Allow me to begin by expressing how honored I am to have
been selected amongst the 1000 lucky participants to be given a copy of the
Xbox Enhanced Edition, in exchange for our review of the game. I want to give
it a great review, because I know it deserves one, but I also know that I need
to reflect properly everything about it, from the pros and cons, to what makes
this game what it is. I want to do this game justice and be able to convince
those reading this review why I feel this game is worth their time and money,
as well as their support to the crew behind the making of The Witcher.
For those not familiar with The Witcher, it is a masterfully
crafted game, developed by ‘CD Projekt RED’ and released in October 2007. Based
on a book series by the same name by a Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski, it
follows the story of a monster hunter by the name of Geralt of Rivia, a mutated
version of a human, known in this world as Witchers. They are immune to all
sorts of diseases and trained specifically for the mercenary work of hunting
creatures. Their mutations gives them a strong advantage over common humans, such as the abilities to master
a series of five Signs, each with their own abilities, strength and weakness,
and to drink potions in order to grant speed, night vision, combat boosts and
even health regeneration.
The Witcher 2 continues the epic Saga of Geralt, following
near where the first left off, with the attempt on King Foltest’s life during
the final cutscene.
‘CD Projekt Red’ promised us that the Witcher 2 would not
follow the similar linear patterns of its predecessor, and they have followed
through with their promise. Old fans will also be glad to know that you can
import your saved games from the original game and thus allow a few extra items
and gold, and perhaps things I have yet to notice. The Witcher 2 was released
in May 2011 for PC, followed by a series of patches and updates to tweak and
enhance the experience based on the reviews and comments of its fanbase. Now,
nearly a year after its release, the Xbox finally gets a release and the PC version got patched to its enhanced
Edition, thus adding new content, different equipment and new challenges,
including but not limited to the fun and exhilarating Arena Mode. The game also
offers a Dark Mode, an extremely challenging difficulty setting. Not for
everyone, but certainly an added bonus for all those game masters.
Those familiar with the first game will be glad to see some
returning characters, such as the sorceress Triss Merigold, Zoltan the dwarf
and Dandelion the bard. Two new characters are introduced in the Witcher 2, but
in order to avoid spoilers, their names will be kept secret.
It is important to note, the game being not as linear as
promised, you will be given a choice between which of those two characters you
wish to follow. This will change several quests, interactions, stories and
perhaps even the ending of the game! There’s no bad decision, really, just
difference in play style. It is highly recommended that you play the game once
following one character, and then try following the other once you have
completed your first playthrough.
The addition of a few timed events, from different
conversations or even a ‘Push not to die’ function can make things fun and
different at times. Being able to use your signs during negotiation to force an
attack, intimidate, persuade and even gamble responses, makes for interesting
different opportunities. I often found myself saving the game at a specific
conversation, just to see the different responses and see how the character
acts.
What surprised me in this, is that I’ve noticed that those
conversation,s and how you deal with a situation, will greatly impact the game,
and may also give you surprising little bonuses. I hate to spoil the fun for
anyone, but save often and try different things. You are given a maximum of
save slots on the Xbox, but still plenty to keep track of moments you may wish
to return to if you are not satisfied with a previous choice. You may notice
special abilities appear on your character sheet, which will surprise you, and
make it interesting during game play. Other times, you may not notice the
change until way later in the game, as a character you chose to spare may come
around to meet Geralt in the future in order to bestow one of these special
abilities.
The Witcher 2 isn’t without its flaws. There are the
occasional graphical glitches on the walls and floors, and I even saw the
weapon of one of the foes I had defeated fly into the air, land and start
bouncing. These glitches kind of break the immersion, and give you a quick
laugh, but it does not break the game or cause issues collecting loot. The
Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition on Xbox is a great import from its PC version. I
will admit that a computer does allow you to tweak the settings more, and allow
for a much smoother gameplay, better graphics and customization. However, for
those without a powerful enough system, the Xbox does it great justice
nonetheless. The graphics have undergone drastic changes with the Enhanced
edition.
There are a few more differences between the PC version and
the Xbox, but there are a couple I took note; for example, the meditation
animation. On the PC version, you will see Geralt sitting and enter a
meditative state, orwhen you drink a potion, you see him gulping it down, even
wiping his sweat from his brow. I felt that really added something to the game,
and unfortunately, I was shocked and sad when the Xbox version did not incorporate
that feature.
