Witcher 2 is clumsy. Compared to Dark Souls it doesn’t even come close.
- April 13, 2012 at 11:05am
Given that PC gamers like me were stuck with the console designed menus and controls, it bothers me that when the console version finally came out the word is that the controls don’t quite work.
Do feel the need to call out people who were bitching far less about Witcher 2′s console design then, say, the on par or less console favoring designs of other games like Amalar or Skyrim. Favoritism much due to CDProjekt sucking nostalgic dork?
Well anyway it’s nice knowing I’ve got more content to play through coming my way sooner or later.
- April 13, 2012 at 04:47pm
The criticism of Skyrim’s interface isn’t that it was made with consoles in mind, it was that it was awful.
Also, having to interact with the magic/inventory/skills/map/quests screens so often in Skyrim made it worse.
Even if I agreed that the Witcher 2′s interface is console-centric, that doesn’t make it a bad interface; even if I agreed that it was a bad interface, you weren’t digging around in it as often as you would in Skyrim.
- April 13, 2012 at 10:18am
Good review. I played The Witcher 2 on PC with a controller and it worked great. I’m just curious if the MSRP: $29.99 is also for the xbox version. I want to get this for my brother because his PC was too crappy to play this.
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Sage Reviews: The Witcher 2
It’s one of the best RPG’s of the last five years, and now it’s on the 360. What more do you need to know?
The Witcher 2 Sexy Review
Angry Joe takes a serious long hard lustful look at The Witcher 2, the most mature adult oriented RPG hes had the pleasure of playing. This game has sex and titties, but check out the review for what else you can expect!
HardCorner: The Witcher 2 Deluxe Edition
THE ULTIMATE collector’s edition putting every other ones to SHAME ! Let’s dig in !
The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 Will Bewitch You
Does the Xbox 360 port of The Witcher 2 still retain the magic, or is it just a junky pot of witches brew? Read my hands-on preview to find out!
I find it strange that while Mass Effect 2 was mostly for the Mass Effect 1 crowd, with no query from reviewers at all, I wonder why it’s such a big deal that The Witcher 2 is mostly for Witcher 1 fans? Let’s face it, 2 million sales in the first 2 weeks of release shows how revenous the Wither 1 players were to get hold of this straight away. For a small developer like CD Projekt, that is very important. It is likely that The Witcher 2 will go on to sell at least 3 million units. Compare that with 1.7 million PC units of Bioshock, 2.1 million for Dragon Age and 1.6 million for Jade Empire?
One day we will get game reviews that are based purely on the game, and not who the developer is. This day has not arrived yet.
I didn’t feel as though the difficult-to-catch-up-to storyline reflected on the quality of the game at all (a 9 out of 10), I just felt as though it was worth mentioning, in case people new to the series (as the original Witcher was a bit of a cult release, in contrast to this high profile release) are worried with how difficult it might be to catch up. Being a very story driven RPG, it stands to reason that mentioning how much knowledge of the backstory will help your assimilation into Temeria.
It didn’t affect the review score at all, allow me to clarify.
I am so glad this game is coming out for the 360
Ya and from the video’s i’ve seen the 360 version is looking very nice. Around the medium setting for pc.
In my opinion, this is probably the best game of the year so far. I’m nearly finished with my first play through. I’ll see if the abrupt ending changes my mind any.
It didn’t change my mind at all. It was just surprising is all. I’m with you on the best game of the year so far. When I was adding up my playtime for the disclaimer at the end of the review, I could hardly believe I had spent at least forty hours playing it. It didn’t seem like that at all. It’s curious to me as well, as the original was such a cult title, I find myself amazed that in the gap between a niche PC RPG and it’s sequel they’ve suddenly become role playing rockstars. The attention Assassins of Kings is getting is pretty phenomenal.
combat difficulty comes down to one decision:
quen or no quen?
i might do a 2nd playthrough and dont skill quen. i think its too strong and makes most fights very easy.
A well deserved score.
Patch 1.2 is coming and they will be fixing the difficulty a bit in the prologue….I think thats a shame tho….after a few fights I got the hang of combat.
The new patch also gives geralt a few new hairstyles to choose from….it was something some of the fans where complaining about.
CD Projekt Red always seems to try to fix any critique they get from reviews and listen to their fans. This is why I love those guys xD
Ah well.
No kidding. It’s practically legend, what CDP did for the original Witcher game after it was released. It was buggy, badly translated, poorly scripted… so they went back into the studio and released the game again in a couple of months, letting early buyers upgrade to the new version for free.
I didn’t feel that I needed to comment on the vigilance of the developer in order to make this game a worthwhile purchase, but the amount of attention they’re willing to commit to a game they’ve already released puts other studios to shame.
What I don’t understand is why no reviewer wants to talk about the price point and packaging? Is it because all reviewers have just downloaded it from Steam and just see a bunch of files?
Surely the fact that The Witcher 2 sells for $50, when other games are $60, and yet comes with a map, paper-craft, Original Soundtrack DVD, making of DVD, a letter, a coin, a game guide and a manual is part of the ethos of CD Projekt RED and is giving out a message to the industry as much as the fact the game came out on PC first and is not dumbed down at all!
Used to be, back in the 90′s, that packaging was always mentioned. In facts games were downscored if the reviewer felt the game NEEDED a map!
I don’t think it biased to talk about packaging, etc, when it’s obviously part of the company ethos and is so different from what every other games company is doing! By the same token why has there been no mention that future DLC will be free? You certainly have given copious coverage of paid-for DLC from the major publishers over the years!
For myself, I can say I didn’t feel it necessary to talk about the price point. I paid an amount that I’m used to seeing for a game ($50) and I DID feel write about the content in it.
“The content in The Witcher 2 is quite an impressive collection…” was just the start of a paragraph about extra content that an uninterested player could walk right by.
You are right about the presence of all the extra materials available, but that’s something for BENZAIE’S HAAAARDCORNER!
There is no bias here about extras or materials that companies offer as incentives or rewards for loyal fans: It just has nothing to do with the game itself. CD Projekt Red brings lovers of the franchise more goods than they could buy with a ferret heart and a spoon made of zinc in places that are especially rare in those commodities.
I can’t write a review for a game, and score it conditionally on whether or not somebody decides to buy it in store, online, from GOG.com, or Steam. I can’t even tell everybody to buy it from one or the other. If somebody has had horrible food at a restaurant, and afterwards they read my writing describe that restaurant’s food as the best bowl of soup I’ve ever had. They’re allowed to go back, and STILL have the worst food they’ve ever had.
If I made the suggestion, that http://www.wwwdotcomdotwww.com had the BEST manuals and a coin they’d mail you, and I wrote “you know, this coin they mailed me was shit.”
That isn’t reviewing, it’s marketing.