Let's Watch - Elder Geek's Witcher 2 Review And Impressions Of My Own

As I've mentioned before, my video card can not currently run The Witcher 2 properly. That does not mean though that I haven't been keeping tabs on the game post-release.  Most of the people I know, myself included,  found out about The Witcher 1 via word of mouth after it had already been on the market for a while.  TW2, however, has received far more press and build up in the United States than its predecessor.  As a result it is quite interesting to see how people receive such an unapologetically intense PC exclusive game that makes you work for everything you get.  Yes I'm aware that TW2 will likely receive a console port in the future, but CD Projekt RED constantly reminds the public that their focus is the PC market.  They feel that it is unacceptable to "streamline" or "dumb down" a PC release just so it will be easier to port over to consoles.  That combined with the fact that it, and TW1, is currently only available on PC makes it a PC exclusive in my eyes.

From reviews I've read over the past week or so, it seems like everyone agrees on a couple of things.  

1) The initial combat is very difficult, even on normal setting, and requires you to actually strategize.  You cannot go in swords a-swinging and expect to rule the day.  You will die.  A lot. 

2)  The game is short by current RPG standards.  People generally quote a time between twenty and thirty hours.  CDPRed made every minute count, however, by not including all the padding and Fed-Ex quests that contemporary titles often indulge in.  Your decisions in this game have a great deal of impact on the game's ending.  With sixteen ways it can finish, some of which require a Witcher 1 save game to access, replay value is high and you will want to play it multiple times.

3)  While my video card is too old to run the game smoothly, I was still able to install the game and at least get it to boot up.  From what I did manage to see in game, amidst my atrocious FPS, was pretty beautiful even for the lowest all around visual settings.  The camp I found myself in was humming with activity and natural animations.  It also looked and sounded like what I think a king's military camp should look and sound like.  Fantasy elements could not be denied, but there was a certain realism about the whole scene that made me embrace it as real.  The camp did not use fantastical architecture and impractical props as a way of pointing to itself and saying "Look at me!  I'm a war camp in a fantasy game!"  The game honestly tried to mimic an alternate reality and from what I saw it did so very successfully.  Most everything I have read has reinforced my impressions.

  

If you are still uncertain about whether this game is for you, Elder Geek has a spectacular video review that seems to hit on all the major points.

Image: Available as a wallpaper from GOG.com with purchase of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Soundtrack - Witcher 2: The Assassins of Kings

Despite the fact that it can't be played yet due to my inferior graphics card, I picked up TW2 via GOG before it went on sale to the masses and downloaded the soundtrack as soon as it came available early this morning. Folks, this soundtrack is a winner.  TW1's music was pretty phenomenal and I listened to it for months before I bought a computer that would be able to handle the game.  This time around it looks like I'm in the same boat, but honestly I can't complain too much.  If you loved TW1's music then the sountrack for TW2 will bowl you over.  A number of the key musical themes have returned from the first game as has its overall feel.  This soundtrack, however, takes it up a notch with the addition of a few new instruments, more vocalizations (yes!), and a grander, more epic feel.  Unlike many game soundtracks, this one stands well enough on its own and could easily be enjoyed by both gamers familiar with TW2 and the casual listener as well.  Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz and Adam Skorupa are truly in top form once again.  This is one album that will be on serious rotation in the coming months.

Edited to Add:  Here are a couple of tracks that particularly caught my attention.

The first "video" is rather bombastic in nature and acts as the game's theme song. The second  video, "A Nearly Peaceful Place," is beautiful but much more subdued.  In it you can clearly hear how The Witcher 1's main theme has been woven in with that from The Witcher 2. Those who pre-ordered TW2 from GOG and received the bonus tracks will notice that Bonus Track 3 was a slightly different version of this second video. Just for comparison sake, the third video is TW1's "Dusk of a Northern Kingdom" which prominently features the first game's main theme.

       

Image: Available as a wallpaper from GOG.com with purchase of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Now Available - The Witcher Enhanced Edition: Director's Cut

I wouldn't normally do this, but I have had a ton of people hitting my blog lately in search of Witcher news.  As a result, I'd like to remind everyone that The Witcher Enhanced Edition: Director's Cut is now available for purchase at GOG for $4.99.  It will revert to its standard price of $9.99 after May 14th.  I already have a hard copy of it that I purchased a couple of years ago, but I went ahead and purchased it again for the art book.  With so many paintings and pieces of conceptual art it is pretty spectacular and makes you wish that you had an actual book in your hand.

For those of you interested in the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings why don't you check this new video with GOG's now infamous, and rather beloved, French Monk ... in the Witcher 2.

From Their Website -  No one expects the French Monk !

