Witcher 2 - Retrospective Review
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Great game if you're a fan of the characters and lore. I remember how far ahead of its time it was at release. No one could run it on the highest settings regardless of what hardware they had. It's still unmatched as far as the impact the C&C has on the story.
True words. I wasn't able to appreciate the game fully until I read the novels. All the political intrigues and king's agendas were hard to understand if you don't have the background. This goes especially for the outcome of the mage's summit at the end.
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Andrew23
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Was long burnt out on games when this was released. It was first game I got to play in a long time and it made me want to play games again.
Great game, all of its parts, but would highlight the combat.
Great game, all of its parts, but would highlight the combat.
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Worst of the mainline Witcher games I thought. The railroad nature of the game reduced my enjoyment of the game significantly. Quests would often be closed off for no real reason as the main quest line progressed. The graphics and story were top notch though of course. W3 is a vastly superior game but I would still score W2 a reasonably high 7.5/10.
I agree as it was a hub-based fake open world design like the older BioWare games.
Still it was enjoyable and yep Witcher 3 was the superior game.
Andrew23
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Matter of opinion. Terribly boring character development and level scaling (not as much terrible) in W3 takes away one of aspects that I value most in my RPGs. Degrades whole experience for me.I agree as it was a hub-based fake open world design like the older BioWare games.
Still it was enjoyable and yep Witcher 3 was the superior game.
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What level scaling are you referring to in W3? Did you turn on the optional level scaling feature on or are you refering to New Game+?
Witcher 3 normally does not have any level scaling as per Witcher 1&2.
The Witcher 2 hit me the right kind of way. I had taken a 6-years break from gaming, finished ME1 and 2, and was looking for something similar to play. I picked up W2 recommendation from this site, tried it online through some sort of cloud-demo platform and was instantly blown away. I fell in love with the IP, perhaps mostly due to the bitter-sweet story and the music in W2 which I found incredibly fitting to the setting. I could just sit in the menu and keep on listening to the theme song.
After finishing W2, I read all the books and was properly hyped for W3 when it came. I took a week off from work to play that game and it is still the game I have enjoyed the most in my life. All thanks to Witcher 2, which I have replayed three times - and btw, W2 is the reason I originally ended up following this site and kept on revisiting, although I created an account almost a decade later.
After finishing W2, I read all the books and was properly hyped for W3 when it came. I took a week off from work to play that game and it is still the game I have enjoyed the most in my life. All thanks to Witcher 2, which I have replayed three times - and btw, W2 is the reason I originally ended up following this site and kept on revisiting, although I created an account almost a decade later.
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Yes, I tried it after finishing W2 for the first time. Got around halfway until I run out of time to play games. Whilst I found it okay, I didn't return to it later. I found it a bit too immature to my taste and rough around the edges after W2. Looking forward to the remake, though.
The second game is my favorite in the series, but I do agree that the third one is a superior game. Much bigger map, better combat and graphics, and some stellar quest writing are what make the third one superior, but I still prefer the more tight nature of the second game. The world reminded me more of Gothic games as opposed to the third game that felt more like a TES game, if that makes any sense.
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Andrew23
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You are right, my memory must have played tricks on me with regard to level scaling.
But in case of boring character development Im afraid I recall it quite well. And for me, if exploration and story is not backed up with decent RPG system Im often loosing interest soon.
Other parts of W3 are great enough to keep me going for many hours, but nowhere near to finishing the game, unfortunately.
Im planning to make another attempt as Im big fan of the books and the game is doing good job providing experience of "being there". I dont mind differences, like depiction of some
characters and other details, for which, as I noticed, the game is sometimes criticised by hard-core fans of the books.
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That I can agree with. W3 is also too long for many people - moreso when you through in those 2 very large DLC. I stuck with it but there were times when I was thinking "when is it going to end". W2 never overstayed it's welcome - perhaps it was even a little bit too short.
Well I finished Witcher 3 at least six times. Guess I have to much free time.
TW2 is pretty short for a modern RPG. I remember finishing my first playthrough in 3-4 days after it was released. I don't mind that though. I've never believed that every RPG has to be 50+ hours long.
As for TW3, imo it's only too long if someone makes it that way.
Carnifex
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Totally agree about the novels enhancing this game if you've read them, and perhaps the television show might do the same. I've only replayed this one once, not sure if I'd ever do so again, yet had fun both times through.