The Witcher 2 is a great and engaging game in a rather plausible fantasy world that is engaging and enjoyable to experience.
This game features extremely well done character writing and development which is definitely its strongsuit. It's rare to find a character who is inherently good or evil, rather they all have their prescribed motives and baggage that guide their actions driven by where they came from and what background they claim. You as the player are often asked to decide on the reasoning of those people, playing as a sort of judge, jury, and executioner who decides on the consequences and punishments of those in the world. Do you want to kill this character for the atrocities they've committed as a form of justice, or would you spare them to prevent chaos from erupting in the region?
No act is entierly excusable, nothing is inherently good. This is what drives the intrigue and mystery of The Witcher 2 and makes it so strong. Geralt aligns himself with a plethora of questionable people, not necessarily as their ally, but using them to attain his own personal goals. It's interestingly realistic and much better done than a lot of narratives out there. You as Geralt make your way through several kingdoms, meet many rulers and sorcereress', but none of them are truly your friends. Who you trust is up to you with many splitting decision trees that drive the story of the game. Often enough this isn't done well, rather decisions made have little impact on story or moral ambition. In The Witcher 2 the majority of your decisions have severe impact on the world of the Witcher and the denizens that reside within its kingdoms. It's due ot this that The Witcher 2 feels a bit like a fun experiment in geopolitics and socio economic decision making.
The only detractions I can give to this game is the abysmal combat, which is some of the worst (in terms of odd difficulty and mechanics) in an Action-RPG that I've played, as well as the (what I call) "Baccano Problem" in which a TON of characters are introduced, so much so that it becomes extremely hard to remember who is who or what kingdoms certain people are aligned to. To add, many of these characters have similar sounding names that I was frequently confused by. I was able to get past this by doing extra reading in the phenomenally descriptive journal (as well as some research online,) however it was the source of some initial confusion.
I was previously unaware of how great of a protagonist Geralt is. He is instantly recognizable but I wasn't aware of his wit and charm. He is painfully blunt and honest, and doesn't sugarcoat his intentions to anyone. I love that in a character, there's no playing nice to get someone on your side, rather he puts his cards on the table and says "make your move" to those he is in conversation with. He can be extremely funny, especially in the company of Zoltan and Dandelion, or honeslty harsh. Geralt of Rivia is a fantastic character.
I look forward to playing The Witcher 3 as this game piqued my interest on the very intricate lore and story of the series.
This game features extremely well done character writing and development which is definitely its strongsuit. It's rare to find a character who is inherently good or evil, rather they all have their prescribed motives and baggage that guide their actions driven by where they came from and what background they claim. You as the player are often asked to decide on the reasoning of those people, playing as a sort of judge, jury, and executioner who decides on the consequences and punishments of those in the world. Do you want to kill this character for the atrocities they've committed as a form of justice, or would you spare them to prevent chaos from erupting in the region?
No act is entierly excusable, nothing is inherently good. This is what drives the intrigue and mystery of The Witcher 2 and makes it so strong. Geralt aligns himself with a plethora of questionable people, not necessarily as their ally, but using them to attain his own personal goals. It's interestingly realistic and much better done than a lot of narratives out there. You as Geralt make your way through several kingdoms, meet many rulers and sorcereress', but none of them are truly your friends. Who you trust is up to you with many splitting decision trees that drive the story of the game. Often enough this isn't done well, rather decisions made have little impact on story or moral ambition. In The Witcher 2 the majority of your decisions have severe impact on the world of the Witcher and the denizens that reside within its kingdoms. It's due ot this that The Witcher 2 feels a bit like a fun experiment in geopolitics and socio economic decision making.
The only detractions I can give to this game is the abysmal combat, which is some of the worst (in terms of odd difficulty and mechanics) in an Action-RPG that I've played, as well as the (what I call) "Baccano Problem" in which a TON of characters are introduced, so much so that it becomes extremely hard to remember who is who or what kingdoms certain people are aligned to. To add, many of these characters have similar sounding names that I was frequently confused by. I was able to get past this by doing extra reading in the phenomenally descriptive journal (as well as some research online,) however it was the source of some initial confusion.
I was previously unaware of how great of a protagonist Geralt is. He is instantly recognizable but I wasn't aware of his wit and charm. He is painfully blunt and honest, and doesn't sugarcoat his intentions to anyone. I love that in a character, there's no playing nice to get someone on your side, rather he puts his cards on the table and says "make your move" to those he is in conversation with. He can be extremely funny, especially in the company of Zoltan and Dandelion, or honeslty harsh. Geralt of Rivia is a fantastic character.
I look forward to playing The Witcher 3 as this game piqued my interest on the very intricate lore and story of the series.