Another difference I’ve noticed was with some areas and
their loading screen, or lack of. In the prologue, you wake in a large Red
Tent. That same tent was relatively larger on the PC version, and had a direct
access to the outdoors. While on the Xbox version, the area felt smaller, more
cramped, and the tent flaps were not only closed but also caused a loading
screen, rather than offering a steady flow. While not being immersion breaking,
these differences were noticeable; especially the Meditation screen. The voice acting did not flow as easily as on
the computer, and felt a little off.
The implementation of different difficulty settings does
allow a wide variety of players to give this story a chance to win them over. I
will not go around saying I am an expert at the game; in fact, I’ve never particularly
excelled and certainly would not attempt to play at a really hard difficulty. I
died often on normal mode, and had my share of frustrations. Bad controls and
glitches were not the issues, though,for I just tend to slash and hack my way
at things, expose my backside to the enemy, and believe I should be a god with
a sword. If you have a similar playstyle, easy difficulty will be perfect for
you! Nevertheless, I do not regret playing on normal either; it gave me a
chance to experience with all the game mechanics. Using potions just before a
tough fight, avoid being hit in the back, parry and riposte at appropriate
times and use the signs! It really does add to the game when you start seeing
yourself as a professional monster hunter that has the odds against him, but possessing
the tools to make it through. You just need to use them properly.
If you are not certain which difficulty setting is best for
you, a Tutorial was added that gives you a good explanation of the basics of
battle, and even introduces your character to the Arena Battle in an epic
storytelling fashion. I personally felt it was an added touch, since most games
tend to give you new functions and features without really explaining how or
why. The team nicely filled out this gap.
The music and sounds behind the Witcher have always been
great. With an accurate feel for medieval times, where poverty is swallowing
the population in the streets as kings and nobles play their game of chess. It
comes out appropriately during combat, and even adds to an atmosphere in the
middle of a tavern. I have had to bring down the volume a bit, mostly because the
music blared over what the characters were saying. Luckily, the option to have
narration is available and made conversations easy to follow. The voice acting
is fairly good, I’d even say great, but there are still moments where I feel it
doesn’t really fit, or could have been better. The perfect example happens as
you play the tutorial, at the very end when you reach the gate. It just did not
flow as well as I expected.
If you are like me and enjoyed the soundtrack, there is
great news waiting for you! When you buy the game, you do not just buy a game,
but you are also promoting the hard work and effort, including the extra
content and updates. In addition, as an added bonus you receive access to the
official game soundtrack!
When Projeck Red announced the upcoming release patch of the
Enhanced Edition my heart leapt for joy. I put the game down and decided to
stop playing until I could update it. I wanted to experience it all anew. I had
the chance to upgrade the game for free, but when I heard of a chance to get
the game on Xbox, for the little price of a nice review on it, I figured I’d
give it a shot.
In my honest
opinion, I feel like The Witcher 2 is definitely a game worth buying. I do not
feel like my purchase of the PC version was a waste. As much as I appreciated
the free Xbox copy and chance at this review, I am glad to have been able to
show my support to the team. If there is ever a Witcher 3 release, you can bet you
will have my entire support and that I will look forward for a chance to give
it a review and explain how it managed to win me over yet again.
Keep up the
great work, Team CD Projekt Red, and thank you for allowing fans, such as myself,
the opportunity to participate in this wonderful storytelling experience.
Presentation:
The
inventory system can be a bit tricky, more so for the PC version, but the
characters really feel alive and keep you immersed inside their tale.
Graphics:
The graphics
are still some of the best I’ve seen for its genre. The PC version does allow
users to really have at her, if their system can handle it.
Sound:
The voice
acting is really great, although lacking a bit on Xbox, but the music really
adds to the feel and mood of such a dark, violent and intriguing story.
Gameplay:
The combat
really keeps you on your toes. It’s all fast pace, interactive and
exhilarating. Different difficulty settings will really make the difference
between knowing your tools, and using them properly.
Lasting Appeal:
The
different character path options, dialog choices and quest resolution can have
an impact on not only your game play but also its ending, giving plenty of
opportunity at multiple play-through.
Reptle