Huh. We just saw this in a playtest of The Witcher 2 from our sister company.
What do you think a repentant French monk is doing in the game?
I wonder if he has something for Geralt?

Check out the video of Geralt meeting the French Monk and tell us what you think is going on

Image: Wallpaper available with Witcher 1 purchase from GOG.

Let's Talk About - The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, Director's Cut

GOG.com has announced that it will be selling it's 2007 title The Witcher for $9.99 before The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings' release in May.  If you buy the game between May 10 and May 14, it will be only $4.99.  The game's listing (available for purchase May 10) is here.  They are selling the Enhanced Edition/Director's Cut so this is the new & improved re-release of the game from 2008.  One particular NSFW image on their site shows that this is also the uncensored version which was released in Europe.  If you want the censored version, it can generally be found for roughly $20.00 at any American online store.

The Official Game Description - Your name is Geralt of Rivia and you are a witcher, that means you kill monsters for a living. You were given a special training to be the best at what you do and your body has been enhanced with potent elixirs to help you do it.

Suffering from amnesia you remember nothing of your past. Kaer Morhen, the last remaining keep of the witchers, was attacked by a mysterious organization, just as you were starting to lick your wounds there. The battle is won but the secret recipe for the mutagen, a substance required to create more of your kind, has been stolen. The surviving witchers set out to find and reclaim it and punish everyone involved. Memory loss or not, you are one of them.

Some Thoughts Of My Own -  It has been a little over a year since I finished The Witcher, which is CD Projekt RED's videogame based on a universe created by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski.  While the game could be frustrating at times (I'm looking at you Kikimore Queen ... how I hate your guts), it is quite possibly one of the best cRPGs I have played in a long while.  Played from the viewpoint of a rather jaded, hardened, anti-hero of sorts, this game thrives on its use of grey morality.  With this morality system, there are a number of decisions the game presents which are truly a case of "pick your own poison."  There are very few completely good individuals and just as few completely evil characters in game.  Many of the decisions you make seem deceptively simple, yet hours down the road (long after you can load a past save) the decisions can come back to haunt you or help you as the case may be.  The Witcher's art design is phenomenal in a dark and gritty kind of way, and its soundtrack is out of this world.  It isn't bombastic in the manner of Bioware scores, even though I really love Bioware music, but it is instead subtle and a real joy to listen to.  I spent about 90 hours playing the game, but it's not possible to count the number of hours I have spent listening to the soundtrack by itself.

The Witcher's combat system (while initially frustrating) is actually quite intuitive and challenging with different fighting styles (strong, fast, and group) and two different types of swords (one for men and one for beasts.)  Situations often call for switches in both fighting styles and swords mid-combat.  When combined with various magical signs, powerful bombs, and a series of potions, combat requires a great deal of strategy and can be very rewarding when things go right.  Perhaps the most impressive portion of the game's mechanics is that of potion consumption.  There are no "instant heal" potions, and the rate with which consumption can take place is very limited.  Each potion has a certain toxicity (low to high) and the amount of toxicity affects the number of potions which can be consumed at once.  Generally I found that Geralt was limited to two or three at most, so you really have to decide which ones are most important to you.  This can be difficult when you feel as if Geralt needs four or five to give him the edge over his competition.  Five potions, however, will most certainly max out his toxicity meter, and four will likely strain his heart so much that his vision will become severely impaired.  Pick your poisons wisely.

If you have not guessed it, The Witcher is rated M for Mature and it certainly does everything it can to live up to this rating.  The storytelling is deep and completely worthwhile, but it does not skimp on the aspects which accompany all mature games.  One of the most common criticisms of the game is that of "sexism" and "objectification."  It is true that Geralt is an unabashed ladies man; but what critics don't tell you is that the extent to which he, uh, indulges his impulses is completely up to the player.  If you are understandably offended by very scantily clad women, foul language, and bloody violence then this is not the game for you.  If one can look past all that, however, they will be rewarded with a rich story which asks gamers to contemplate the human (elven/dwarven) condition.  The story also makes one consider what they, and in-game individuals, are truly willing to sacrifice in the name of (their definition of) love, freedom, and justice.

Image: Gamingbolt

Let's Watch - GOG's Witcher 2 Q&A

If you, like me, are eagerly anticipating the release of CD Projekt RED's game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, then you really need to watch this video.  If you have already pre-ordered the game or don't plan on pre-ordering the game then you can skip the first four minutes which is all about GOG.com's DRM-free pre-order offer.  Everything else is about the game itself and proves very informative.  It discusses changes in Geralt's appearance (something that was changed in response to fan complaints), shows video of in-game play, and answers questions from fans.  The whole video is roughly an hour long.